Investors are hoping that impending changes in stock market regulations may improve the UAE's chances for a potential upgrading to emerging-market status by the index compiler MSCI.
The UAE's Securities and Commodities Authority on Monday said it would consult with banks and brokerages until next Thursday on the new regulations, which will cover market making, securities lending the provision of liquidity and short selling.
"What the UAE is trying to do is tick all the boxes for MSCI," said Abdel Hadi Al Sadi, the chief operating officer of AlRamz Securities in Abu Dhabi. "It'll give them a better chance for the markets to be upgraded."
MSCI, whose stock indexes are tracked by investors with about US$3 trillion (Dh11tn) in assets, in June delayed until December a decision on whether to raise the country from its current frontier-market ranking, saying the delay would allow it to get more feedback on the bourses' new payment settlement system.
Fund managers said the new regulations will boost the status of the UAE bourses, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market, among regional peers.
"The regulations are long overdue, and we are lucky we now have it making us the first stock exchange in the Gulf to offer such advanced instruments," said Haissam Arabi, the chief executive at Gulfmena Investments in Dubai.
The review, expected to take place on December 1, comes as markets have slumped and volumes crashed after civil uprisings in parts of the Middle East and a worsening European debt crisis shook investor confidence.
"When its implemented, definitely it will boost volumes and the markets will pick up," Mr Al Sadi said.