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.”
