Dubai will host a FinTech summit next year, as the emirate continues efforts to consolidate its position as a global hub for financial technology.
The Dubai FinTech Summit, which will be organised by the Dubai International Financial Centre, will take place on May 8 and 9, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and president of the DIFC, tweeted on Sunday.
The forum will bring together more than 5,000 global experts, thought leaders, policymakers and decision-makers “to discuss the future of the FinTech sector”, Sheikh Maktoum said.
“The summit will continue to cement Dubai's leading role in shaping the future of finance,” he said.
FinTech remained the highest funded sector across emerging venture markets — which includes the Middle East — in the first half of 2022, more than tripling to almost $1.68 billion in the first half of this from a year ago, start-up data platform Magnitt said in a recent study.
The global FinTech market is expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 11.9 per cent between 2022 and 2027 to reach more than $266.9bn billion by 2027, according to a report by Expert Market Research.
DIFC, which is home to the region’s largest cluster of FinTech and innovation businesses, is one of the biggest drivers of the sector.
Funding activity for the sector nearly doubled in 2021, with those in the Middle East and North Africa region alone raising almost $1bn, which is a 78 per cent increase from 2020, FinTech Hive, the start-up accelerator backed by the DIFC, said in its annual report.
“DIFC’s ability to create value for companies in the sector by providing them a highly productive ecosystem to accelerate growth has led to leading innovators and entrepreneurs in the sector gravitating to the emirate, Sheikh Maktoum said in a statement issued by the Dubai Media Office.
“The Dubai FinTech Summit will help open new horizons of opportunity and transformation for both the global FinTech sector and the worldwide financial industry.”
The summit is expected to generate tangible outcomes, including reports, strategies and action plans that can help chart the way forward for the financial services industry, the statement said.
Its agenda will feature in-depth discussions across key tracks including the future of FinTech, embedded and Open Finance, sustainability, Web3 and digital assets.
The forum will also provide an opportunity for more than 100 FinTechs and Future of Finance players to display their latest technology and innovations, the media office said.
“DIFC will leverage the platform offered by the summit to bring together banks, FinTechs and regulators from across the world to further stimulate the digital advancement of the financial sector,” Essa Kazim, governor of DIFC, said.
“We already have over 600 FinTech and innovation firms in DIFC who are changing the face of the industry and contributing to the economic growth of our country.”
The summit next year will build on the DIFC FinTech Week which was held in June this year, with the participation of more than 1,500 FinTech innovators, investment firms, banks, policymakers and service providers in the region.
Investments in the FinTech sector will continue to remain on venture capital and investment funds’ radars, despite slowing economic growth and mounting worries about a global recession, the two-day event, aimed at key FinTech players, highlighted at the time.
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To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
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- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
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- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
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1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
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Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
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What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
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The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
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The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
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- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
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Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
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Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
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Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
