Commodities, Securities, Currency, Shares and Bonds Brokers

Dubai sits at the centre of capital markets in the region. The Dubai Financial Market recorded AED 124 billion in total trading value across 2023, and the Securities and Commodities Authority licenses more than 100 brokerage firms across the country. More international investors are buying into UAE markets, and more local money is moving out into global instruments. Both flows need brokers.

A broker stands between the buyer and the seller. You give clients market access, you know the products, you execute the trade, and you take a commission or a fee for it. This guide covers the nine broking codes at Meydan Free Zone, which ones need approval from the SCA before you apply and which need it after, and where anti-money laundering rules apply.

The Dubai Financial Market posted AED 124 billion in trading value for 2023, while the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority licensed more than 100 brokerage firms operating across the nine Meydan Free Zone activity codes covering shares, bonds, commodities, securities, and currency.

Source: Dubai Financial Market: DFM Annual Report and Market Statistics 2023 (2024);UAE Securities and Commodities Authority: Licensed Firms Register (2025)

Key Stats at a Glance

What This License Covers

Brokers under this license can help clients trade across five groups of financial instruments:

• Commodities such as oil, gold or agricultural products
• Securities such as stocks and bonds issued by companies
• Currencies in the foreign exchange markets
• Shares, meaning ownership stakes in companies
• Bonds and other debt securities

You are the middleman on the trade. You do not have to own the asset. You bring the two sides together, you execute, and you get paid for it.

One code works differently. Code 6611.99 covers running the marketplace itself, the venue where stocks, bonds, derivatives and tangible goods such as metals and agricultural products change hands. A marketplace sets prices, moves capital between buyers and sellers, and gives traders somewhere to lay off risk. If you plan to operate the platform rather than trade on it, that is your code.

Meydan Free Zone Brokerage Business Activity Codes

Nine codes sit under this heading. Use the table to find the one that matches how you plan to work, then read the approval and AML notes below it.

Who Your Clients Will Be

Your clients depend on the code you pick, but they fall into four groups:

• Individual investors trading shares, bonds or currencies for their own account
• Institutions and funds that need market access and clean execution
• Banks and their customers, where bank brokers advise and place the trades
• Businesses moving money across borders as part of normal trade

You earn from commission and fees on the trades you execute. Foreign market codes suit clients who want to spread their money across global exchanges. Local market codes suit clients who want UAE-listed shares, bonds and commodities.

Local Markets or Foreign Markets

This is the biggest choice you will make when picking a code. Local market brokers work the UAE exchanges. Your clients buy and sell shares, bonds and commodities issued or listed at home, and you win the account on your knowledge of that market. Foreign market brokers work international exchanges instead, which gives clients a wider set of instruments and a way to spread their money across several countries.

The split matters for compliance as well as clients. Both shares and bonds codes carry anti-money laundering duties, whether you work local markets or foreign ones. The commodities and securities codes for foreign and local markets are exempt. Let your clients decide which side you sit on, not the paperwork.

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Step by Step Setup Guide

• Step 1, pick your activity code: Your code decides your approval route, your AML duties and the clients you can serve. Choose it first, not last.
• Step 2, book your trade name: Use the free Company Name Check tool to see whether the name you want is available before you go further.
• Step 3, sort your SCA approval in the right order: Eight of the nine codes need SCA approval before your license is issued. Code 6612.97 gets its approval after you register.
• Step 4, get your license: With a Fawri license you can be set up in under 60 minutes. Remote setup is possible, so you do not have to be in the UAE to start.
• Step 5, put your AML controls in place: Have your checks working before you take a single client order, not after.

Compliance and What You Need in Place

Approval before your license

Eight codes need approval from the Securities and Commodities Authority before Meydan Free Zone issues your license: 6611.99, 6612.89, 6612.90, 6612.91, 6612.92, 6612.96, 6612.98 and 6612.99. Get the approval first, then apply.

Approval after you register

Code 6612.97, currencies and monetary broking, works the other way round. You register first, then get SCA approval afterwards.

Anti-money laundering

Four codes must meet AML rules: 6611.99, 6612.89, 6612.90 and 6612.91. That means knowing who your client is, checking where their money comes from, and reporting anything that looks wrong.

Codes that are exempt

Four codes are exempt from AML rules: 6612.92, 6612.96, 6612.98 and 6612.99. Exempt does not mean unwatched. The SCA still oversees how you work.

Currency broking sits at the top of the risk list

Code 6612.97 is treated as high risk because of the nature of foreign exchange work. Expect tight financial rules and close attention to your controls.

Market Opportunity

The Dubai Financial Market traded AED 124 billion across 2023. More than 100 brokerage firms hold SCA licenses across the UAE, which tells you two useful things: the market is big enough to carry a lot of firms, and it is regulated closely enough that clients look for a licensed name before they hand over money.

Growth is coming from both directions. International investors keep opening positions in UAE markets, and local capital keeps moving into global instruments. The nine codes let you sit on either side of that flow, or both. Local securities for domestic clients, foreign markets for clients who want to spread wider, and currency broking for anyone trading across borders.

In Conclusion

Broking in Dubai is a licensed trade, and the license is the whole point. Clients hand you their money because a regulator stands behind your name.

Setup itself is quick. A Fawri license can have you trading in under 60 minutes, and remote setup means you can start from outside the UAE. Meydan Free Zone lists over 2,500 business activities, so add any related codes now rather than coming back for them later.

Three things decide how smoothly this goes: the right code, SCA approval in the right order, and AML controls that work from day one.

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References

• Dubai Financial Market
• UAE Securities and Commodities Authority