Mr. Abdulla Saleh succeeds Dr. Habib Al Mulla as DFSA Chairman

Notes and media contacts

For further information, please contact:

Ms. Angharad Irving - Jones
Communications and Strategic Planning
Dubai Financial Services Authority
Level 13, The Gate Building, Dubai
Tel: +971 (0) 4 362 1660
Fax: +971 (0) 4 362 0801

Mr. Edward D'Mello
Polaris Public Relations
Dubai, UAE.
Tel: + 971 (0) 4 3348520
Fax:+ 971 (0) 4 3341326


Mr. Abdullah M. Saleh is the Chairman of the National Bank of Dubai (NBD), having been one of its founders in 1963 and it's Managing Director from 1982 until his retirement in January 2004. Mr. Saleh is a former adviser on financial matters to the Late Ruler of Dubai, H.H. Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Mr. Saleh served as an Arbitrator on the Paris-based High Board of the Euro-Arab Arbitration Centre, from 1988 to 2000. He is a Board Member of the DCCI and a Member of the DCCI Arbitration committee. He has been a Member of the Board of Qatar Fuel Additives Company (QAFAC) since 1990 and has been Chairman of International Octane Limited (IOL) also since 1990. In 1979, he became a Founder Member of the Board of Dubai Cable Company (DUCAB) and served as a Chairman until 2001 - he continues to serve as a Member of the Board of Directors, representing the Government of Dubai. He is a Director and major shareholder of Dubai Transport Company L.L.C. (DUTCO) the holding company of the DUTCO Group Companies.

He has been Chairman of MARSHINSCO (insurance brokers) since 1976. He was educated in Sharjah and London having attended the Institute of Bankers after completing his academic studies.


The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) is an independent, integrated regulatory authority responsible for the regulation of all financial and ancillary services conducted in or from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), including asset management, banking, securities trading, Islamic finance, re-insurance, and an international financial exchange. The DFSA has been created using principle-based primary legislation modelled closely on that used in London and New York, and the DFSA regulatory regime operates to standards that meet or exceed those applying in the world's major financial centres.

The DFSA is a central component of the DIFC, a financial centre established to position Dubai as a recognised hub for institutional finance, and the regional gateway for capital and investment to the Middle East.