#Dubai’s Financial Hub Posts Record Growth on Hedge Fund Boom - Bloomberg

Dubai’s Financial Hub Posts Record Growth on Hedge Fund Boom - Bloomberg

Dubai’s financial hub saw a record annual rise in company registrations last year, driven by an influx of hedge funds and wealth managers that has prompted an expansion plan to more than double its size by 2040.

The Dubai International Financial Centre reported a 28% increase in registrations in 2025 compared to the same period last year, with 1,924 new companies setting up in the hub, according to a statement on Thursday. The DIFC is now home to 8,844 active registered companies and employs more than 50,000 people.

The hub’s growth is likely to stay on the same trajectory in 2026, with the first month of the year showing continuity, DIFC Governor Essa Kazim told reporters on Thursday.

Dubai is planning projects worth more than 100 billion dirhams ($27 billion) to expand the DIFC amid an influx of foreign firms that continued to come despite geopolitical tensions and tariff uncertainty in 2025. The next phase, DIFC Zabeel District, would more than double the size of the DIFC as new firms pushed occupancy to its limits and left global firms struggling to find space.

Construction on an additional area across the road from the hub, which first opened in 2004, have started and will add 17.7 million square feet to the 110-hectare (11.8 million square foot) hub. The completion of the six upcoming phases is slated for 2040, Bloomberg News reported in January. When completed, DIFC Zabeel District will help expand its capacity to 42,000 companies and will help accommodate 125,000 people working in the hub.

The expansion will be financed with DIFC’s own capital, as well as bank loans if needed, Kazim said.

Even as it expands, Dubai contends with rising competition from nearby Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.

Abu Dhabi’s financial center — called ADGM - has been aided by access to the emirate’s $1.8 trillion in sovereign wealth. Meanwhile, Riyadh — home to Saudi Arabia’s $1 trillion Public Investment Fund — is also attempting to draw international financial firms.

Hedge Funds
Wealth and asset management firms increased to 557, up from about 350 at the start of 2024.

Hedge funds like Oak Hill Advisors, BlueCrest Capital and Silver Point Capital set up in the DIFC in 2025, joining behemoths including Millennium Management and ExodusPoint Capital Management that already have a presence in the city.

That pushed the number of hedge funds registered in the DIFC to more than 100, about double the level at the start of 2024, underscoring the city’s rapid rise as an emerging global hub for the industry. Nearly 80% of hedge funds in the financial district manage more than $1 billion, according to a statement in December.

Others, including Arrowpoint Investment Partners, are expanding their teams in Dubai and relocating senior executives.

Nearly 1,300 family-related business entities are also now based in the DIFC as the United Arab Emirates’ appeal rises among relocating millionaires.

Gulf stocks end lower on weak oil prices; #Saudi leads decline | Reuters

Gulf stocks end lower on weak oil prices; Saudi leads decline | Reuters

Most Gulf stock markets ended mostly lower on Thursday, led by Saudi Arabia, as oil prices slid more than $2 a barrel after the United States and Iran agreed to hold talks in Oman.

Crude prices, a key driver for Gulf financial markets, tumbled 2.2% with Brent trading at $67.93 per barrel by 1300 GMT.

The talks between the two sides come as the U.S. builds up forces in the Middle East, and regional players seek to avoid a military confrontation that many fear could escalate into a wider war.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI), opens new tab fell 1.3%, snapping a three-session winning streak, with all constituents in negative territory. Declines were led by materials, IT and real estate. Saudi Arabian Mining (1211.SE), opens new tab dropped 5.4% and Saudi National Bank (1180.SE), opens new tab, the kingdom's largest lender by assets, slid 2.7%. Bank Albilad (1140.SE), opens new tab rose 0.8% after posting higher full-year net profit on Wednesday.

The Saudi index also logged a weekly loss of 1.8%, as profit-taking set in after three consecutive weekly gains.

"Market sentiment shifted to a risk-off mode, influenced by the mood in the U.S. and other global markets, as well as a decline in commodities, including oil prices," said Daniel Takieddine, co-founder and CEO of Sky Links Capital Group.

"While investors await further fourth-quarter earnings releases to potentially reignite the upward trend, external factors ranging from geopolitics to global market caution have temporarily dampened sentiment," he added.

The Qatari benchmark index (.QSI), opens new tab eased 0.3%, with most stocks lower. Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), opens new tab , the region's largest lender, fell 0.6% and Gulf International Services (GISS.QA), opens new tab dropped 1.2%.

The Abu Dhabi benchmark index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab was marginally higher, as losses in utilities, healthcare and consumer staples outweighed gains elsewhere. National Bank of Umm al-Qaiwain (NBQ.AD), opens new tab rose 3.2% after reporting a 15% increase in full-year net profit, while Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA.AD), opens new tab fell 1%.

Dubai's benchmark stock index (.DFMGI), opens new tab extended gains for a fourth straight session, adding 0.1% to 6,675 — a fresh record high since 2006. Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU), opens new tab, Dubai's biggest lender, gained 1.5% and Emaar Development (EMAARDEV.DU), opens new tab advanced 2.8%.

In separate data, the UAE's non-oil private sector logged the fastest growth in new business in nearly two years in January, driven by a sharp rise in new orders, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab rose 0.2%, supported by an 8.1% jump in Ibnsina Pharma (ISPH.CA), opens new tab and a 2.2% gain in Fawry for Banking Technology (FWRY.CA), opens new tab.