The shift of the world’s economic centre of gravity towards Asia has been strongly felt in the Middle East, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) chairman Saeb Eigner told the 10th annual Asian Financial Forum (AFF).
“Chinese, Japanese and Indian banks now occupy the top slots in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in terms of assets. Trade between China, the Middle East and much of Africa is now being financed through Dubai,” he told the forum which was attended by 2,800 participants from Asia, Europe and the US.
Eigner also said the increasing role of the Chinese renminbi (RMB) in settling trade transactions across the region was contributing to this rise in the role of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in financing trade.
“The role of the UAE in clearing and settling Chinese RMB currency trades was growing,” he said.
Eigner said he believed the DIFC had reached a point where its transport links, communications infrastructure, respected judiciary, low tax environment, and efficient and trusted regulatory system made it more like other big international finance hubs.
“These are all well-established characteristics of Hong Kong. I believe we can fairly say that, in the 12 years since the DIFC was established, we have created a similar eco-system in our part of the world,” said Eigner.
The DFSA chairman also addressed the growing role of financial technology (FinTech), and the balance regulators have to strike between protecting financial stability and allowing market innovation and development.
“We at the DFSA are working hard to get this balance right, while playing our part in implementing the recently-announced FinTech strategy of Dubai and DIFC,” he said.
