More than $1tr in Arab money parked outside region

Currently there is more than $1 trillion in Arab money outside the region as investors look abroad for investment opportunities. However, the tide is turning as locals bring increasingly large sums back to the Gulf, said Omar Bin Sulaiman, director general of Dubai International Financial Centre.

Despite the huge outflow of money, the region attracted little more than 1 per cent of direct foreign investments in return, he added.

"In the past, there were not any suitable investment opportunities here," he said. "The Arab world was exporting oil as well as capital."

Bin Sulaiman pointed to the scarcity of local registered companies at that time, and the isolation suffered by big family business.

He said that education levels among investors were also low, and there were no rules and regulations about investing. Now, the situation is improving as investment barriers in the region have been removed.

Investors and companies are flocking to the local stock market, Bin Sulaiman said.

"Dubai always had a strong presence to organise the flow of funds and investments. Dubai International Financial Centre was established, supported by a world-class infrastructure, and active rules and regulations," he said.

At a conference organised by Euromoney and the DIFC, Bin Sulaiman stressed that the existence of Dubai Stock Market halfway between east and west fills a gap in the international chain of stock markets. But, the most important factor is that this market is governed by professional and transparent laws, that are supported by independent legal and judicial systems.

International stock markets have become the dynamic substitute to the traditional way of loaning money, and will create work opportunities for GCC citizens and expatriates, he said.

DIFC will also integrate regional stock markets, and provide cash and required commercial works to achieve growth in the region.

"The challenge we faced was transferred from an oil-dependant economy, to a service-based economy that provides added value, and makes our economy one of the leading centres in the world to create fortune," he said.