Middle East & Africa Reg Desk
Monday, 2026-08-03 · covering the last 72h (31 Jul–3 Aug 2026)
Gulf
ADX price-limit removal for ETFs and futures went live today. Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange confirmed its previously announced removal of daily price bands for exchange-traded funds and futures contracts took effect from 3 August 2026, aiming to reduce trading halts and let prices reflect information in real time; ADX says it will keep managing intraday volatility via temporary trading pauses in exceptional circumstances. This closes out the go-live flagged as pending in Friday's edition. ADX press release (via Zawya)
Bahrain Clear adopts enhanced clearing, settlement and custody rulebook. Bahrain Bourse's CSD subsidiary, Bahrain Clear, said its Board and the Central Bank of Bahrain approved a revised Bahrain Clear Rules framework covering clearing, settlement, depository, custody and pre-/post-trade services, standardising operations under a T+2 settlement cycle with new liquidity-reserve and default-management arrangements, part of Bahrain Bourse's 2026–2028 "Elevate" capital market development plan. Gulf Daily News
No material new items in the window from Saudi CMA/Tadawul, UAE SCA/DFSA, Qatar QFMA/QSE, Kuwait CMA/Boursa Kuwait or Oman beyond the ADX and Bahrain Clear items above; DFSA's Consultation Paper 173 on the DIFC funds regime remains open for comment to 7 September 2026 with no update.
Israel
No material new items today from the Israel Securities Authority or TASE; TASE's corporate-bond-index liquidity-criteria reform (record date 10 August, effective 27 August) is unchanged.
Africa
Egypt reinstates stamp duty on EGX trading, effective this week's settlements. Following Law No. 153 of 2026 (Official Gazette, 28 July), Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry (MCDR) began withholding a reinstated stamp duty on listed-securities trades from the 29 July session, first applied to settlement from 3 August 2026; the duty is 0.5 per thousand on both buyer and seller (0.25 per thousand for same-day round-trip trades), with licensed market makers exempt, and replaces the prior capital-gains-tax treatment for listed securities. Daily News Egypt
South Africa's FSCA publishes annual Regulatory Actions Report. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority's 2025/26 report (period to 31 March 2026) recorded penalties totalling R2.8bn across 76 persons/entities, a sharp rise from the prior year, with market abuse cited among the drivers alongside FAIS Act and AML failings; 678 investigations were concluded and 68 individuals debarred. The report is broader than equities alone but includes market-conduct enforcement relevant to JSE-listed activity. FAnews
No material new structural items in the window from JSE itself, Nigeria SEC/NGX (e-Registration/ePortal launch remains on track for 10 August, unchanged), Kenya CMA/NSE, or Morocco AMMC.
Informational only — summaries of public regulatory sources; not advice.