DIFC Rebuilds the Silk Road with China

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the financial and business hub connecting the region’s emerging markets with the markets of Europe, Asia and the Americas, has encountered positive interest from Chinese companies in its latest trip to China. A senior DIFC delegation, led by Jeffrey Singer, Chief Executive Officer, DIFC Authority, was in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong this past week, discussing the role of Dubai as a financial and logistical hub for Chinese investment into the Middle East and Africa.

Jeffrey Singer, Chief Executive Officer, DIFC Authority said;

“Since its inception, DIFC has attracted major Chinese financial firms, who over the years have achieved significant growth in the region. In our recent visit to China, we saw great interest from Chinese institutions looking to come into the region to benefit from the promising growth opportunities. DIFC is committed to growing business and trade relationships between China and the Middle East, and to be a catalyst in the development of the new Silk Road.

“China and the Middle East have been important trade and investment partners for centuries, but it was only relatively recently that volumes have risen dramatically. With the advent of high-technology, the scale today is many thousands of times greater and more complex, and DIFC is the ideal jurisdiction to access this opportunity.”

The trip to China was part of the New Silk Road Conference Series organised by Latham & Watkins in partnership with DIFC and with the support of Falcon & Associates and the Financial Times. The Conference Series was held in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong this past week. Attendees included major Chinese corporations across different industries with existing operations or planned expansion in the Middle East.

DIFC launched in 2004 and has grown to be recognised as a global financial hub for business and finance in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The Centre provides a robust platform for its companies to transact business throughout the region supported by modern infrastructure, a regulatory and legal framework maintained to the highest international standards. The companies operating in DIFC employ a total of 13,000 people and, in 2011, the Centre contributed 1.4% of UAE’s GDP.