DWTCA’s Multiple Share Class Framework

The Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) has once again demonstrated its forward-thinking leadership by introducing a multiple share class framework for companies registered within the DWTC Free Zone. This reform, simple in concept but profound in impact, represents a major leap in how businesses in the UAE can structure ownership, attract investment, and manage control.

A Bold Step Beyond Traditional Limits

Until now, UAE law has only allowed companies to issue a single class of shares, meaning that every shareholder held identical rights - equal voting power, dividends, and control. This uniform structure has long limited flexibility, especially when compared to global markets like the US, UK, and Singapore, where companies routinely issue various classes of shares to tailor ownership structures to their strategic needs.

In those markets, ordinary shares grant both voting rights and dividends, preference shares offer priority on profits without voting power, and founder shares can protect the influence of original entrepreneurs. This diversity of options enables startups, family offices, and large corporations alike to fine-tune their governance and capital-raising models.

With DWTCA’s new framework, that flexibility has finally arrived in the UAE.

Empowering Businesses and Investors

The reform allows companies within the DWTC Free Zone to issue a range of share types, including preference, founder’s, restricted, and tiered share classes (A, B, C, D). Each class can be customized in a company’s Memorandum of Association, specifying rights over dividends, voting power, transfer conditions, and safeguards for minority shareholders.

This change isn’t just regulatory fine print, it’s a catalyst for growth. It gives founders the ability to retain strategic control while bringing in investors, enables companies to attract diverse capital from different risk profiles, and even allows for employee equity incentives that align long-term interests.

As Abdalla Al Banna, VP of Free Zone Regulatory Operations at DWTC, aptly put it:

“By aligning with Dubai’s vision to be among the world’s leading global business hubs, we are creating an environment that empowers companies to scale and attract investment. Today’s founders and investors need flexible and transparent corporate structures to balance control, raise capital and retain talent.”

A Move Aligned with Dubai’s Economic Vision

This initiative is a strategic piece of Dubai’s larger economic puzzle - the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to double the emirate’s economy by 2033 and position it among the world’s top three urban economies.

By introducing flexible share structuring, DWTCA is directly addressing one of the key factors that global investors and entrepreneurs look for: corporate agility. It brings Dubai in line with leading international business hubs, strengthening its reputation as a progressive, innovative, and investor-friendly environment.

Why This Is a Brilliant and Game-Changing Move

From my perspective, this is nothing short of a brilliant move, a game changer for the UAE’s corporate and investment ecosystem.

For years, the “one-share-one-right” model limited how companies could grow, negotiate with investors, and protect founder interests. Now, with this framework, we can finally see the emergence of more sophisticated ownership structures, venture-backed startups, and family businesses that can plan for generational transitions with greater clarity.

The timing couldn’t be better. As Dubai expands its jurisdiction to landmark developments like One Za’abeel and continues to attract global enterprises across more than 40 sectors, the DWTCA’s reform will unlock new possibilities for innovation, funding, and long-term sustainability.

Looking Ahead

With full foreign ownership, a 0% corporate tax rate, and now the ability to issue multiple share classes, the DWTC Free Zone is positioning itself as a benchmark for modern corporate governance in the region.

This isn’t just a policy change, it’s a paradigm shift that will reshape how businesses are built, scaled, and sustained in the UAE. It reflects a maturing economy that understands the need for flexibility, investor confidence, and structural sophistication.

And for entrepreneurs, investors, and visionaries who have long believed in Dubai’s potential, this framework proves once again that the emirate is not just keeping pace with global innovation, but setting the standard for it.