UAE capital aims to be GCC fintech hub
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Apr 2016
Abu Dhabi aims to become the capital of financial technology in the Arabian Gulf under an initiative announced by Mr Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Global Market, the UAE capital’s financial free zone.
Mr Al Sayegh announced this at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reported The National newspaper. The global value of fintech investment has expanded threefold in the past three years and could be worth as much as US$12 billion by 2018, he added.
“We have not yet seen a deeply established fintech ecosystem in the GCC. Our intention is to promote Abu Dhabi as the fintech hub in the GCC in partnership with key stakeholders,” Mr Al Sayegh said.
He said the strategy behind the fintech initiative was threefold: to develop innovative services and products with the aim of making markets more efficient; to enhance and exploit growth opportunities in the Abu Dhabi financial system; and to anchor fintech in local banks and institutions to capitalise on their strengths and minimise risks.
Mr Al Sayegh said he expected this year to be a “year of global uncertainty and market volatility”, with concern about the global impact of China’s slowing growth rate and the effects of a shift in Federal Reserve interest rate policy. These factors have heightened risks in the global system and increased the need to focus on financial innovation and technology to minimise these risks, he said.
Mr Richard Teng, CEO of the ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authory, said that work was under way on a roadmap towards achieving the fintech goal, in collaboration with stakeholders in the region and abroad. Details of the roadmap would be announced “in due course”, he said.