#PROJECT: DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE (DIFC)

[markmywords]

Originally Posted by Krazy

Why does the Hexagon look so tiny ?!

Dont ask. These are the official renderings from DIFC.

[Krazy]

[markmywords]

Originally Posted by Krazy

Dude I just meant that I didnt make it smaller in Photoshop
Infact its not an updated rendering, and hence doesnt indicate half of the buildings and their actual sizes.

[Krazy]

I know, I'm just confused about DIFC

[Bahraini Spirit]

I read that once the currency is one, be it Dinar & Dirham or Khaleeji , the pegging against the dollar will be dropped.

Oh ya lookin at those DIFC renders, I dunno why, but I feel those low rises surrounding the Gate and the brown ones infront of them look like a hospital or a medical city, for some reason.

[dubaiflo]

whats that...
quite ugly renders...!?
i wonder why they release such crappy renders...

[Krazy]

DIFC 'is very much on course'

Dubai : The Dubai International Financial Centre is firing on all cylinders and has achieved things faster than earlier projected, according to Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman, director-general.


The Gate stands witness to the rapid developments taking place at the DIFC. More than 32 companies are licensed or registered to operate from the centre.

Citing such reputed names as Standard Chartered Bank, Credit Suisse, Ansbacher, Franklin Templeton, Julius Baer, which are already licensed by DIFC, he said many such names are at present under scrutiny and there will no dearth of such names in the future either.

The official negated any notion that events in the complex are lagging behind schedule.

He said the DIFX the international exchange of the DIFC is all set to be operational by the end of the third quarter, and will be established as the first international exchange in the region.

He talked at length to Gulf News about where he intends to take DIFC, and the future plans that will help translate his ideas into reality.

Excerpts:

Gulf News: How many companies have already been registered with DIFC? How many applications are there? How many companies do you expect to get registered with DIFC within this year? We have been hearing big names ... When are they expected to be licensed?

Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman: As of today there are more than 32 companies licensed or registered to operate from DIFC. These include Standard Chartered, Credit Suisse, Ansbacher, Franklin Templeton and Julius Baer. We cannot reveal exactly how many other licence or registration applications we have received, but I can say that Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Merrill Lynch are among the companies that have applied or expressed their intent to apply.

The announcement of DIFC's launch took place as early as 2002. There is an impression that very little has been achieved by DIFC since then other than real estate projects. Your comment?

On the contrary, we have been receiving scores of applications and requests for more information from the world's top financial services firms. The DIFC's plans were announced in 2002 and we launched the centre just over two years later, in September 2004. As an international financial centre, I believe our launch has been successful and amazingly quick.

Among our first licencees were Standard Chartered and Julius Baer, and since then other licences have been awarded to Credit Suisse, and Mellon Global Investments Ltd, among others. The first installment of DIFC laws [12 in all] were ready on September 17, 2004, and a further one is expected in the coming weeks.

Later this year, we will witness the launch of the Dubai International Financial Exchange [DIFX], scheduled to take place by the end of the third quarter. The DIFC is very much on course, working at a brisk pace and meeting all time schedules.

What is the model for DIFX? When will it be operational? How many companies do you expect to be listed initially? Are there any big companies from the UAE? Will there be brokers registered with DIFX? If so, can Dubai Financial Market [DFM] and Abu Dhabi Securities Market [ADSM] brokers get registered with DIFX?

The DIFX will have a technology infrastructure of the highest quality, and experienced international partners will extend cooperation. This will include an electronic trading platform, together with excellent central counterparty clearing and settlement services. This infrastructure will be comparable to that of any other leading exchange.

The DIFX's plan to open in the third quarter of this year remains on course. We are talking to many companies that are interested in listing, both in the UAE and the other parts of our main target area [mainly Mena and the Indian sub-continent]. But we are not yet putting a figure on how many will be listed when we launch. They may well include UAE companies.

DIFX will have brokers [ie members of the exchange], and any broker registered with the DFM or ADSM may apply for a licence to be a DIFX member, just as other brokers can apply.

Will the trading be screen-based? Will there be internet trading?

Yes, it will be screen-based. Internet trading will be possible for those institutions that become members of the DIFX.

Will DFM and ADSM listed companies be allowed to list on DIFX? On what conditions?

Companies listed on the DFM or ADSM will be free to apply to list on the DIFX [again of course, there is no automatic entitlement].

The listing conditions will be published soon and are likely to cover such areas as ensuring that adequate audited accounts are available, together with high accounting standards, and ensuring that directors of listed companies have appropriate expertise and a track record of integrity.

Why would foreign commercial banks already operational in the UAE need an office with DIFC? How would they stand to benefit by relocating operations to within your premises? What precautions have been taken to ensure such banks do not book assets in DIFC [to avoid corporate tax]?

All firms that wish to provide financial services in or from the DIFC must be licensed to do so by the Dubai Financial Services Authority [DFSA], the independent regulator for the DIFC. In order to be granted a licence, they must go through a stringent assessment process that, among other things, determines whether they are fit and proper to operate within the centre.

Once licensed, the firms must comply with every aspect of the strong legal framework that has been developed for the centre, and they can be sanctioned if they do not.

The DFSA operates as an independent, transparent regulator, and has various powers to obtain information from firms and, where appropriate, to share that information with other regulators. This is an incentive for firms to comply with the law in every respect, and should prevent firms from seeking to avoid their obligations elsewhere.

Will you monitor the deployment of workforce by DIFC companies? If a UAE bank has an office within DIFC, this bank can appoint employees at its DIFC office and use them for work outside DIFC, thus helping them to inflate the original emiratisation level in its UAE company. Isn't this so?

Under the law, all key individuals working for an authorised firm in the DIFC have to be approved by the DFSA, and the nature of their position is known and recorded. All authorised firms will be subject to inspection visits by the supervision department of the DFSA as part of the usual supervision regime. During these visits, discussions will be held with the authorised individuals and a full understanding of their roles within the authorised firm and its business will be obtained.

If any employee of a DFSA-licensed firm undertake activities outside of the centre for a firm outside of the centre, they will be subject to UAE laws.

Will the Bahrain Financial Harbour and Qatar Finance Centre prompt competition, or will they complement overall growth?

The DIFC has said from the outset that it would contribute to the overall development of financial services industries in the region. We stated that our initiatives would encourage other markets within the region to develop.

Clearly, the development of a financial centre in Qatar is in line with our original aims, and we welcome any move that improves the overall credibility of the region as an international financial hub.

The DIFC launched operations in September 2004 and it has subsequently seen the leading names in international finance licensed to operate from it, and many others submit applications. These include AIG, Credit Suisse, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank and Barclays.

By the end of 2005 the DIFX, an international exchange, will have been launched.

Whether it be Bahrain or London, they have only one regulator for their financial services industry, namely, Bahrain Monetary Authority and Financial Services Authority, respectively. Here in the UAE, we have the Central Bank of UAE, Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority [Esca] and now DFSA. Who will represent, according to you, the UAE's financial services sector in an international event, like the IMF World Bank meeting?

While it appears that there are overlapping jurisdictions for the regulation of the "financial services industry" in the UAE, or more particularly in the DIFC, this is not the case.

The Central Bank is the UAE's federal financial services and the banking regulator. It is responsible for formulating and supervising monetary, credit and banking policy in accordance with the UAE's general policies to support the national economy and stability of the currency.

Esca is the federal regulatory body, which regulates and supervises the securities and commodities markets in the UAE.

When the UAE Federal Union enacted the Financial Free Zone Law, a federal law allowing for the establishment of a financial free zone in any emirate of the UAE, such as the DIFC, it specifically exempted financial free zones from all UAE [federal] civil and commercial laws. This means that the only civil and commercial laws that apply in the DIFC are DIFC laws, and that the DFSA is the only regulator of financial services, including the securities markets, in the DIFC.

As for an international event like the IMF World Bank meeting, there is no reason why all three regulators among whom relations are excellent cannot attend representing, as appropriate, their respective jurisdictions.

[Krazy]

Western Union plans to join DIFC by year-end

3 April 2005

DUBAI — Western Union, part of the US-based First Data Corp, is planning to join Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) by the end of this year. The company is also planning to increase the number of its locations in the UAE by five to 10 per cent from the existing more than 250 and record over 50 per cent growth in number of transactions in the country this year, a senior official from the company disclosed yesterday.

Speaking to this correspondent, Hikmet Ersek, senior vice-president Europe, Middle East, Africa and South Asia, told that the company, which opened its regional headquarters in Dubai back in 2000, was growing at a rapid pace and and as part of its expansion plans is considering moving to DIFC. The Dubai office covers 15 countries in the region.

“We are going to expand in this region, which is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, and hire more staff. Our office in Dubai Internet City is just not enough any more. DIFC will meet our growing requirements and give us more exposure,” he said.

He said the UAE had the highest - 50 per cent year-to-year growth rate in the whole region. However, the biggest market for the company’s operations in the Middle East region remains Saudi Arabia, which has the highest - $15 billion documented remittance market in the region, followed by the UAE, which the company estimates at $4 billion, although other assessments go up to as much as $10 billion. Ersek also said that although the company’s market share in the Middle East region was very small, there is still room to grow.

He said: “Currently we have a single-digit market share in this region, but from next year we will be targeting a double-digit market share here.”

Christina Gold, president of Western Union Financial Services Inc, who is currently visiting Dubai, said that the company claimed 16 per cent share of the total $159 billion global remittance market and “we have room to grow”, adding that Western Union money transfer exceeded $1 billion in profits last year. She also said the company spent $23 million in security issues every year.

[DUBAI]

now everyone wants to join.

[dubaiflo]

little bit older unfortunately.

[jonovision]

Are those the residences at burj dubai in the distance?

[dubaiflo]

yes

[Bahraini Spirit]

If am not wrong yes they are.

[dubaiflo]

i was faster

[Bahraini Spirit]

Hahaha congrats man, the medal is on it's way .

[DUBAI]

awesome pic!
my new backgound!

[Trances]

very good shot
so many posted today
glad i am back online

[Dubai-Lover]

Merrill Lynch Swiss banking arm licensed to operate from the Dubai International Financial Centre


Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse) S.A (MLBS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merrill Lynch & Co., has been awarded a license by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman, Director General of the DIFC Authority.
Merrill Lynch & Co. is a global financial management and advisory firm with offices in 36 countries and $1.6 trillion under management. Merrill Lynch has been present in the Middle East since 1961.

The award of this license was welcomed by Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman, Director General of the DIFC Authority.

'I am delighted to welcome Merrill Lynch to the DIFC and offer my sincere best wishes to the team who have supported the DIFC from the outset. This is a very important announcement for the DIFC, as there are few firms of the calibre of Merrill Lynch in the world,' said Dr Omar.

Merrill Lynch has been in Switzerland since 1951, when it opened its first European wealth management office in Geneva. Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse) S.A. began operations in 1984. It is an integral part of Merrill Lynch Global Private Client, the world's premier provider of wealth management services, and provides a full range of highly personalized Swiss banking services to high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals.

Commenting on the awarding of the license by the DFSA, Bruno Daher, Managing Director & Market Executive for the Middle East at Merrill Lynch, said,

'On behalf of Merrill Lynch I am delighted to accept this license from the DFSA and I look forward to a long and prosperous future operating from within the DIFC.

We have been active in this region for over forty years and are thus able to provide our clients with an unparalleled degree of knowledge and understanding, combining an international outlook and expertise with local sensitivity.

This new branch of MLBS gives us the opportunity to expand our presence in Dubai and allows us to have a new service in the region. Through our Financial Advisors, we will provide a wide range of Swiss banking services to Middle East high net worth investors, which enables them to access the extensive product and service range of MLBS in Geneva through a discretionary or advisory relationship.'

The DIFC branch of MLBS will be staffed by senior Dubai Private Client Financial Advisors with Swiss banking experience. The region is subject to the same banking rules as other Swiss banks.

[Bahraini Spirit]

Good news from Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar:


The world's second-largest bank, HSBC Holdings, plans to expand its Middle East operations to take advantage of the region's high savings rate, its chairman said.

"The majority of the savings of the world take place in the Middle East and Asia," Sir John Bond said in an interview.

He said that historically, most of these savings had been invested in Western markets, particularly the US.

"We think that is destined to change, and that over the next 10 to 30 years -- maybe even faster -- Middle East savings will be recycled in the Middle East and Asian savings will be recycled in Asia," Bond said.

He said British-based HSBC was interested in becoming part of all three financial centres currently being developed in the Gulf Arab region: Bahrain Financial Harbour, Dubai International Financial Centre and Qatar Financial Centre.

Analysts said HSBC is already one of the most active international financial institutions in the Middle East. The bank's regional activities including retail, corporate and investment banking.

Bond said HSBC had recently launched insurance and investment banking joint ventures in Saudi Arabia while "some foreign financial institutions appear to be retreating".

He said HSBC and was in "the final stages of negotiations" about how best to use the licence it has been granted by Iraq's central bank.

HSBC was also exploring opportunities in Libya, he said.

"Organic growth is certainly the safest way to grow our business," Bond said, referring to the bank's Middle East strategy. But he added: "If the regulations allowed us to make acquisitions, we would have a look at anything."

At present, foreign ownership restrictions in most Arab countries make this impractical.

"Our view is that this region is already hugely important," said Bond. "It is going to get even more important in the future."

[Dubai-Lover]

it's always great to hear and read such important companies decide to open another office here. creates new jobs and fills our towers

all this is happening at such an incredible pace. once a week a major global player announces to come to one of the "new big 3" in the middle east

it's a good feedback for us the system is working!