The number of companies licensed by the UAE Capital Market Authority (CMA) rose 43% from a year earlier in the first nine months of 2026, the federal markets regulator said on Monday.
The number of accredited professionals increased 64% over the same period, the authority said in a statement.
The combined market capitalization of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) stood at AED3.7 trillion at the end of September.
Total traded value on the two exchanges reached AED408 billion in the nine months. Foreign investors accounted for 49% of that value.
Both the ADX and DFM general indexes closed September higher than a year earlier, the CMA said.
Bond and sukuk issuance totaled AED576 billion in the period, and companies completed about AED3.4 billion of capital increases.
The number of local investment funds rose 94% to 97, and their assets under management grew 30% to AED28.6 billion.
The authority said the number of financial penalties it imposed rose 246%, while their total value increased 23% to AED12.9 million. Warnings issued rose 767%.
About AED1.2 billion was refunded to clients, compared with AED8 million in the same period of 2025.
The CMA registered 102 virtual assets for admission to trading through a new digital service during the third quarter.
Waleed Saeed Al Awadhi, chief executive of the CMA, said the growth in licensed companies and capital raising reflected “the strength of our markets and their capacity to support economic activity.”
The period was the first under Federal Decree-Laws No. 32 and 33 of 2025, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and expanded the regulator’s independence and supervisory powers.
