DUBAI, 4th November, 2026 (WAM) -- Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announced that the number of wealth and asset management firms operating within its ecosystem has exceeded 600, three times the number of comparable firms in other financial centres in the market, underscoring Dubai's growing position as a global hub for private wealth management and alternative investments.
The announcement came on the third day of the inaugural Dubai Future Finance Week, organised by DIFC from 2nd to 6th November under the directives and patronage of H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and President of DIFC.
The event supports the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which aims to position Dubai among the world's top four global financial centres.
The centre announced today that it is now home to over 600 wealth and asset management companies - triple the number of other centres in the market. The announcement set an authoritative backdrop for the climax of yesterday’s IPEM Future conference, today’s DealCatalyst Fixed Incomes Alternatives discussions, and the upcoming Cambridge Associates Investment Leaders Exchange on 5th November.
DIFC’s progress aligns with commentary made at the Dubai FinTech Summit earlier in the week by Noel Quinn, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Julius Baer Group; and Jason Moo, Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Singapore.
The DealCatalyst Fixed Incomes Alternatives programme convened leading global asset managers and structured credit investors from Europe and the United States alongside regional commercial banks, sovereign wealth funds, and financial institutions.
Discussions explored the growth of private credit, structured finance and alternative funding models, highlighting the increasing depth and sophistication of regional capital markets.
Addressing Sharia-compliant capital markets, the Future Islamic Finance Forum brought together more than 1,000 senior stakeholders from over 50 countries to examine cross-border liquidity, regulatory alignment, and values-aligned capital deployment.
Key speakers included Nargiz Shiraliyeva, Head of the Financial Sector Development and Innovations Division, Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan; Dr. Humayon Dar, Director General, Cambridge Institute of Islamic Finance; Dr. Adnan Chilwan, Group Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Islamic Bank; Eric Salomons, Executive Vice President – Head of Product Development, Dubai Financial Market (DFM); Eisa Al Amri, Associate Director, Macro-Prudential Supervision, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA); Charles Haresnape, CEO, Gatehouse Bank; Dr. Omar Shaikh, Managing Director of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) and Board Member and Director of the Islamic Finance Council UK (UKIFC); Mustafa Adil, Head of Islamic Finance, London Stock Exchange Group; Casiana Dusa, President, Romanian Arab Investment House; Prof. Talal Yassine AM, Managing Director, Salaam; Dr. Ahcene Lahsasna, CEO of Salihin Shariah Advisory Services and Chairman of the Shariah Committee at Standard Chartered Saadiq Malaysia; and Khurram Hilal, Group CEO, Standard Chartered Saadiq. During the Forum, DIFC unveiled a series of strategic initiatives spanning talent development and technology enablement to support an industry projected to reach US$9.31trn globally by 2030, alongside an Islamic FinTech market expanding toward USD 180bn in 2026.
Under talent and capacity building, DIFC Academy launched specialised learning pathways through its Centre for Global Islamic Finance, targeting more than 3,000 learners by 2031. The curriculum delivers structured programmes across beginner to advanced levels in collaboration with leading academic institutions and global industry partners.
Under technology and innovation enablement, the Islamic Finance Innovation Challenge by Ignyte will connect Islamic banks with global technology ventures to pilot production-ready solutions across financing, Sukuk structuring, compliance, and Takaful.
The DIFC Innovation Hub also announced plans to establish an Islamic Finance Innovation Centre in collaboration with CRDB Bank PLC, Emirates Islamic Bank, Principle Investor Group and Standard Chartered Saadiq.
The Islamic Finance Innovation Centre is a collaborative innovation platform designed to bring together leading financial institutions from key Islamic finance markets to address shared industry challenges and accelerate the development of scalable solutions.
Led by DIFC Innovation Hub, the Centre will connect financial institutions with regulators, Shariah scholars, standards bodies, FinTechs and technology companies, creating a structured environment to identify common priorities, discover and validate solutions, and enable their adoption across markets. The initiative will further strengthen Dubai and DIFC’s role in advancing the global Islamic finance industry while deepening innovation and financial connectivity across the Global South.
Salmaan Jaffery, Chief Business Development Officer of DIFC Authority, said, “The future of finance will be shaped through collaboration between the global institutions, investors, policymakers and industry leaders who are driving change across our sector. Today’s conversations have brought that expertise together across wealth and asset management, insurance and Islamic finance, creating an important platform to exchange perspectives, address shared priorities and advance the ideas that will shape the next generation of financial services.
"DIFC has an important role to play in turning that dialogue into progress by connecting global expertise, capital and opportunity, and helping drive meaningful change across the industry.”
GAIP InsureTek Dubai 2026 introduced a dedicated insurance platform within Dubai Future Finance Week, convening insurers, reinsurers, and brokers to advance risk transfer models, underwriting automation, and climate resilience frameworks.
Global financial leaders and institutional allocators are invited to join the concluding sessions of Dubai Future Finance Week, which will address family wealth governance, intergenerational stewardship, tokenisation, and digital asset regulation, building on today’s discussions on the tokenisation of Islamic capital markets. Further details are available at https://dubaifuturefinanceweek.com/