Four market authorities and exchanges—HKMA, HKEX, DFSA and Nasdaq Dubai—announced a Strategic Working Group at the HKMA-DFSA Joint Climate Finance Conference to explore cooperation across sustainable finance, Islamic finance and broader capital markets connectivity between Hong Kong and the Dubai International Financial Centre.
A Strategic Working Group brings Hong Kong regulators/exchanges and Dubai’s DFSA and Nasdaq Dubai into a structured collaboration to deepen capital markets ties.
Primary focus areas include sustainable finance, Islamic finance (including Sukuk and fixed income), innovation and market connectivity between Asia and the Middle East.
The announcement was made during the HKMA-DFSA Joint Climate Finance Conference in Hong Kong where officials framed the initiative as a mechanism to align strategic priorities and facilitate cross-border trade and investment.
# What happened
Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and Nasdaq Dubai have launched a Strategic Working Group. The move was announced at the HKMA-DFSA Joint Climate Finance Conference in Hong Kong.
# Why it matters
The group is a formal mechanism for exchanges and regulators in Hong Kong and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to coordinate. Members will explore joint initiatives that could increase market access and capital flows across the Dubai–Hong Kong corridor.
Core subjects named in the announcement are sustainable finance, Islamic finance, market innovation and wider capital markets development. Nasdaq Dubai highlighted its role as an international hub for fixed income and Islamic finance listings, citing Sukuk and sustainable finance as areas that connect issuers and investors across the Middle East and Asia.
# What the leaders said
# What the group will do next
The organisations intend to meet, exchange insights on market developments and workshop collaborative initiatives. Specific outcomes mentioned include practical workstreams on sustainable and Islamic finance and discussion of infrastructure or policy steps to improve cross-border issuance and investment.
# Context and timing
# What this does not yet include
The public announcement sets out the working group's remit but does not provide a timeline, governance structure, or detailed deliverables. There are no new regulatory changes or products announced at this stage—next steps are framed as ongoing engagement and structured collaboration to identify concrete opportunities.
# Practical implications for market participants
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent banking, financial services, and markets regulator of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Nasdaq Dubai, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), today jointly announced the establishment of a Str
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