Dubai soars to number 8 among global financial powerhouses

Dubai has moved up the ranks in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) to reach number 8.

The city is the only financial centre within the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) to appear within the top 10 rankings, placing it alongside other pivotal financial hubs such as London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore.

"The DIFC is one of the key initiatives at the forefront of Dubai’s new phase of growth and its efforts to create a business and investment environment that rivals the world’s best," said His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and President of DIFC. 

"In line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai will further increase its commitment to supporting the financial industry and making the city a leading player in shaping the future of the global financial landscape. Our sights are set firmly on the goal of becoming the No. 1 ranked global financial centre."

Established in 2007, the GFCI is released twice a year by London-based Z/Yen and China Development Institute and provides evaluations of competitiveness and rankings for the major global financial centres. 

More than 114 centres were evaluated as part of the 26th GFCI ranking, using more than 133 instrumental factors.

Essa Kazim, Governor of the DIFC, said, "The recognition of Dubai as a top 10 global financial centre is a testament to the commitment we have made to our community, our valued stakeholders and global partners. The DIFC’s continued pursuit of excellence and our focus on innovation is delivering on our blueprint for sustainable growth as we continue our journey towards transforming the future of finance.

"This ranking further underscores the economic potential of the region and the strong promise of Dubai as the destination of choice for international organisations, emerging companies and the financial technology leaders of the future to collaborate to deliver exponential growth."

The new ranking recognises DIFC’s strengths within all five major areas of the Index, including Business Environment, Human Capital, Infrastructure, Financial Sector Development and Reputation, reflecting its emergence as a broad, deep, dynamic and stable financial centre.

The centre experienced sustained growth in the first half of 2019, welcoming more than 250 new companies, and bringing the total number of active registered firms to 2,289, demonstrating a 14 percent increase year-on-year. The DIFC now boasts of more than 671 financial related firms, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year.

In January 2019, the DIFC reaffirmed Dubai's mission to become a major economic force in the Middle East by unveiling the latest phase of an ambitious expansion project that will see the centre triple in size.

The centre has also witnessed a significant increase in the number of FinTechs applying to participate in the DIFC’s dedicated accelerator programmes, which is the first step towards testing the regional market for many global start-ups.