Record 20th anniversary year results solidify DIFC’s position as region’s number one global financial centre

UAE, Dubai – 18 February 2025: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, announced record financial results for 2024, coinciding with celebrating 20 years since its establishment, and continues to bolster Dubai’s position as the region’s financial services capital. 

The Centre now houses 6,920 active companies, up from 5,523 companies in 2023, a substantial 25 percent increase. DIFC attracted 1,823 new registrations, which is the highest ever number recorded in a year, showcasing historic growth of 25 percent.

Combined revenues for 2024 have shown the greatest leap since inception of the Centre, reaching AED 1.78bn (USD 484mn), 37 percent higher than 2023’s record-breaking performance; and operating profit grew to AED 1.33bn (USD 363mn), up 55 percent.

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE; and President of DIFC, said: “Such exceptional growth over a span of 20 years reflects the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, of transforming the Emirate into the region’s leading global financial centre,  and solidifies Dubai’s position as a world leading capital for financial services.” 

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum affirmed that Dubai continues to achieve its ambitious aims of creating an advanced financial ecosystem that meets future requirements. 

The region’s largest financial services and innovation ecosystem

Supported by the launch of the Dubai AI Campus, technology and innovation remains the fastest growing sector, showing a surge of 38 percent year-on-year to 1,245 companies in 2024. Job creation from new and existing companies contributed to the workforce expanding to 46,078, up 10 percent.

During 2024, DIFC continued to outperform the market for attracting new financial firms. Significant new financial services registrations within DIFC’s ecosystem included Allfunds, ASK Wealth Advisors, Bank of Communications, Bluecrest, Blue Owl, Capricorn Fund Managers, China Taiping Insurance, CMB International Securities, Dymon Asia Capital, Edmond de Rothschild, Eisler Capital (DIFC) Ltd, Gavekal Wealth, Hamilton Lane, Hayfin, Investec Bank, JJJ Capital, Mahindra Insurance Brokers, Nexus Underwriting Limited, North of South Capital, Nuvama Private, Polen Capital Management, Rokstone Underwriting, State Street Global Advisors, Taula Capital, TCW Investments, Tudor Capital, Wellington Asset Management and Ziraat Bank.

His Excellency Essa Kazim, Governor of DIFC, commented: “Over the last 20 years, DIFC has played a leading role in transforming Dubai and the UAE’s economic landscape, in line with the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33). DIFC’s Strategy 2030 continues to position us as the top global financial centre in the region and as one of the world’s leading financial centres. In line with the Dubai leadership’s commitment to build strategic relationships with the international business community, DIFC will continue to forge new partnerships to further strengthen our reputation for driving the future of finance.”

Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Authority, said: “DIFC continues to fortify its position as the region’s number one global financial centre, having welcomed organisations and talent who share our vision to drive the future of finance. As we look ahead, we will continue collaborating with our clients and industry, develop infrastructure, evolve laws and regulations, and nurture innovation to ensure we continue enhancing Dubai’s reputation as the region’s number one global financial centre.”

20 years of driving the financial services industry

DIFC is home to the region’s largest cluster of financial services companies. At the end of 2024, this included more than 260 banking and capital markets companies; 410 wealth and asset management firms including 75 hedge funds; and 125 insurance and reinsurance related companies – the only global hub for the sector in the region. Over 70 brokerage companies are also part of the ecosystem.

Demonstrating the depth of the ecosystem, DIFC’s clients now include 27 of the world’s 29 global systemically important banks (G-SIBs), eight of the 10 pre-eminent global money managers, five of the highest ranked insurance brokers, and five of the top 10 interdealer brokers by volume.
At the end of 2024, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent regulator for business undertaken from or within the Centre, regulated or supervised in excess of 900 entities.
 
20 years of driving private wealth

In addition to being the strategic location for companies accessing the region’s 40 sovereign wealth funds, Dubai is home to the highest concentration of private wealth in any Middle Eastern city. Coupled with the large inflows of wealth from millionaires, centi-millionaires, billionaires, family offices and financiers, DIFC continues to experience exponential growth in the wealth and asset management sector. 410 firms have made DIFC their preferred financial hub in the region, a net increase of 60 firms, reflecting a 16 percent year-on-year increase.

DIFC’s Alternative Investment industry is growing faster than the market and now includes 75 hedge funds, 48 of which are ‘billion-dollar club’ organisations. The Centre has become one of the world’s top ten locations for hedge funds and is on track to become top five in the coming years.

To support further growth, during 2024, DIFC announced a first-of-its-kind Funds Centre. Set to open in 2025, it will be home to investment managers looking to raise and deploy capital, manage investments, access talent, and deepen their networks.  

DIFC has been helping family businesses thrive since 2004. During 2024, increasing trust in the Centre by families has resulted in exceptional growth. More than 800 family-owned businesses are located in DIFC, up from 600, representing a 33 percent increase.

Towards the end of 2024, DIFC reported that the leading 120 families and wealthy individuals in the community are managing more than USD 1.2trn of wealth. The use of Foundation structures jumped to 671, a 51 percent increase.

20 years of driving technology and innovation

Emerging technologies and the convergence of AI and FinTech are contributing to the evolution of financial services and other future focused industries. During 2024, DIFC introduced two signature initiatives under the Dubai Universal Blueprint for Artificial Intelligence. The Dubai AI Campus has already become the region’s largest dedicated cluster of AI and Web3 companies.

Following the success of the DIFC Innovation licence, the introduction of the Dubai AI licence captured the attention of the international tech community. More than 120 companies secured the new licence and joined the Campus in the initial six months of operations, substantially exceeding the first-year target of 75 firms. The first Dubai AI and Web3 Festival took place in October and attracted 6,800 delegates. As a testament to its success, the Festival will become the largest initiative to be included in the inaugural Dubai AI Week in 2025.

The Dubai FinTech Summit which is organised by DIFC, returned for its second edition during 2024, firmly positioning the city as a global hub for technology and innovation. Reflecting the continued interest in the sector, the Summit welcomed over 8,000 delegates from 100 countries.

As a key initiative under the Dubai Digital Economy Strategy, DIFC launched Ignyte – a platform that will accelerate over 100,000 start-ups and entrepreneurs toward global growth.

To provide more certainty to the market, DIFC enacted the world’s first Digital Assets Law, to cater to the increasing numbers of companies and individuals using digital currencies.

20 years of creating the region’s number one financial centre and affluent destination

The Global Financial Centre Index continues to rank Dubai as the region’s leading financial centre. The Emirate is the only city in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia to be included in the top fifteen positions across multiple categories. Globally, Dubai has risen to sixth for FinTech, 11th for professional services, 12th for reputation, 13th for finance and 14th for infrastructure.

DIFC’s Decarbonisation Strategy has set new standards for environmental leadership. The Centre has committed to achieve its Net Zero targets by 2045, five years ahead of the UAE’s target, by reducing emissions in areas it directly controls relating to its operations, construction activities and supply chains. The Strategy will achieve ‘true’ Net Zero, without offsetting or trading carbon emissions.

Commercial real estate occupancy remains high across the district and specifically, DIFC owned and managed properties have been operating at 99.8 percent occupancy. To create capacity, the Centre will be introducing more than 1.6mn sq. ft. of commercial space following the launches of DIFC Square, Innovation Two, and Immersive Tower by DIFC.

Beyond finance, the Centre is also a key cultural hub in the UAE, boasting a resplendent line-up of fine dining restaurants, retailers, and art galleries. Cultural experiences such as DIFC Art Nights and the Sculpture Park create a haven for artists and art enthusiasts. Additionally, Art Dubai, a DIFC investment, continues to be the most significant global art gathering in the Middle East.  

20 years of attracting and developing industry talent to Dubai

For over 20 years, DIFC has continued to attract talent from all over the world. The AI, FinTech and Innovation workforce is growing, standing at 4,243, a jump of 43 percent from the previous year, indicating an enhancement of the calibre of talent that is entering the ecosystem.

The gender diversity ratio within the DIFC workforce, 37 percent of which is female, is enviable compared to many financial cities around the world.

Providing personal and professional development, and academic training remains an important part of supporting talent in the community. 9,156 people graduated from DIFC Academy programmes in 2024, taking the total to 41,456 learners since inception. Aligned with DIFC’s commitment to help 1mn people learn about sustainably, the DIFC Academy now offers 30 programmes on this subject. Reflecting the prevalence of professional services providers in the Centre, which including law firms, there was a 39% increase in the number of people taking part in DIFC legal programmes during the year, taking the total number of graduates to 321 since 2019.