The Banking Executive Magazine - February 2022

DIFC DIFC DRIVES DUBAI’S NEXT PHASE OF GROWTH Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region’s leading global financial centre has reported its best annual performance to date. The performance, which reflects the success of strategic measures under- taken to grow the DIFC community under the directives of H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Min- ister of Finance, and President of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), contributes significantly to the UAE's economy and positions the Centre as a significant player in the global financial industry. DIFC further reinforced its global profile with a year of strong growth against the backdrop of the world- wide pandemic. The Centre achieved its 2024 Strategy growth targets three years ahead of schedule during the first half of 2021. DIFC recorded 996 company regis- trations last year, the highest ever recorded in a single year for the Cen- tre, a 36 per cent increase from 2020. The growth in company num- bers is more than triple the average number across the last decade. The total number of active registered firms operating in DIFC increased by 25 per cent to 3,644 entities from 2,919 in 2020. A total of 1,124 finan- cial and innovation related entities are now active and operating within DIFC, increasing by 23 per cent, ver- sus 915 in 2020. In 2021, DIFC also recorded its high- est ever annual revenue and operat- ing profit. Revenue increased by 16 per cent to AED897 million year-on- year versus AED774 million in 2020, and up by 7 per cent from AED838 million in 2019 (pre-pandemic lev- els). The increase in revenue and cost control measures resulted in an in- ISSUE 158 FEBRUARY 2022 the BANKING EXECUTIVE 27