Dubai Soars to Number Eight Amongst Global Financial Powerhouses

The Centre has been at the forefront of developing its business environment, the number one factor influencing global competitiveness for financial centres, and enhancing its legal and regulatory framework to fuel growth opportunities within the MEASA region. DIFC has demonstrated an understanding of the need, as the leading financial hub operating in the region, to provide even greater stability for organisations conducting operations from the Centre.

The Centre’s robust legal and regulatory framework remains the most sophisticated and business-friendly Common Law jurisdiction in the region, aligned with international best practice. In May 2019, the DIFC’s independent regulator, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), in collaboration with the other financial regulators across the Emirates, announced the UAE passporting regime.  The regime is a regulatory mechanism for the promotion and supervision of investment funds that encourages foreign licensed firms in financial free zones based in other countries to enter the local market.

DIFC unveiled the new Insolvency Law in June 2019, enacted by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid to facilitate a more efficient and effective bankruptcy restructuring regime for stakeholders operating in the Centre.  Following this, a new unified, simplified and more expansive Prescribed Companies regime was announced by the DIFC, making structuring and financing in the Centre faster, flexible and more cost-effective, while contributing significantly to a robust pipeline from the aviation financing sector and generating substantial interest from family offices looking to utilise these structures in their succession planning.

In the same month, DIFC unveiled its new Employment Law in June 2019 to address key issues such as paternity leave, sick pay, and end-of-service settlements to support the workforce based in the Centre, whilst protecting and balancing the needs and interests of both employers and employees.

In line with global retirement savings trends, the DIFC also launched the Employee Workplace Savings (DEWS) scheme, which will see the evolution of end-of-service benefits from a defined benefit scheme to a defined contribution scheme, while offering a voluntary savings component for employees.

Human capital and talent development

With more than 24,000 professionals working across over 2,200 active registered companies, the DIFC comprises the largest and most diverse pool of industry talent in the region.  Investment into developing regional talent development continues to be an important factor impacting growth.  As part of the Centre’s efforts to support continued professional development, the DIFC Academy offers world class financial and legal education through strategic partnerships with 26 leading educational institutions and government entities.

To date, the DIFC has seen more than 5,500 graduates successfully undertake executive education courses and programmes in finance, business and law, as well as two dedicated Masters of Laws (LLM) programmes.

Infrastructure to fuel sustainable growth

Accessibility, transport and infrastructure have proven to be a great strength of DIFC and Dubai generally, allowing the Centre to expand and diversify.  Dubai’s connectivity to the MEASA region is another significant factor enabling organisations to seamlessly service business opportunities in the wider region from the Centre.

The Centre experienced sustained growth in the first half of 2019, welcoming more than 250 new companies, and bringing the total number of active registered firms to 2,289, demonstrating a 14 percent increase year-on-year. The DIFC now boasts more than 671 financial related firms, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year.

In January 2019, the DIFC reaffirmed Dubai’s mission to become a major economic force in the Middle East by unveiling the latest phase of an ambitious expansion project that will see the Centre triple in size.