On Sunday, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announced that over a thousand companies were operating from the centre. The financial authority’s figures for the first half of the year recorded 979 companies. The number of companies that were operating from the centre grew by three percent in the third quarter.
DIFC has impacted the Africa, South Asia (Measa), UAE and the rest of the Middle Eastern region economic growth since it was established in 2004.
Dubai International Financial Centre has attracted 21 of the world’s leading 25 banks, 11 of the top 20 money managers, 6 out of the top 10 law firms and 6 of the world’s 10 biggest insurers to the center.
The Chairman of DIFC Authority, Abdul-Aziz Al Ghurair said "Over the last decade, we have achieved various goals; we have built more than just a successful financial centre, we have established a global hub for companies to access the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. By providing a physical infrastructure that effectively facilitates business and by leveraging the benefits that Dubai's geographical positioning and accessibility offers, we have attracted some of the leading names in the financial world to the centre.”
"As we enter into our tenth year in 2014, we continue to gather scale and critical mass. Crossing the thousand company mark is a fantastic achievement for us and we certainly look forward to accomplish many more similar milestones in the next phase of our development," he added.
While the CEO of DIFC Authority, Jeffrey Singer, commented The DIFC community lies at the heart of the centre's strategy and offering - the combination of reputable financial and professional services firms, as well as internationally-acclaimed retail outlets, are as much an essential component of who we are as our proven regulatory and legal system.”
"We have created one of the best working environments in the world, bringing together professionals from the East and West and facilitating international partnerships. The diverse mix of companies from various sectors and representing a number of geographical markets has positioned DIFC as a truly global financial ecosystem," Jeffery added.
Some of the companies regulated by DIFC include 311 authorized firms, 52 ancillary service providers and two of the top authorized market institutions, Dubai Mercantile Exchange and Nasdaq Dubai.