The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) signed a cooperation agreement which provides a framework for cooperation to support and understand financial innovation in each jurisdiction.

This Agreement will enable the DFSA and ASIC to refer fintech businesses to each other for support provided through their respective fintech functions. It provides Australian fintech businesses wishing to operate in the DIFC with a simple pathway for engaging with DFSA, and vice versa, ASIC said in a press release.

Dubai has recently set up a number of initiatives aimed at encouraging fintech innovation, including the Fintech Hive accelerator program and inked an agreement with the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong (SFC).

This latest accord is the ninth fintech referral agreement ASIC has entered into, following on from agreements with the United Kingdom, Singapore, Ontario, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi and Switzerland