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Dubai Internationl Finance Center DIFC A Financial 'Free-Trade Zone'

November 2009
BusinessBanking & Finance

Abstract

In February of 2002, HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced on behalf of the U.A.E. the intention to establish the Dubai International Financial Centre (the “Centre” or the “DIFC”) as a financial marketplace serving a region extending across the time zones between the financial centres of London and Hong Kong. Distinguishing the DIFC from other regional financial centres is a robust legal system based on the common law system and having an independent judiciary, a financial regulatory body and an administrative authority. The DIFC proposes its own laws and regulations for enactment, thus enabling DIFC entities to operate in a best-standards environment on par with those of major global centres. Since the DIFC’s inception in 2004, 26 DIFC laws to date have been enacted along with a number of regulations.

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Author

Company

Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC)

The DIFC is the world's fastest growing international financial centre. It aims to develop the same stature as New York, London and Hong Kong. It primarily serves the vast region between Western Europe and East Asia. Since it opened in September 2004, the DIFC has attracted high caliber firms from around the globe as well as its region. A world-class stock exchange, NASDAQ Dubai (formerly known as the Dubai International Financial Exchange or DIFX), opened in the DIFC in September 2005. The DIFC is a 110-acre free zone. It is part of the larger vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, together with the Government of Dubai, to create an environment for progress and economic development in the UAE and the wider region.

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