UAE - Mubasher: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) reported a 20% increase in the number of new operating companies to 2,919 when compared to 2019, achieving the best performance in its history.
The number of DIFC's active financial companies reached 915 in 2020, up 24% from 735 in 2019, according to a recent press release.
Meanwhile, the number of FinTech businesses were more than doubled with 189 registering in the financial centre during 2020 to raise their total number to 303.
In 2020, the financial services companies opening headquarters and regional offices in DIFC included TATA Asset Management, Samba Financial Group, Caixabank, and AfricaRe.
As for the banking sector, the total banking assets booked in DIFC climbed by 6% to $189 billion last year, in addition to $64 billion of lending arranged by DIFC companies.
At the same time, the investments of DIFC-based Wealth and Asset Management portfolio managers amounted to $203.5 billion, up by 106% from $99 billion in the earlier year.
Commenting on DIFC's performance, the CEO of DIFC Authority, Arif Amiri, said: "We have collaborated with our clients, community, partners and stakeholders to navigate challenging market conditions and help them take advantage of new growth opportunities in 2021."
