The Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), the world’s newest global financial hub, was declared open for business on in 2004. The DIFC is ideally located to bridge the gap between existing financial centers of London and New York in the West and Hong Kong and Tokyo in the East. It will service a region with the largest untapped emerging market for financial services.

The Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) is an onshore capital market designated as a financial free zone designed to create a unique financial services cluster economy for wealth creation initiatives.

The DIFC is a 110-acre free zone. It is established as part of the larger vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and the Government of Dubai to create an environment for growth, progress and economic development in the UAE and the wider region. Integrity, transparency and efficiency are the guiding principles of the DIFC.

Main Sectors for DIFC

There are six primary sectors of focus within the DIFC:
Banking Services (Investment Banking, Corporate Banking & Private Banking);
Capital Markets (Equity, Debt Instruments, Derivatives & Commodity Trading);
Asset Management & Fund Registration (Fund Registration, Fund Administration & Fund Management);
Reinsurance;
Islamic Finance and Back Office Operations.
Financial institutions may apply for licenses in the above sectors. Firms operating in the DIFC are eligible for benefits such as a zero tax rate on profits, 100 per cent foreign ownership, no restrictions on foreign exchange or repatriation of capital, operational support and business continuity facilities.

The Dubai International Financial Center was conceived by the Government of Dubai for the benefit of the UAE. Its hallmarks are: integrity, transparency and efficiency. The DIFC will act as a catalyst to the region’s economic development.

Financial services in the DIFC are regulated to international standards by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).

The main objective of the DIFC is to be universally recognized as a hub for institutional financial services not just in the region but worldwide. It also aims to create a global center for Islamic Finance and enhance reinsurance capacity in the region.

The DIFC is the world's newest International Financial Center. It aims to develop the same stature as New York, London and Hong Kong. Its mission is to be a catalyst for regional economic growth, development and diversification by positioning the DIFC as a globally recognized financial centre.
A hub for institutional financial services, has been designed to:

Divert the regional liquidity back into investment opportunities within the region and contribute to its economic growth
Facilitate planned privatisations in the region and enable initial public offerings by privately owned companies, giving impetus to the programme of deregulation and market liberalization throughout the region
Create added insurance and reinsurance capacity - 65 per cent of annual premiums are re-insured outside the region
Develop a global centre for Islamic finance - this is now an over $260 billion international market serving large Islamic communities stretching from Malaysia and Indonesia to the United States

Since launch, DIFC has attracted international firms of the calibre of Merrill Lynch, Mellon Global Investments, Barclays Capital, Lloyds TSB, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank who have all applied for or received the license to operate from the DIFC.

All of these institutions will receive benefits such as 100 per cent foreign ownership, zero per cent tax rate on income and profits, a wide network of double taxation treaties available to the UAE incorporated entities, no restrictions on foreign exchange, freedom to repatriate capital and profits without restrictions, high standards of rules and regulations, ultra-modern office accommodation, sophisticated infrastructure, operational support and business continuity facilities of uncompromisingly high standards.

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