Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region, has strengthened its position to become the preferred choice for globally renowned brokerage firms in the UAE, with more than 70 now established in the Centre.

ACTIVITIES

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The activities that can be carried out under the Category 3A licence in DIFC are:

 

Dealing in Investments as Agent

 

1. Buying, selling, subscribing for, or underwriting any investment as agent,

2. Act as agent of a party to the investment transaction and has the authority to bind its principal,

3. and either execute transactions for its principal (clients) or if using another broker, commits the client to the transaction by giving a binding order to the broker

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Arranging Deals in Investments (only as matched principal)

 

• Buying, selling, subscribing for or underwriting any invest as principal

A Category 3A licence company is a firm authorised to deal as a broker, advise on funds, or arrange financial trading activities, on an agency or principal-to-principal trading. It is predominantly used by forex, futures, and options traders.

This licence is allowed to have professional clients but can be endorsed at a later stage to have retail clients.

 

Definition of Securities 

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• Shares - a Share is a share or stock in the share capital of any Body Corporate or any unincorporated body but excluding a Unit;

• Debentures - a Debenture is an instrument creating or acknowledging indebtedness, whether secured or not:

• Warrants - a Warrant is an instrument that confers on the holder a right entitling the holder to acquire an unissued Share, Debenture or Unit;

• Certificates - which confers on the holder contractual or property rights to or in respect of a Share, Debenture, Unit or Warrant held by a Person; and the transfer of which may be effected by the holder without the consent of that other Person; but excludes rights under an Option;

• Units - a Unit is a unit in or a share representing the rights or interests of a Unit holder in a Fund; and

• Structured Products - a Structured Product is an instrument comprising rights under a contract

• Option

• Future

Mandatory employment for Category 3A Licence

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• Directors – a diverse board of directors with Independent Directors and robust governance policies. The Chair would have to be a non-executive Director.

• Senior Executive Officer (SEO) – Senior professional with sufficient experience, resident in the UAE.

• Chief Finance Officer (FO) – Senior and suitably-qualified finance professional. In case of a group, the FO can be from the parent company and does not have to be resident in the UAE.

• Chief Risk Officer – Senior risk professional, can be from the parent entity in case of a group.

• Compliance Officer (CO) - Senior compliance professional with sufficient experience, ordinarily resident in the UAE.

• Money-Laundering Reporting Officer – Senior AML professional with sufficient experience, ordinarily resident in the UAE. This function can be combined with Compliance and one individual can carry out both responsibilities.

• Internal Auditor - Senior and suitably qualified internal audit professional. Can be outsourced to a professional firm.

CAPITAL REQUIREMENT

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The base capital requirement is USD 500,000.

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