#Dubai’s Financial Center (DIFC) Expects ‘Busiest Year’ as Firms Rush In - Bloomberg

Dubai’s Financial Center (DIFC) Expects ‘Busiest Year’ as Firms Rush In - Bloomberg

Dubai’s financial center is expecting a record number of firms to set up in the Middle East business hub this year after attracting hedge fund heavyweights such as Millennium Management and asset managers like State Street.

“This year is going to be our busiest year ever,” Ian Johnston, the chief executive officer of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, said in an interview. The regulator of the Dubai International Financial Center issued 117 new financial services licenses in 2023, and this year “we are already about 50% ahead of where we were this time last year,” he said.

The freezone’s rise in activity mirrors Dubai’s economic resurgence following the Covid pandemic. The city has also attracted a range of newcomers including Russian billionaires, property investors and crypto firms seeking a low-tax environment.

“Of the 29 globally systemically important banks in the world, we have 27 doing business in DIFC,” Johnston said. A fifth Chinese bank is setting up a branch, he said, without identifying the lender. Over 600 financial services firms operate within DIFC, employing more than 40,000 people, state-run WAM news agency reported in February.