Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has unveiled its Business Plan for 2023-24, encapsulated within four strategic themes developed to foster an enabling environment for firms as Dubai and the UAE continue to grow.

The new two-year plan outlines an ambitious roadmap to meet the DFSA’s statutory objectives for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) including establishing and maintaining the DIFC’s reputation as a leading global financial centre.

Fadel Al Ali, Chairman of the DFSA said: “The DFSA’s 2023-2024 Business Plan builds upon our commitment to international standards, high quality regulation and best practices to foster an enabling environment to support the DIFC’s continued growth and that of Dubai and UAE economies.

“The nation’s leadership continues to demonstrate a future-focused vision for the prosperity of the country and this clarity of vision and purpose continues to guide our role and understanding of the part we play as the DFSA moves towards its 20th anniversary.”

As part of the Business Plan, the DFSA will be pursuing several key projects that cut across multiple strategic themes. The DFSA will further enhance its policy framework through the implementation of international standards, ongoing development of its support for trading venues and markets and strengthening its regime for the protection of client assets to maintain the integrity of the DIFC financial services industry.

Fighting financial crime remains a key priority for the DFSA as it continues to support the federal authorities to implement the recommendations arising from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Mutual Evaluation of the UAE in 2020.

The DFSA will remain actively engaged with the regulated community as well as its peer regulators locally, regionally and internationally. To strengthen the global response required to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, the DFSA will work at a national level to deliver approaches on corporate governance, disclosure and taxonomy and continue to work with DIFC firms to improve engagement and understanding of ESG issues.

The DFSA will strengthen utilisation of technology to address regulatory obligations and challenges, as well as to enable development and use of new technology by the regulated community within the DIFC. In addition, the DFSA will continue to update the broader regulatory regime within the DIFC so that it addresses market developments – both risks and innovations – and remains in line with its vision to be an internationally respected regulator, leading the development of financial services through strong and fair regulation.

“High quality regulation and supervision, as well as increasing our use of technology and automation will allow us to align further with the visions of Dubai and the UAE,” Fadel Al Ali added.

“The themes in this Business Plan reflect the context in which we operate: the continuing evolution of the DIFC as a financial centre and the DFSA as a regulator, placing continuing reliance on international standards as the basis of our approach. The population of the Centre continues to grow, as does the depth and breadth of activities conducted. This continues to demand a finely tuned risk-based approach to regulation, to maintain the integrity of the DIFC financial services industry, while also continuing our efforts to facilitate innovation in the industry,”

Internal capabilities will play a key role in achieving all the projects under the business plan and setting the foundation for further developments.