The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has scrapped the application fee for setting up as a fund manager in the free zone as competition with rival financial hubs in the region heats up.
VAT no higher than 5% will come into force from 1 January 2018 in the UAE and other Gulf States covering most products and services.
Regulatory pressures and fierce competition will lead to significant consolidation of the life industry in the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the next two years, according to a report by S&P Global Ratings.
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) have signed a new information sharing and cooperation agreement.
Residents of the UAE are willing to spend more on critical illness insurance cover than the global average, but remain significantly under-insured, according to a new report by Zurich International Life, Middle East.
Hansard International launched its new strategic alliance with UAE-based Union Insurance Co on Thursday, which includes the provision of two new savings and investment products under the brand name ‘Infinity’.
Rising demand from local and expat clients in Dubai coupled with improved IT systems are the driving force behind Investors Trust Assurance’s “phenomenal growth” in the region, according to Philip Story, the life company’s head of distribution for EMEA.
Agnostic and ethically-minded investors are increasingly turning to Shariah compliant products with asset managers happy to meet demand, says Jad Shams, head of Mena for Mirae Asset.
The regulator of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the UAE’s new international financial centre, has signed an agreement with the regulatory authority in Mauritius to strengthen cooperation and facilitate the exchange of information.
Hansard Global’s Middle East and Africa business continued to drive growth in the second half of 2016, which was also boosted by Latin American and regular premiums.
Hansard International plans to launch two new products in Dubai as part of its recently announced alliance with the UAE-based general insurer, Union Insurance.
Chinese, Japanese and Indian banks now occupy the top slots in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in terms of total assets, the chairman of the centre’s regulator has told a forum in Hong Kong.
