About DIFC
Number one financial centre in the MEASA region
When you join the number one global financial centre in the region, you can access the highest concentration of wealth in any Middle Eastern city. Nearly 72,000 millionaires live in Dubai. USD 3trn of private wealth is within an hour’s flight and USD 8trn is available across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. With a 20-year track record, we are the most experienced financial centre in the region
The Centre offers an ideal base for many types of wealth and asset management companies. Asset management companies can develop, distribute, manage, and domicile all types of public, private, Sharia-compliant, and qualified funds.
DIFC offers a range of market entry options and regulated licences for wealth and asset management companies. A representative office allows marketing services, information provision, promotions, and referrals. A category four licence allows asset raising and full client relationship management, whereas a category three licence will allow full portfolio management.
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Global Asset Managers
Govt Banks and Private Banks
Independent Asset Managers
Professional Services Firms
Access the MEASA's largest and deepest wealth & asset management cluster
Unlock Wealth and Asset Management Opportunities
Benefit from a future-focused platform.
01.
No. 1 regime for domiciled funds
02.
No. 1 global financial centre
03.
No. 1 green financial centre
04.
No. 1 city in the region for sustainable finance and responsible investing
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Industry collaboration through Dubai sustainable finance working group, a DIFC chaired initiative.
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Progressive regimes for digital assets - investments and crypto tokens.
Why set up in DIFC for Wealth and Asset Management?
Access to the largest financial services talent pool
• Dubai’s lifestyle and cosmopolitan nature have made it the destination of choice for skilled professionals aiming to pursue their career aspirations in a modern and safe environment.
• Total workforce in DIFC today, 42,000 individuals representing over 150 nationalities.
Robust legal and regulatory framework at par with global standards
• Independent English-language common law judiciary administered by the DIFC courts.
• Independent risk-based regulatory bodies (DFSA).
• Leading data protection (GDPR-compliant) and IP laws.
Tax-efficient operating environment
• Globally competitive and attractive tax regime,
Strategic location and access to regional and global markets
• Bridging the time-zone gap between the leading financial centres of the East and West.
• Strategic location, making markets of 2.5bn people accessible.
• Dubai provides access to 193 destinations across 92 countries.
Flexible legal structures
• 100% Foreign ownership with a range of options for structuring legal entities.
• Zero restriction on capital repatriation.
• No currency restrictions.
World-class infrastructure
• Located in the heart of Dubai with state-of-the-art infrastructure and amenities.
Set up in three simple steps
1. Submit LOI
First step is to provide DIFC with letter of intent (LOI).
2. Approval
Submit Regulatory Business Plan (RBP) and application documents to DFSA, and obtain in-principle approval.
3. Set up
Complete the registration and incorporation process with ROC (including office setup, visas, bank accounts, etc.).
Once all conditions are fulfilled, DFSA grants a license, and the entity may start the operations.
Please complete the fields below and we will be in touch to help you set up and get started in DIFC
Disclaimer:
DIFC is committed to preserving your privacy in line with applicable data protection laws, including DIFC Law No 5 of 2020 ("DP Law 2020"). As such, we provide this notice to help you understand how we process your personal data and most importantly, your rights to access and control our use of it. We encourage you to review the DIFC Online Privacy Policy , which includes information about how to contact our DPO, what type of personal data we process, and retention and safeguards in place to protect personal data. Per our Privacy Policy, if you permit DIFC to keep your personal data, we will not share it with third parties unless you tell us we may do so.