Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has declared 2023 as a year of success, highlighting its performance as the fastest-growing financial centre in the region for two consecutive years.
ADGM had a strong start to 2023, building on the significant growth demonstrated in 2022 along with a positive outlook for the year ahead. This was underscored by the 2023 quarterly and half-yearly growth numbers across every aspect, setting it up to become another record-breaking year in ADGM’s eight-year operational journey.
Following its growth trend from 2022, ADGM’s asset management sector started strong in 2023 and ended even stronger as it continued to experience an unprecedented influx of global asset managers.
Assets Under Management (AUM) as of December 31, 2023, showcased a year-on-year increase of 35% when compared to the year-end number reported in 2022. Numerous investment firms and hedge funds were set up within ADGM, with the total asset managers operating in ADGM reaching 102 who are managing 141 funds. A major facilitator for these surged figures was the announcement of enhancements to the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority’s (FSRA’s) regulatory framework.
Emerging as a preferred destination for businesses across borders, ADGM has witnessed major global and regional giants within the sector establishing themselves in ADGM in 2023. Operational entities jumped to 1,825, a growth of 32% against 2022 figures (1,378 operational entities in 2022). There are over 125 firms that are already in the pipeline to be registered with ADGM.
The end of 2023 numbers also reflect 88 financial institutions and two exchanges that have received In-Principle Approvals (IPA) from ADGM. Of those IPAs, a significant number are part of the asset management sector.
This growth is substantiated by the increase in ADGM’s workforce which has climbed to 13,394 – a 22% rise in one year. Several global financial institutions and investment banks based within ADGM such as JP Morgan and BNP Paribas among others are expanding their service and product offerings as well as growing their teams.
His Excellency Ahmed Al Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of ADGM, said: “After a year into Abu Dhabi’s Falcon Economy and a year of exceptional growth for the Abu Dhabi Global Market. When we think of these factors together, it leads us to the realisation of what consistency, persistence and alignment to economic goals can achieve.
“Enhancing Abu Dhabi’s international standing as the capital of capital, ADGM has truly realised the capital city’s potential for the financial landscape and strategically unlocked opportunities within underlying sectors. The growth that we are witnessing today is the realisation of the visions of the UAE’s leadership. We remain strongly positive as we move forward into 2024.”
The 2023 edition of Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) raised the bar for finance events in the region, by introducing the best of the best from across the globe through its platform. The event successfully hosted more than 18,000 attendees, featuring five main forums that encompassed 46 sub-events, 180 sessions and 300 international, regional and local speakers from diverse backgrounds.
With the Year of Sustainability in 2023 continuing into 2024 and the conclusion of the first-ever COP28 hosted in the UAE, ADGM took multiple initiatives that promoted sustainable finance and were seamlessly aligned with the sustainability goals of Abu Dhabi and the nation.
In the first half of 2023, ADGM introduced the region’s first comprehensive regulatory framework for sustainable finance, encompassing the region’s most extensive sustainability-related disclosure requirements for relevant entities within ADGM and regulations for funds, discretionary managed portfolios, bonds and sukuks designed to accelerate the transition of the UAE to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
ADGM expanded tenfold by bringing Al Reem Island under its jurisdiction in May 2023, making it one of the world’s largest International Financial Districts with a geographic area of 14.38 million sq.m. ADGM also launched its inaugural Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) Risk Assessment of ADGM Legal Persons and Arrangements Report (LPA Report) in May 2023.
ADGM launched Numou, a digital platform tailored to bridge the funding gap faced by SMEs in collaboration with Al Maryah Community Bank, RAKBANK, Commercial Bank International, CredibleX and Khalifa Fund who collectively plan to commit and extend lending of up to Dh220 million.
ADGM Academy (ADGMA) achieved the milestone of more than 1,000 UAE Nationals being trained, upskilled and reskilled in the job placement. This includes more than 500 candidates who graduated from the National Development Programme (NDP) and have been employed in the private sector.
Under the ADGMA Entrepreneurship Programme, more than 300 candidates were enrolled, and the first international Student Challenge was presented in SIBOS.
In its efforts towards local and global collaborations, ADGMA signed 82 strategic partnership agreements which include two international partnerships and five partnerships for research and innovation. It also inked 19 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) to explore future alliances with both academic and corporate entities.
