Dubai
capital markets
Dubai’s transformation over the past few decades has been remarkable. What was once barren desert is now a site for some of the biggest companies and investment projects in the world. But with all that growth comes an increased need for capital – how else are all those skyscrapers going to get built? With this in mind, the Dubai government has worked to make it easier for companies based in the emirate to raise capital
At the heart of this effort is the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Established in September 2004, DIFC is a free zone which offers many of the same benefits as other free zones in Dubai; such as lower business taxes, unparalleled infrastructure and enviable operational support. But it also offers something else – a world-class capital market, in the form of the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DFIX).
The combination of free zone and capital market has proved irresistible to financial institutions from across the globe. Companies such as Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have now set up operations in DIFC. And their presence – alongside other high-calibre corporations – boosts DFIX’s emerging status as the cornerstone of Dubai’s booming economy.
The success of DFIX is confirmed in a recent report by the London-based Chatham House. It points to Dubai’s ranking of twenty-fourth in the City of London’s latest Global Financial Centres Index. That’s a higher ranking than cities such as Shanghai, Stockholm, Brussels, Mumbai and Madrid. In fact, outside of Europe and North America, Dubai is ranked fifth in the world.
But, crucially, Chatham House expects that Dubai will enjoy even greater success in the years to come. The emirate occupies the number one spot in their list of financial centres to “become significantly more important over the next two to three years”. And they even suggest that Dubai’s financial markets will surpass those of Australia and Tokyo in the next decade.
All of which augurs well for Dubai’s continued prosperity. But it’s not only Dubai that will benefit. Thanks to the DIFC, the world’s major financial companies and organisations now have a major presence in the United Arab Emirates. And that can only benefit the whole region.
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