Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, today reaffirmed the strength, resilience and long-term outlook of its ecosystem, as global clients across banking, insurance, wealth and innovation sectors expressed continued confidence in Dubai and the UAE.
His Excellency Essa Kazim, Governor of DIFC, said: “Over the past few weeks, countries in the Middle East have been navigating a period of regional uncertainty together. During these times, the true strength of DIFC has been our clients and community. What defines us is a shared belief in long-term opportunities that Dubai and the UAE offer to access the 77 markets across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. Together, we are building the future of finance and advancing Dubai’s journey towards becoming one of the world’s top four global financial centres.”
His Excellency Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Authority, said: “From global banks to FinTech disruptors, firms operating within DIFC say the current environment has not prompted retreat but rather reinforced the strategic importance of Dubai as a gateway to growth across the region. For many, the current environment serves as a reminder of why they chose DIFC in the first place: a stable and enabling legal and regulated framework, and globally connected platform capable of unlocking future growth.”
Recent milestones reinforce DIFC’s trajectory, including Dubai’s rise to 7th globally in the Global Financial Centres Index in March, which is its highest ever ranking and underscores sustained global confidence in the emirate’s financial ecosystem.
Banking and Capital Markets: Enabling global capital flows amid uncertainty
An integral part of the DIFC ecosystem are 290 banks and capital markets firms, including 17 of the world’s 19 global systemically important banks. This reflects the vital role DIFC plays in connecting major players to opportunities in the region and being the bridge between markets in the East and West. Global banking leaders from Citi, Julius Baer and Standard Chartered highlighted DIFC’s critical role as a stable platform connecting international capital with opportunity.
Ebru Pakcan, Middle East & Africa Cluster and Banking Head at Citi, noted: “At a time when geopolitical dynamics are reshaping markets, the ability to deliver cross-border solutions, maintain liquidity, and stay close to clients is critical. DIFC enables Citi to do exactly that. Citi has maintained a continuous presence in the Middle East for over six decades, recognising its integral role in our global network.”
“Since establishing a presence at DIFC in 2006, we’ve seen the financial hub transform into a strategic platform that connects capital, clients, and opportunities across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. From supporting sovereign issuances and corporate funding to enabling efficient treasury and liquidity management, DIFC allows Citi to operate at the centre of regional and global capital flows.”
Regis Burger, Head of Middle East & Africa and Chief Executive Officer, Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd, highlighted: “The UAE has established itself as a leading global financial centre and the foundations that underpin that position remain firmly intact. Its connectivity, business-friendly regulatory environment, tax-efficient framework, and world-class infrastructure continue to set it apart and attract investors, entrepreneurs, and institutions from around the world. DIFC has been at the heart of that story.
Julius Baer saw that potential before most. As the oldest organisation in DIFC, we were here at its founding, driven by a conviction that this region would emerge as one of the world’s most important centres of wealth creation and a magnet for global capital. That belief has only deepened over two decades of being embedded in this market, across our offices in the UAE, working closely with our clients in creating and preserving their wealth and building relationships across generations.
The region is approaching a historic transfer of nearly $1 trillion in wealth across generations by 2030, and the families navigating that journey require more than financial expertise. As an organisation with its own origins as a family business, Julius Baer has been through the entire business transformation cycle and understands what it takes to guide clients and their families through it. We remain deeply committed to the UAE, the wider region, and to the clients and partners who trust us with their financial futures. That commitment does not waver in periods of uncertainty and it is precisely in these moments that our role as a wealth manager matters the most.”
Rola Abu Manneh, Chief Executive Officer, UAE, Middle East, and Pakistan at Standard Chartered, added: “We have been in the UAE for over 65 years, and DIFC has been our regional home since 2004. Our commitment to the country is firm and unchanged.
The UAE entered this environment from a position of strength, supported by robust balance sheets, strong institutions, and a well-regulated financial system.
Client activity across the UAE reflects continued engagement, with businesses using the UAE as a base to access opportunities across regional and international markets. Through our global network, we connect clients to those opportunities while ensuring continuity of service and access to banking solutions.”
Insurance: Supporting resilience in a complex risk landscape
The insurance industry has been growing in DIFC with gross written premiums doubling to over $4.2 billion in the last four years. Insurance leaders are emphasising DIFC’s role in strengthening risk management capabilities across the region.
Omar Gemei, Senior Executive Officer of Marsh DIFC and Head of Global Placement & Bowring Marsh, India, Middle East & Africa, said: “Dubai has firmly established itself as a leading international hub for the insurance and risk management sector. It brings together insurers, brokers, and risk professionals to support clients facing increasingly complex and interconnected risks, underpinned by a strong understanding of the globally evolving business and regulatory landscape. DIFC has been a key catalyst in that growth, providing a business-friendly environment that attracts global firms and supports innovation. For the insurance and risk management community, it provides access to regional markets writing global and regional business, reinforced by Dubai’s continued investment in infrastructure, talent, and regulation to further grow the sector.”
Wealth and Asset Management: Long-term perspective remains unchanged
Dubai is home to the highest concentration of wealth in any Middle Eastern city and according to Henley & Partners, in 2026, the UAE has so far attracted more millionaires than any other country in the world. This has made DIFC the region’s preferred hub for wealth and asset management, with over 500 firms from the sector choosing to operate from the Centre.
Peter Clark, Chief Executive Officer, Bentley Reid, said: “Bentley Reid has been advising clients for almost fifty years, and over that time, we have successfully navigated diverse economic, market and political uncertainties. The lesson we draw from each of these episodes is that it seldom pays to make knee-jerk reactions or allow short-term turbulence to drive major strategic decisions.
Whilst the firm is a relative newcomer to DIFC, it soon became apparent that the UAE’s economic success has been built on several key fundamentals: its favourable fiscal environment, a pro-business culture, a dynamic and increasingly diverse economy, an exceptional quality of life and deep global connectivity. We are confident that this compelling mix will reassert itself as soon as the regional situation eases, rewarding those with patience and resolve.
The families, entrepreneurs and businesses who typically fare best during uncertain periods are those who focus on the long-term and return to first principles – asking themselves why they committed to a particular jurisdiction and whether those reasons still hold. In the case of Bentley Reid and the DIFC, the answer is an unequivocal yes.
This is reinforced by what we are witnessing on the ground. Very few – if any – in our HNW and UHNW network view current events as an existential threat to Dubai’s trajectory, or to their decision to make the UAE their home. This includes wealthy families planning relocations to the region; few are abandoning those plans, although some are understandably choosing to let the situation settle before finalising their arrival.
For our part, Bentley Reid came to the DIFC for the long term. What we have seen, both leading up to the conflict and ever since, points to Dubai continuing to offer significant advantages to wealthy families and their advisers. If anything, the current environment reinforces the value of having a trusted and experienced international wealth manager at one’s side. That is exactly what Bentley Reid is here to provide.”
ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company established an office in DIFC in February this year. Nimesh Shah, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company highlighted: “Dubai and DIFC are a natural fit for ICICI Prudential AMC’s global ambitions given their strong regulatory ecosystem, global connectivity and access to institutional investors. Our presence here reflects our confidence in India’s long-term growth story and our commitment to building enduring partnerships with global investors seeking India-focused opportunities.”
Momentum continues to build for digital assets and FinTech
DIFC continues to be at the leading-edge for developing clear laws, regulations and operating frameworks for the digital assets and FinTech industries.
In 2020, Ripple established their regional headquarters for the Middle East and Africa in DIFC. This month, they announced a further expansion to their presence in the Centre. Reece Merrick, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, Ripple commented: “Ripple established its regional headquarters for the Middle East and Africa in the UAE in 2020. Since then, we have substantially grown our presence, expanding our team, signing new clients and forging innovative partnerships, to meet growing demand for digital assets infrastructure. During this time, we’ve also witnessed first-hand how much the country has strengthened its position as a global financial hub. This doesn’t happen without a strong foundation, and the UAE provides exactly that: a forward-looking market underpinned by clear and progressive regulation that has reinforced its position as one of the leading global centres for our industry.
The local authorities have played a central role in establishing the UAE as one of the world’s leading hubs for digital assets. The clarity and ambition of the regulatory frameworks that have been put in place, combined with a mature financial ecosystem and access to institutional capital, gives companies the confidence to lay solid foundations here. That is a hard thing to build, and the UAE has achieved it, setting a benchmark not just for the wider region, but globally.”
Stake has been using its DIFC presence to develop innovative PropTech solutions, recognising the importance of the real estate industry to the UAE. Manar Mahmassani, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Stake commented: “Stake was born in Dubai in 2021, when global uncertainty was at its peak. Today we are the largest fractional investment platform in the world because we started here.
“When we launched Stake, choosing to set up in DIFC was a no-brainer. It wasn’t just about operating in the most credible financial jurisdiction in the region. As a start-up, DIFC gave us exactly what we needed: a launch pad and a plug-and-play co-working environment that was bustling with innovation. The address, the infrastructure, the retail and F&B, the calibre of professionals in every corner, and the proximity to our regulator, the DFSA – DIFC offered us as founders and our teams a work-play lifestyle that is genuinely second to none.
“For a FinTech like Stake, building the future of real estate investment demands regulatory clarity, access to world-class capital partners, and a standard of governance that global investors recognise instantly. DIFC delivers all three, and it has been one of the most important accelerants of our growth.”
The payments industry is significant in the UAE and Taptap Send has been using Dubai to develop their offering. Michael Faye, Chief Executive Officer at Taptap Send added: “DIFC has been a genuine home for our team, our relationships, and our ambition. It has built something rare: a world-class environment where ambitious FinTech companies can access deep talent, global connectivity, and an infrastructure that leads international standards. For Taptap Send, the UAE is exactly the right base from which to do it, connecting underserved communities to the global financial system from one of the world’s great international hubs. That ambition mirrors our own, and I can’t imagine a better place to pursue it.”
The collective voice of global financial institutions, insurers, asset managers and future-focused innovators reinforces DIFC’s position as a resilient, trusted and forward-looking financial ecosystem. Despite a complex global backdrop, firms continue to deepen their presence, guided by confidence in the Centre’s internationally credible legal and regulatory environment, global connectivity and long-term growth prospects. As momentum builds across traditional and emerging sectors alike, DIFC remains central to enabling capital flows, fostering innovation and supporting sustainable economic expansion, further cementing Dubai’s standing as a leading global financial hub.