- The Gate building at the Dubai International Financial Centre.
- Reuters
Encouraged by strong growth in company registrations amid a resurgent Dubai economy, the emirate’s main financial free zone is now looking to double the number in the coming four years.
The Dubai International Financial Centre, which was founded 10 years ago and serves as a point of entry into the Arab Gulf region for many international financial firms, on Sunday posted a 7% rise in companies registered there to 1,113 at the end of June, up from the end of last year.
The free zone’s Governor Essa Kazim reckons the growth target can be achieved “very comfortably.”
The DIFC is currently in the late design phases for two infrastructure projects, Mr. Kazim said, the first major new DIFC-built developments since the financial crisis.
The first is a new building in its Gate Village development near the center of the DIFC that will add 115,000 square feet of leasable office space to its existing stock of about 5 million square feet.
Offices owned by the DIFC in the heart of the free zone are fully occupied, Mr. Kazim said, and while third-party commercial space in the area is only 39% occupied, the DIFC wants to make sure supply can keep up with growth.
The second project is a two-level retail strip running through the center of the DIFC and connecting most of its buildings.
Both projects are in the final design phases, and contractors are to be asked for bids in the coming months, according to DIFC officials. Mr. Kazim declined to put a value on the projects. They are expected to take between two and three years to complete.
Not surprisingly, the DIFC plans to issue an Islamic bond worth around $700 million by the end of October to refinance old debt and fund future infrastructure development – essential to drive growth.
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(via WSJ Blogs)
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