DIFC DREW RECORD NUMBER OF COMPANIES LAST YEAR

▶ New registrations reached 1,451 as 2023 net profit jumped 45% annually

Dubai International Financial Centre attracted a record number of companies in 2023, leading to a 45 per cent annual jump in its net profit for the year.

Total profit for the 12 months to the end of December climbed to $203 million, the financial centre said on Thursday.

Revenue for the period rose 23 per cent annually to $352 million, with the number of new company registrations surging 34 per cent to 1,451.

Currently, 5,523 active companies operate at the DIFC, up 26 per cent annually, employing more than 41,500 people.

The number of financial companies during the year jumped 22 per cent to 1,674, while non-financial companies rose 28 per cent to 3,849.

The DIFC said it is ahead of schedule to achieve its target of doubling its gross domestic product contribution by 2030.

“We aim to achieve the objectives outlined in Dubai’s Economic Agenda (D33), positioning Dubai among the top four global financial centres,” Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, said on social media platform X. “Our aspirations are just beginning. In the coming years, there will be plans for expansion and development of policies and legislation to align with future economies.”

Launched in January last year, D33 aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy, with a target of reaching Dh32 trillion by 2033. The initiative also aims to make Dubai a global digital economy leader, the fastest-growing and most attractive global business hub, a centre for sustainability and economic diversification, and an incubator of talented people.

Last year, 316 financial technology businesses set up base at the DIFC, taking the number of FinTech companies to 902. The centre also has 350 wealth and asset management companies.

While 36 per cent of the new companies in the DIFC came from developed economies, including Europe, the UK and the US, 52 per cent were from emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, and the remainder from other economies, officials said.

“[The] DIFC has been serving as a growth engine for the economy,” said its governor Essa Kazim. The centre has also been “a growth platform for thousands of companies” seeking to “grow, expand and tap around roughly $12 trillion of GDP in the region”, he said.

The DIFC expects to attract companies this year despite concerns about global economic, geopolitical tensions and increased competition from Saudi Arabia. The kingdom, as part of its economic diversification plan, is seeking to attract more international companies to set up their operations in Riyadh.

The number of companies that have joined the DIFC so far this year has “exceeded the targets”, Mr Kazim said.

The region will continue to attract more companies from all over the world.

“If you look at Europe, US … there are challenges there, they are still fighting inflation, monetary policy has been restrictive. This region, with [the] oil price being still around $80 [per barrel], which is roughly about the break-even level of the budgets of the governments in the region … it is promising.”