Foreign investment fund registration

No foreign fund may be promoted within the country — to any non-exempt party — unless it has been registered with the Authority and a contract has been entered into with a licensed local promoter in the country.

At least one contract must exist — at the time of submitting the registration application — between the legal representative of the foreign fund and one of the licensed local promoters / those authorized to carry out this activity within the country.

The legal representative is strictly prohibited from promoting the fund. Only local promoters may do so, and only after the Authority approves the fund’s registration and grants approval for the local promoters to promote the fund.

Announcing the fund’s registration process, its completion, subscription start, promotion, or sharing related info or materials is strictly prohibited without prior approval from the Authority.

The approval is valid for one calendar year, ending in December of each year. The initial approval shall be valid from the date it is granted until the end of December of the same year.

Approval may be renewed via an e-application by the fund’s legal representative at least one month before expiry, subject to the annual fee. The Authority may reject the renewal if deemed contrary to public interest.

For a foreign fund to be privately offered to a qualified investor, it must be established outside the UAE or in a local free zone/financial free zone, subject to an equivalent regulatory authority, and licensed in its home jurisdiction for public or private offerings.

The fund must not be exempt from regulatory or supervisory requirements, including the preparation and issuance of periodic reports, in its jurisdiction of establishment.

The minimum subscription for an investor in a foreign fund approved for promotion inside the country is as per the offering document, not less than AED 500,000 for funds established inside the country or in a local financial free zone, and AED 1 million for funds in a free zone outside the country.