Legal Glossary

The current value that an independent third party would pay for a Share in a company in an arm’s length transaction.

A person with a duty to act solely in the interests of another party e.g. Directors of a company are fiduciaries of the company’s shareholders.

The duties owed by a Fiduciary to the person in whose interests they are acting e.g. duty of confidentiality, a duty not to profit from the position.

A programme offered by the DFSA in the DIFC where financial services businesses and entrepreneurs can refine and test their proposition. Firms operating in FinTech Hive are given a restricted class of financial services licence known as an Innovation Testing Licence.

An initial Shareholder of a company who gets the business started. They are also often the initial Directors of a company. The term is not a legal one and Founders do not have any rights in addition to those they hold as a Shareholder or Director of the company.

In the UAE, an area in which certain federal and emirate laws do not apply e.g. ADGM, DIFC, and DMCC. Unlike onshore in the UAE, the free zones typically allow 100% foreign ownership of companies, repatriation of capital and profits, and tax exemptions.

Financial Services Regulatory Authority. The financial services regulator in ADGM.