DIFC reports best-ever record with 32% increase in company registration in H1 

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) celebrated a successful first half of the year, recording its best performance thus far, with 1,081 new company registrations between January and June, resulting in a 32% annual increase. 

Being centrally located, Dubai is becoming the epicentre of business, connecting the East and West. Dubai’s business-friendly policies are attracting more investments and partnerships, and the Emirati government is making it easier for newer companies to set up their base in the city. 

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) celebrated a successful first half of the year, recording its best performance thus far, with 1,081 new company registrations between January and June, resulting in a 32% annual increase. The Government of Dubai Media Office has predicted that the total number of active registered firms at the DIFC jumped to 7,700 over the last six months, with an annual rise of 25%. 

With more companies registering with the Centre, the workforce is also expanding. DIFC reported a 9% increase in the workforce, and the total number of professionals now employed in the Centre is 47,901. The DIFC has consistently ranked among the top 20 global financial centres. It also hosts over 250 wealth and asset management companies and is valued at over $450 billion, and contributes to roughly 5% of the UAE’s nominal GDP. 

The Dubai Financial Services Authority also witnessed a 28% rise year-on-year in financial services approvals. This body is in charge of regulating entities operating from the centre and has reached 78 in this year’s first half. Similarly, hedge funds registered through the centre have also grown 72%, totalling 85 accounts. 

According to Arab News, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE, and President of DIFC, Maktoum bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, said that these figures demonstrate Dubai’s competitiveness, appeal, and global trust as it enters a new and more extensive era of growth.  

He was also confident of the centre’s future, adding that there will be even more opportunities down the road, and the management will keep building the DIFC’s capacities and ecosystems, which encourage creativity, adaptability, and company expansion. Essa Kazim, DIFC’s governor, also praised the centre’s role in driving Dubai’s economic growth by diversifying the financial services sector. 

Dubai is committed to becoming a booming centre of financial excellence. Most GCC countries are moving away from their reliance on oil and gas and are prioritising economic diversification initiatives. Therefore, right on top of the list for these petro-heavy economies is their need to improve their technological and financial abilities. To that end, fintech has emerged as one of the soaring sectors within the GCC. Countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, etc, are all working towards becoming business-conducive, particularly for start-ups and smaller enterprises. 

DIFC released a statement which revealed that companies in the fintech, artificial intelligence, and other innovation-driven industries rose 28% to 1,388. Fintech has unsurprisingly expanded the largest, while enterprises linked to family businesses climbed 73% to a total of 1,035. The centre had also hosted various financial summits in the past months, like the Dubai AI Festival in April and the Dubai FinTech Summit in May, highlighting its commitment to expanding its fintech sector. 

Arab News reported that the DIFC Academy, which is the centre’s education arm, has successfully trained 4,947 learners over the past six months as part of its 1 Million Learners initiative to infuse the labour market with sustainability skills by the end of this decade. 

The DIFC has over 980 regulated entities with 78 new financial services licenses issued in the first half of this year, marking a 28% rise from the same period last year. The media office also disclosed that the launch of DIFC Heights sold out in three days, with roughly 1.6 million sq. feet of new commercial space already under development to meet the growing real estate demand in Dubai. 

With its innovation and conduciveness, Dubai is on the path to becoming a major force to reckon with in the global financial landscape.