Dubai: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) yesterday said it registered strong growth in 2010 with the total number of registered companies reaching 792 by the end of the year.
Last year, 113 new companies were registered with 52 per cent coming from North America and Europe while 45 per cent were from Middle East and Asia.
"The solid growth witnessed by DIFC in 2010 reflects the importance of the Centre to financial and business institutions looking to take advantage of opportunities present in the UAE and the wider region. With its continuous efforts to develop further its modern infrastructure, free zone offering and self-governing laws and courts, DIFC has consolidated its position as the preeminent financial centre in the region," said Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, Governor of DIFC, said in a statement.
The growth in number of registered companies remained consistent in the last three quarters of the year at around 31 to 32 companies per quarter. On the other hand, the number of registration withdrawals continued to decrease, with the fourth quarter of 2010 recording the lowest rate in the last 10 quarters.
Journey together
As of 31 December 2010, DIFC had 313 regulated and 396 non-regulated companies, and 83 retailers.
DIFC is also home to 16 of the world's top 20 banks, eight of the world's largest asset managers and four of the world's five largest insurers. "We are committed to growing our existing client partnerships and we look forward to the continued support and guidance of our clients in our journey together to achieving greater success," said Abdullah Mohammad Al Awar, CEO of DIFC Authority.
Development of DIFC's physical infrastructure continued steadily in 2010 with 300,950 square feet of commercial office space supplied, bringing the total leasable area, including third party developers, up to 2,074,818 square feet of office space.
Commercial space leased by new and existing companies increased by approximately net 253,000 square feet in 2010, representing an annualised growth rate of around 19 per cent. The area leased in the first half of 2010 exceeded the total area leased in the whole of 2009.
Occupancy of DIFC's owned commercial offices in the Gate District (Gate Building, Gate Precinct and Gate Village) remains high above 95 per cent of the leasable space (total commercial office space: 1,235,000 square feet). Other occupancy including third party developments (Currency Tower, Currency House and Liberty House) is currently at 44 per cent (total commercial office space: 768,926 square feet.
A total area of approximately 2 million square feet of commercial office space is expected to be delivered by third party developers over the next 18-24 months.
Retail space
Total DIFC owned retail space available as of end December 2010 increased to 246,500 square feet of which 71 per cent is occupied. The retail space occupancy has remained healthy with the addition of a new range of retailers offering services that meet the needs of the DIFC community.
In the fourt quarter of 2010, DIFC revised the cost of doing business and announced a new pricing structure that took into consideration the importance of long term visibility of operating costs to its clients.
The revised pricing structure is expected to stimulate economic growth.
