Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has announced a 45 percent growth in the Islamic assets being managed in the Centre over the past one year.
Islamic finance is growing at 1.5 times the rate of traditional finance, and the Middle East, Africa, South Asia region (MEASA )continues to be a steady driver of this industry, fuelled by a number of jumbo sukuk issuances and almost US$ 1 trillion in financial assets.
Dubai remains one of the world’s largest centres for Sukuk listings by value at US$ 62 billion, with DIFC-based Nasdaq Dubai at US$ 60 billion.
The DIFC continues to be a catalyst for growth in this sector, with more than 40 firms offering sharia-compliant products and services, using the Centre as a springboard to reach a Muslim population of over 600 million in the Middle East and Africa region alone. The DIFC’s robust legal and regulatory environment, alongside its highly developed and dynamic financial ecosystem, has attracted major Islamic institutions such as Maybank Islamic Berhad to establish their regional headquarters in Dubai.
According to Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Authority, the growth in the number of financial institutions with a sharia-compliant offering, alongside the rise of Islamic assets managed from the DIFC, highlights the increasing demand for Islamic financial products in the region.
The Centre has also become the preferred home for emerging Islamic FinTech firms, contributing to the UAE’s position as the fourth largest Islamic FinTech hub in the world. The DIFC has showcased its commitment to developing the sector by establishing dedicated an Islamic FinTech stream in its award-winning FinTech Hive accelerator programme, alongside RegTech, InsurTech and FinTech.
The 31 participants chosen for the third cohort of the programme include four promising Islamic FinTech specialists, such as Malaysia headquartered HelloGold,
Together, these key components have created a market-leading environment for Islamic financial services to thrive, firmly positioning Dubai as the home for Islamic Finance in the region, transforming the future of finance.
Also published on Medium.
