Five years after its foundation, Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC)
sees activities picking up in the center after a difficult 2009, analysts said Monday.
Home of 249 banks, insurance firms and asset managers from around the globe, the DIFC with its international legal framework saw more than three dozen of firms closing their offices last year, as a direct result of the financial crisis, with the DIFC refusing to disclose the exact number.
"But since the end of 2009, we have seen new momentum," Abdulla Al Awar, CEO of the DIFC authority, told Xinhua at a reception of the Canadian Business Council.
In December 2009, two banks from Turkey joined the DIFC, he said. "On Dec. 26, the first financial institution from Canada, the Bank of
Nova Scotia, opened a branch in the DIFC," Al Awar said. " We realize the immense potential of integrated emerging markets and the role DIFC can
play towards realizing this scenario."
Most banks are indeed keen on tapping new opportunities in the Middle East whilst most high net worth individuals are more investing at home rather than exporting their finances to traditional Western financial hubs such
as Switzerland or Britain.
Dubai is located geographically exactly between East Asia and Europe. By plane, business travels need eight hours from Beijing to Dubai, the same duration they need to go from Dubai to
London. Twenty of the top 25 banks have chosen the DIFC as its Middle East headquarters. China's ICBC, the world's largest bank in relation to market capitalization, has also a branch in the
110- acre DIFC District in the heart of Dubai.
Al Awar is likewise optimistic about the United Arab Emirates (UAE) itself, of which Dubai is considered the business hub whereas Abu Dhabi is its capital.
"The increase in oil output and the coming on-stream of several large projects is expected to lead to growth of 4.1 percent for the UAE in 2010, according to the Economist Intelligence
Unit," he said.
According to Al Awar, more than 14,000 people currently work in the DIFC.