Dubai International Finance Centre celebrates 2016 as 'year of firsts'

The Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) recently announced that 2016 was "a year of firsts" for the company.
 
“The year 2016 was marked by significant global shifts, which brought challenges but also opportunities,” said Essa Kazim, governor of DIFC and chairman of DIFC authority board of directors. “Our strong financial results show that DIFC is resilient, while at the same time a number of ‘firsts’ achieved in the Centre bear testimony to the fact that we are agile, forward-thinking and innovative. We continue to demonstrate how our offering goes beyond being the region’s leading financial centre, by investing in leading concepts and developments to become a world-class business and lifestyle destination.”
 
DIFC noted that it was the No. 1 ranked financial center for the year in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region. The financial firm said 305 companies joined the organization’s ecosystem last year, bringing the total number of active registered companies to 1,648. DIFC also received 100 applications for licenses from financial firms, a record high.
 
“As we move forward in 2017, we will continue to embrace the opportunities, particularly in terms of new technologies and the emerging markets of MEASA,” Kazim said. “We will focus on promoting innovation and use the next generation of technologies to further enhance our offering to clients, while providing access to international markets within a robust and secure regulatory and legal framework.”