The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) registered a 7 per cent increase in the number of active companies to 848 as at December 31, 2011, compared to 792 in 2010.
 
Companies at centre came from around the world, with increasing interest from Asia and sustained interest from the Americas, Europe and Middle East, said a statement.

There was also a record growth in the breadth and depth of financial activity by the centre’s active regulated firms with major international clients using the DIFC platform to expand their regional footprint, it said.

The centre added around 1 million square feet of commercial office space during the year.

Occupancy of DIFC- owned commercial offices in the Gate District (Gate Building, Gate Precinct and Gate Village) remains above 95 per cent of the leasable space. Occupancy was also up significantly in DIFC-owned retail space (from 72 per cent in 2010 to 95 per cent in 2011) and commercial office space within third-party developments (from 44 per cent in 2010 to 72 per cent in 2011), said the statement.

Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, CEO of DIFC Authority, said: "DIFC's achievements of recent years underscore our emergence as a global hub of finance and business. Our world-class infrastructure and common-law jurisdiction provide a stable platform for global and regional firms to access the regions emerging markets and beyond.

“Although the past 2 years were exceptionally challenging from a global perspective, the community in DIFC was resilient and this was noticed in the net positive growth in the number of clients that tapped into the DIFC during this period,” he said.

“We have the potential to double in size in the next five years, contributing to economic growth within UAE and the region as a whole." – TradeArabia News Service