Dubai jumps to 15th in global list of financial centres
Dubai has jumped four places to 15th in a new global ranking of financial centres, ahead of neighbouring Abu Dhabi.
The Global Financial Centres Index, produced by China Development Institute and Z/Yen Partners, showed that Abu Dhabi fell one place to 26th while Bahrain dropped eight places to 59th and Riyadh fell to 69th out of a total of 110 centres analysed.
The improvement in Dubai’s rating was backed by its strong infrastructure where it was ranked eighth worldwide, ahead of San Francisco, Toronto, Frankfurt, Zurich and Paris. Similarly, the emirate was rated ninth in human capital and financial sector development, surpassing most of the global financial centres.
The report, which placed Dubai eighth for banking, ninth for professional services and 15th for investment management and insurance, comes as Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announced strong growth during the first half of 2018.
It said the total number of active registered companies in DIFC reached 2,003 at the end of June, up 8% from 1,853 as of the end of December 2017 and 14% year on year from 1,750.
Globally, New York took first place in the index, just two points ahead of London. However both centres fell slightly in the ratings. Hong Kong is now only three points behind London while Shanghai overtook Tokyo to move into fifth place in the index gaining 25 points in the ratings.
According to the Global Financial Centre Index 2018 ranking, Dubai has been bracketed into ‘stable centres’, Abu Dhabi into ‘dynamic centres’ and Doha in ‘unpredictable centres’.
