Dubai financial center cashes in on its East-West hub role
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E-mail Xinhua, September 10, 2012
Dubai financial center cashes in on its East-West hub role
DUBAI, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) said on Sunday that it has issued 90 commercial licences in the first six months 2012, representing a 41 percent year-on-year increase.
"The strong principles on which DIFC is founded - effective regulation and a dynamic business environment - position DIFC well to continue its development as a world financial center," said DIFC Governor H. E. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of DIFC Authority.
Since its inception in 2004, the DIFC, whose regulatory environment is not based on Emirati law but on internationally accepted rules, in the heart of Dubai attracted 17 of the world's 25 largest lenders and eight of the world's 10 largest insurance companies.
As the only international financial center in the timezone between Europe and East Asia, the DIFC is legally a 110 acre large "state within a state."
"As of 30 June 2012, 899 active registered companies had a presence in DIFC, up from 848 companies in 2011, with 329 regulated, 465 non-regulated companies, and 105 retailers," the DIFC said, adding that "The number of employees working in DIFC stands at around 13,000."
Around 36 percent of regulated member companies come from Europe, 26 percent from the Middle East, 16 percent from North America, 11 percent from Asia, and 11 percent from the rest of the world.
In addition, the DIFC harbors also two exchanges, the capital market NASDAQ Dubai and the commodities futures market Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME). Both markets are regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) whose rule book is similar to the one of the British FSA.
Dubai, as a politically stable sheikhdom benefitted from the turmoil in the Arab world, as financial firms aim to continues to do business in the wealthy Gulf Arab states without getting " between the fronts."
"The DIFC also witnessed sustained interest from Middle Eastern and Asian firms looking to increase their exposure to opportunities arising in Africa and the West," the center's authority said. Enditem
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