Dubai’s financial centre has jumped three places to 12th in the Global Financial Centers Index.
The rise was fueled by DIFC’s rapid growth: launched in 2004, it’s now home to more than 2,100 companies with 23,000 people living and working there.
Speaking exclusively to ARN News, Essa Kazim, governor of the DIFC, said the centre plans to triple in size by 2024.
One way of achieving that goal is by investing in new technology and new trends.
The Governor was speaking at the Global Financial Forum, taking place in Dubai, where he signed a number of agreements. They include tie-ups with Dubai SME, as well as with fintech hubs in Saudi Arabia and Milan.
You can hear the full interview with Essa Kazim on Dubai Eye 103.8's Business Breakfast from 6:00 am on Tuesday.
Abu Dhabi’s economy continues to show strong momentum in 2025, with new data from the Statistics Centre–Abu Dhabi revealing a GDP of AED 291 billion in the first quarter, up 3.4 per cent year-on-year.
Dubai has launched a programme for first-time home buyers, aiming to make homeownership more accessible and affordable by facilitating priority access to new launches, preferential pricing and tailored mortgage solutions.
Archer Aviation has conducted test flights of its Midnight electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi services at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi, marking a key milestone for its planned commercial deployment in the UAE and the expansion of its operations in the region.
US and India trade negotiators are pushing to try to land a tariff-reducing deal ahead of President Donald Trump's July 9 negotiating deadline, but disagreements over US dairy and agriculture remained unresolved, sources familiar with the talks said.
A cyber hacker broke into a database containing the personal information of millions of customers, Qantas said, in Australia's biggest breach in years and a setback for an airline rebuilding trust after a reputational crisis.