Federal Decree 15 of 2013 was passed in Abu Dhabi this February. The Decree sets in motion the formation of the territory’s first financial free zone. It will be called the Abu Dhabi World Financial Market.

The regulations for the zone will be revealed later. The Free Financial Zones in the UAE allows for the incorporation of 100% foreign-owned companies and offers lighter regulations.
The Free Zone land area is measured to be of 1,680 square kilometres.

The UAE and their neighbours have seen a number of successful ventures into the financial services industry as the economy develops. For instance, Dubai is positioning itself as the arbitration centre, Riyadh is a place of interest for equity traders and Qatar wants to lead in asset management and reinsurance.

Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) has been operational for nine years, and it can boast that it attracts the world’s largest banking, insurance and financial services companies.