Dubai International Financial Center
Gateway to Growth
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| Industry | Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, Wealth & Asset Management, Brokerage & Capital Markets, Professional Service Providers, Corporate Offices and Retailers |
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| Founded | 2002, operations started 2004 |
| Headquarters | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
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Key people
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Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (President) Essa Kazim (Governor) Arif Amiri (DIFC Authority CEO) |
| Website | https://www.difc.ae |
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is a federal financial free zone situated in the Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The DIFC was established pursuant to UAE Federal Decree No. 35 of 2004, UAE Federal Law No. 8 of 2004 and Dubai Law No. 12 of 2004. The DIFC occupies a physical territory of approximately 110 acres. It has its own legal system and courts distinct from those of the wider UAE, with jurisdiction over corporate, commercial, civil, employment, trusts and securities law matters.
The DIFC aims to provide a platform for business and financial institutions to reach into and out of the emerging markets of the region. It was established to create an environment for growth, progress and economic development in the UAE and the wider region by providing the needed legal and business as well as physical infrastructure benchmarked against international standards.
The DIFC is an independent jurisdiction under the UAE Constitution, with its own civil and commercial laws distinct from those of the wider UAE. DIFC laws and regulations are written in English and default to English law in the event of an ambiguity. The DIFC also has its own courts, with judges taken from leading common law jurisdictions including England, Singapore and Hong Kong. The DIFC’s independent jurisdiction extends to a range of areas including corporate, commercial, civil, employment, trusts, and securities law matters. Other laws of the UAE or the Emirate of Dubai, such as criminal law and immigration regulations, continue to apply within the DIFC.
The DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre is an independent centre of international arbitration that uses rules modelled on the London Court of International Arbitration.
The principal governing body of the DIFC is the DIFC Authority. The financial services regulator is the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), which regulates the conduct of financial services in and from the DIFC. The DFSA is distinct from the UAE’s federal Securities and Commodities Authority, whose jurisdiction covers the wider UAE outside the boundaries of the DIFC.
Licence applications are considered from financial institutions in the sectors. Each of these units offer benefits such as zero tax rate on income and profits, 100 per cent foreign ownership, no restrictions on foreign exchange or capital/profit repatriation, operational support and business continuity facilities.
One of the key elements of the centre is a privately held financial exchange that opened in September 2005 as Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) but was rebranded to NASDAQ Dubai in the year 2008.
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Wikipedia