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The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has licensed more companies per day in the first two months of 2020 than it did in 2019 despite a gloom in global markets triggered by an outbreak of the coronavirus in China.
“We managed to license up to end of February 100 companies,” Essa Kazim, Chairman of DIFC Authority Board of Directors and Governor of DIFC told reporters at the DIFC 2019 Annual Review press conference.
DIFC, the major financial centre in the Middle East, has licensed 2.5 companies every working day in the first two months of 2020, compared to two licenses issued per working day in 2019.
2019 numbers
The total number of firms in the Centre reached 2,437 last year, up 14 percent from 2018, adding 493 new businesses in 2019 and has contributed to the creation of 2,034 new jobs, increasing the combined workforce to more than 25,600 professionals.
“We are pleased to have produced record results having achieved a number of milestones including firms registered, number of employees at the Centre and total assets,” Kazim said.
When it comes to measures to mitigate the spread of the virus, such as working from home, it has been left for individual companies at the DIFC to decide what would suit them best, he said.
DIFC is home to 737 active financial firms, an 18 percent increase from 2018’s numbers. In 2019, total banking assets booked in DIFC stood at $178 billion, up 13 percent from 2018.
DIFC’s total wealth and asset management industry is worth $424 billion, of which $99 billion was invested by DIFC portfolio managers. Gross written premiums for the insurance sector reached nearly $2 billion, a 17.4 percent increase compared to 2018.
The Centre has seen an 18 percent growth in financial firms from 2018 to 2019, and an 11 percent growth in non-financial firms. The leased space grew by 3 percent to 4,830,000 sq.ft.
The DIFC Academy has agreements with 26 leading educational institutions and government entities, after signing seven new strategic partnerships with international entities in 2019.
The Centre also launched the DIFC Employee Workplace Savings (DEWS), the region’s first employee savings plan that offers a voluntary savings component for employees.
(Reporting by Gerard Aoun; editing by Seban Scaria)
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