In response to yesterday's decision by the Gulf state to change its working week, exchanges in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are adjusting their trading hours.
A government official announced the new trading week on Wednesday, which now runs from Monday to Friday.
The move that is taking the UAE apart from the rest of the Gulf region is intended to help attract international investment and trade to the state.
Instead of the previous working week from Sunday to Thursday, the UAE will introduce a four-and-a-half-day week.
Half the day falls on Friday, as it is holy in Islam.
Exchanges will "open Monday through Friday, with Friday being a full trading day," said Abdulrahman Al Awar, director general of the government's state human resources agency, Bloomberg TV.
"The decision serves the competitiveness of the UAE economy and is intended to increase productivity."
The change in trading hours is bringing the UAE into line with much of the rest of the world, but increasing the distance to regional competitors such as Saudi Arabia.
Exchange traders and investors will now have to come to terms with the different trading times.
The Saudi stock exchange, the largest in the Middle East, is traded Sunday through Thursday.
Detailed regulations are still pending
The UAE Securities and Exchange Commission will release more details on the exact trading hours of the Abu Dhabi and Dubai stock exchanges, Al Awar said.
According to him, the banking and financial sectors are the biggest beneficiaries of the plans.
Market operators in the UAE had initiated a series of reforms in the past few months.
Among other things, trading hours were extended and incentives for going public were created.
The UAE government's decision on Tuesday did not include any information on whether the private sector should adopt the new working week.
However, it is assumed that schools will adapt to the new rhythm, which companies would soon follow, analysts speculate.
A recently enacted labor law that allows flexible working hours gives the private sector options for their workweek, said Al Awar.
The law “improves the flexibility of the private sector and the economy.
You can now decide for yourself which value you want to draw from the new regulation. "