(Bloomberg) – Dubai’s financial district reported a 25% increase in corporate registration last year, partly helping the ongoing influx of hedge funds, which transformed the city into an emerging hub for the industry.
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Dubai International Financial Centre now has 6,920 active companies, up from 5,523 last year, according to a statement Tuesday. This is the most registrations of the year.
DIFC said technology and innovation are the fastest growing industries, with registration rates rising 38% in 2024 to 1,245 companies. It added that the alternative investment industry is growing faster than the market.
Financial Free Zone now has 75 hedge funds, 48 of which have assets of more than $1 billion. “The center has become one of the top ten locations in the world for hedge funds and is expected to be the top five in the coming years,” DIFC said.
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Dubai has been part of Dubai over the past few years, and the United Arab Emirates is a magnet for hedge funds. Izzy Englander’s Millennium, Michael Platt’s Bluecrest Capital Management and Balyasny both expanded their operations to operations in Dubai, attracted by a range of incentives, a favorable time zone and a low tax regime.
Bloomberg News reported that the industry has more than 1,000 employees, while the total number of DIFC increased by 10% to 46,078 last year. This also helped New York City avoid commercial real estate downturns, with DIFC-owned and custodial real estate reporting occupancy rates of 99.8%.
Nearby Abu Dhabi has attracted one of a handful of cities around the world to manage more than $1.6 trillion in sovereign wealth and has also managed to attract big names. Bloomberg News reports that Brevin Howard Asset Management now manages more money from the emirates than anywhere else.
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