ADGM CEO says Saudi reform will not come at the cost of Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates-Mark Cutis, CEO of Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM), stated that Saudi Arabia is striving to compete with the United Arab Emirates to become the region’s largest commercial and financial center. It will have a “serious negative impact” on Abu Dhabi. ) Exclusive interview with CNBC on Sunday.

“It’s easy to move here, and it’s easy to live here, and you have the rule of law, funding pool and visa status-it’s a package plan,” Curtis said.

His comment was the first since he became the CEO of ADGM in June this year, when the economic competition between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates became increasingly fierce, as both countries sought to promote the growth of the non-oil sector. Recovered from the pandemic.

Saudi Arabia said its government will stop doing business with international companies that do not have regional headquarters in the country by 2024-a move widely seen as an attempt to attract multinational companies from Dubai to Riyadh. Last month, the UAE launched a plan to attract US$150 billion in foreign investment over the next 9 years and reform its visa program to attract and retain foreign talent.

The UAE is also expected to introduce $33 billion According to Ernst & Young’s pre-pandemic estimates, investment in Dubai’s Expo 2020 has increased by 1.5%, and GDP has also increased by 1.5%. The same consulting company spent US$6.8 billion for the World Expo, but it is too early to say whether the largest event in the Middle East will bring a return on investment.

“Non-financial returns are very important-from a signal point of view-to show the world that this country is open again, that we have survived the pandemic, and we are back to business,” Curtis said.

According to data from the Central Bank of the UAE, the UAE economy is expected to grow by 2.1% this year and 4.2% by 2022.

“In fact, the business is surprisingly strong,” Cutis added. He said: “I would put the people we emerged from the post-pandemic world into the right category, so in general, thumbs up.”

According to ADGM’s website, Abu Dhabi Global Market is an international financial center located on Al Maryah Island, the capital, Abu Dhabi. As of the first quarter of 2021, it has 3,448 registered companies and manages more than US$75 billion in assets.

Kurtis also frankly assessed the UAE capital market, saying that the country’s three major exchanges may be integrated in the future.

“Ultimately, the need for economy and efficiency outweighs other considerations,” Cutis told CNBC about the possibility of mergers between the three exchanges in the UAE at some point.

Speculation about exchange mergers can be traced back ten years, when Abu Dhabi Exchange (ADX) effectively competed with the neighboring Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Dubai Nasdaq Exchange for listing and trading activities.

Tarek Fadlallah, CEO of Nomura Asset Management Middle East, criticized the current arrangement.

Fadlallah told CNBC: “The decentralized regional exchanges, each operating under their own systems and their own rules, hinder their ability to scale up and attract the largest institutional investors.”

“On the regional exchanges, only Tadawul of Saudi Arabia has made significant progress. The number of listings has soared, foreign shareholding has increased steadily, the secondary market has been launched, and a series of new products have been launched, including REITs and derivatives,” he added.

“On the stock exchange, scale is important.”

Tadawul in Saudi Arabia is the largest exchange in the region by market capitalization.

ADGM also positions itself as a cryptocurrency center. The UAE government has always been an early adopter of blockchain technology, aim By 2021, 50% of government transactions will be converted into blockchain platforms.

“I think that eventually, cryptocurrencies will become mainstream,” Cutis said, while also hinting that ADGM will take a cautious approach in this area. “I think the role ADGM should play is not to lead it, but to define a framework and encourage innovation, but at the same time be cautious.”

ADGM launched the region’s first crypto-asset regulatory framework in 2018, which aims to address risks associated with crypto-asset activities, such as anti-money laundering measures.

“You don’t want to be so open that you encourage cowboys to come in, and they will eventually lie. If you look at the statistics in the United States, you will find that a lot of scams have occurred,” Curtis said.