UAE market regulator grants listed firms additional 45 days to report results

The UAE’s market regulator gave listed companies an additional 45 days to file their earnings statements for the financial year 2019 and the first quarter of this year.

The move is aimed at allowing firms to "address potential compliance issues stemming from the impact of the coronavirus on investors and capital markets", the Securities and Commodities Authority said in a statement carried by official news agency Wam.

A circular by the regulator directs companies to report their 2019 financial year statements no later than May 14 and their first quarter earnings by June 30. The regulatory relief covers all listed local and foreign companies in the UAE as well as licensed investment funds registered with the SCA.

Earlier this week the regulator halved the limit of losses that prompts a temporary halt in trading on UAE equities markets to support investor confidence.

The loss thresholds triggering trading suspension were reduced to 5 per cent from 10 per cent, amid increased volatility in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

In March, Boursa Kuwait was one of the first in the region to reduce the loss limit for trading to 5 per cent after the Kuwait Premier Market hit a 10 per cent down-limit three times within two weeks. A massive sell-off in US stocks also triggered circuit breakers – limits that halt trading for 15 minutes if the markets slump by 7 per cent or more - multiple times within a week in March.

The SCA said it is facilitating share buybacks for listed companies to further support local stock markets without “adversely affecting the trades taking place”. Short-selling practices “are not in place in UAE capital markets” it said in a statement at the time.

The regulator has also directed all listed companies to hold their general assembly meetings remotely via a secure remote e-voting system. The UAE has imposed tighter restrictions on public movement to control the spread of the coronavirus.

The measures by the SCA to accommodate market and listed firms come amid heightened volatility in the global stock markets as the pandemic gathers pace. Global equities have lost about $20 trillion ($73.4tn) from their recent peak, as the world economy slips into recession.