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DIFC achieves best annual performance to date with $244 million in 2021 revenues

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has reported its best annual performance to date, with a year of strong growth against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Wednesday.

DIFC reportedly achieved its 2024 Strategy growth targets three years ahead of schedule during the first half of 2021.

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“DIFC’s best-ever annual performance reflects Dubai’s position at the forefront of global recovery in the financial sector and the broader economy,” said Dubai’s Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and President of DIFC.

“The Center’s ability to continue building a thriving financial community amidst a rapidly changing international environment demonstrates the far-reaching vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, which has enabled the emirate to create a strong economy fueled by innovation,” Sheikh Maktoum added.

The Center reportedly recorded 996 company registrations throughout 2021, the highest ever recorded in a single year in DIFC’s history, registering a 39 percent rise from 2020. The growth in company numbers represents more than three times the average number throughout the last decade.

A total of 1,124 financial and innovation-related entities are now active and operating within DIFC, increasing by 23 percent versus 915 in 2020.

In 2021, DIFC recorded its highest-ever annual revenue, which rose by 16 percent to $244 million (AED 897 million), and operating profit, up by 7 percent from pre-pandemic levels to $156 million (AED 573 million).

“DIFC’s exceptional results are also a testament to the trust that local, regional and global businesses have placed in the Center as a financial industry hub that promotes growth and business enterprise,” said Sheikh Maktoum.

“DIFC’s continued success has also been driven by the solid and enduring partnerships Dubai has built with leading global financial companies by providing them the high-quality hard and soft infrastructure needed to raise their competitiveness in an evolving industry,” he added.

DIFC is home to 17 of the world’s top 20 banks, five of the top 10 insurance companies and top 10 asset managers, as well as many leading global law and consulting firms.

Notable firms joining DIFC in 2021 included: Air Liquide Middle East & India Holding Limited, BentallGreenOak Advisors (UK) LLP, DP World Financial Services, Dual Corporate Risks Limited, General Reinsurance AG, Howden Insurance Brokers Limited, Hines, Mamopay, Richemont, and Thunderbird Global Innovation Center.

“Dubai’s economy rebounded more quickly than many global economies following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. DIFC has helped drive this new phase of growth, and we are proud to be a significant contributor to Dubai’s GDP. Our focus in 2022 will be on driving the future economy by attracting more financial sector investment into the UAE,” said DIFC Governor Essa Kazim.

In addition to achieving its 2024 growth targets ahead of schedule, DIFC also launched its Strategy 2030, which embraces Law No. (5) of 2021 relating to the expanded duties and responsibilities of DIFC and promotes values of transparency, integrity, and efficiency.

As part of Strategy 2030, DIFC launched the Innovation Hub, the largest cluster of FinTech and innovation companies in the region.

Over 500 technology and innovation firms, ranging from start-ups to global unicorns, are now based in DIFC, representing over 60 percent of all those across the GCC, according to WAM.

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Business

Almarai signs multiple agreements to localize jobs through training and recruitment programs

Almarai signed a cooperation memorandum with the Food Industries Polytechnic, the
Transport General Authority, and the Saudi Logistics Academy to localize jobs in the
food and beverages sector through training and rehabilitation programs ending in
employment. This came within the first international conference on the labor market,
organized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development on 13 – 14
December 2023 at the King Abdulaziz Convention Center in Riyadh.

‘These agreements are part of Almarai’s corporate program for the social responsibility
to achieve localization in the food industry sector, which is one of the top priorities of the
comprehensive strategic plans in Almarai, especially since the company is one of the
largest working environments in the kingdom, with more than 9,000 Saudi employees,
including more than 900 Saudi female employees.”Fahad Aldrees, Chief Human
Resources Officer of Almarai, said.

He added that the agreements signed to train and qualify young people are part of the
integrated initiatives and training and rehabilitation programs for national human
resources in Almarai. He pointed out that the company provided about half a million
employee training hours during 2022, raising its retention rate to 90% during 2022.

It is worth mentioning that Almarai is the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy
company, and the largest food and beverage producer and distributor in the Middle
East. Almarai was ranked among LinkedIn’s top 15 Saudi companies for professional
career development for 2022.

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Business

SEBA Bank rebrands to AMINA Bank and continues to write its success story

a fully licensed Swiss crypto bank, announced today its new brand identity: AMINA Bank AG. The group operates
globally from its regulated hubs in Zug, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, offering its clients traditional and crypto banking services.
SEBA Bank made history in 2019 by becoming one of the first FINMA-regulated institutions to provide crypto banking services. This rebrand marks a new chapter for the company, which has proudly been in operation for more than four years. AMINA Bank is inspired by the same trailblazing ambition to lead the way for its clients and to write its own future as a Swiss-
regulated crypto bank offering services to its traditional and crypto savvy clients around the globe. The name ‘AMINA’ stems from the term ‘transAMINAtion’, meaning transference of one compound to another. AMINA is a brand driven by perpetual change, bringing together the various ‘compounds’ of traditional, digital, and crypto banking to unlock new potential and
growth for our clients. This vision of change represents the transformation of our clients’ financial future. Franz Bergmueller, CEO of AMINA, said: “We are delighted to introduce the world to our new brand identity. While we say goodbye to the SEBA name, we remain forever proud of the achievements made by the group under the former brand. “Our brand signifies a new era in the company’s growth and strategy; we are a key player in crypto banking and are here to define the future of finance. With our client-focused approach, our years of traversing traditional and crypto finance, we offer a platform for investors to build
wealth safely and under the highest regulatory standards.” “We are grateful to be encouraged by our supportive and committed investors who have been very helpful, supporting the growth of the company. We thank our employees in all the regions
for their dedication and client focus. As we look forward to 2024, our ambition is to accelerate the growth of our strategic hubs in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi, and to continue our global expansion, building on all the successes we have laid down over the past years.” Current clients of AMINA Bank (formerly SEBA Bank) will be unaffected by the rebrand other than encountering the new name; all operations will be business as usual across the board. The branch office based in Abu Dhabi and the subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Singapore will subsequently apply for a name change to align with the head office in Zug.

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Business

Uptime Appoints Mustapha Louni Chief Business Officer

Uptime Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Mustapha Louni to the position of Chief Business Officer, a role specifically created to drive strategic leadership and client success. In this new role, Mr. Louni will assume responsibility for the global Uptime sales and marketing organizations and drive overall business value for all Uptime clients. He will retain his existing responsibilities overseeing operations in the Middle East, India, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. In this elevated capacity, Mr. Louni is poised to play a pivotal role in driving Uptime’s next phase of global expansion through strategic initiatives to enhance market awareness of the dramatically expanding global service lines and delivery capabilities of Uptime that uniquely support the global data center industry in its pursuit of ever higher performance through elevated availability, resiliency, sustainability, and cyber-security of digital infrastructure. Louni’s appointment renews and expands Uptime

Institute 39;s 30-year commitment to advancing excellence in the data center sector on a global scale. “Today we are experiencing the next phase of the one-time, planetary transformation from analog to digital. This unprecedented, once-in-a-generation growth in data center demand is primarily driven by continuing cloud adoption, the new promise of AI, and the demonstrable fact
that hybrid digital infrastructure is here to stay for the foreseeable future,” said Martin McCarthy, CEO, Uptime Institute. “These complex and nuanced market demands require a visionary talent like Mustapha Louni. He is someone who cannot only deftly manage specific aspects of the business but also remain ahead of accelerating changes and trends. He continues to earn client
trust and respect by timely delivery on demanding commitments while he also inspires and energizes colleagues and clients alike. I am delighted to announce Mr. Louni’s new position and know that he will continue to expand the impact that he has already brought to Uptime since his arrival.” In 2014, Mr. Louni joined the Uptime organization in the United Arab Emirates, leveraging his extensive experience from roles at Panduit and Schneider Electric in Paris and Dubai. As the company’s first commercial resource in the Middle East and Africa region, Mr. Louni played a pivotal role in expanding Uptime’s presence. Within a year, he successfully established what became and remains Uptime’s fastest growing regional office. Under his leadership, Uptime has
extended his impressive trajectory of growth in MEA to the Asia-Pacific regions, augmenting the Uptime workforce with dedicated team members spanning more than a dozen countries across these regions. A new Uptime office has been inaugurated in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) this year, further fortifying the company’s ability to meet its commitment to sustained
growth and excellence and serve clients in critical, accelerating markets for digital infrastructure.

Uptime Institute began development of its proprietary and now globally recognized Tier Standards and its Tier Certifications 30 years ago to ensure that the mission critical computing needs of all organizations could be met with confidence and understood by executive management. Since that time, Uptime Tier Certification as well as other Uptime offerings including assessments and awards in digital infrastructure for ensuring business performance in areas of management and operations, risk and resilience, sustainability, and more recently cyber- security have gained global adoption. Uptime’s expanding success is based on delivering a
unique business service that is based upon unparalleled engineering excellence and technical mastery, while remaining vendor independent and technology agnostic.

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