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Abu Dhabi’s new financial centre has been running for six months but the corridors still feel quiet. Almost 200 people have been hired to work for Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) since its inception in 2013 but they are nowhere to be seen. Commentators have warned that ADGM’s established neighbour the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) could prevent it from flourishing, and argued it is unwise to locate two financial centres in such close proximity.

The response to the new Wills and Probate Registry at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) was very positive, according to Mark Beer, the CEO and Registrar at the DIFC Courts. He said appointments to register wills are now fully booked until mid July. Non-Muslims with properties and investments in Dubai, regardless of whether they have a residency permit or not, began registering their wills at the DIFC on May 4, when the DIFC launched its new Wills and Probate Registry. The registry allow them for the first time in the region to register a will in English under internationally recognised law, which allows them to transfer their assets as they wish upon their death. The new rule also allows parents to appoint a guardian for their children in case of their death.

The Dubai International Financial Centre has launched the Qualified Investor Fund (QIF) targeting wealthy investors. It requires a registration process of 48 hours. QIFs offer a short time to market solution for asset managers. The DIFC houses over 400 regulated entities and over a 1,000 companies with over 80 firms managing assets and over 2,000 funds marketed from the DIFC.

The DIFC Laws Amendment Law 2014, which amends the Regulatory Law 2004 and various other laws related to the Dubai International Financial Centre, is expected to give a new boost the financial services business from DIFC. The Amendments that will come to effect on August 21 makes a number of significant changes to the Dubai Financial Services Authority’s (DFSA’s) regulatory regime and investment laws. They are an important step in simplifying and improving the structure and procedures for decision making and review of DFSA decisions. They will also strengthen DFSA supervisory and enforcement powers, and improve the supervisory oversight of auditors.

Jawad I. Ali, Managing Partner of King & Spalding LLP’s Middle East offices, emphasizes the importance of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) as a financial and capital center for all kinds of operations in the Middle East. Besides, the jurisdiction of the DIFC courts was expanded, now anybody can opt in their contracts to subject them to the DIFC law. The laws itself are modeled after English common law, and the official language of the DIFC courts is English. That’s why it is expected that the DIFC courts will soon become a major center for dispute resolution.

Corporate sukuks by UK organisations are expected in the coming few months following the recent launching of the first corporate sukuk out of United Kingdom by Gateshead-based International Innovative Technologies, or IIT.
A major GCC-based sukuk arranger, which is reportedly working on a corporate sukuk issuance for a UK healthcare company for the last year, hopes to launch the issuance in September. A London-based Islamic bank is also working on a sukuk issuance for a UK client which is near to being finalised. Tom Wilkinson, chairman of IIT, is confident that there is potential for other UK companies to access Islamic finance including sukuk as an alternative source of funding.
The sukuk issue was placed privately with Millennium Private Equity Ltd, leading private equity firm based in the Dubai International Financial Centre and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. The sukuk is essentially a convertible sukuk, whereby Millennium Private Equity Ltd can convert the sukuk into equity.

Zawya reported that Dr. Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah the Chairman of Minhaj announced the launch of its operations in DIFC, which will provide advisory and training services. Sheikh Amin Fateh is the resident Sharia Advisor. The other Sharia scholars involved are: Dr. Mohammad Sultan Al Olama, Dr. Muhammad Amin Qattan, Dr. Yousef Abdullah Al-Shubaily, SH. Abdul Sattar Kattan and Dr. Ibrahim Ali Alshal.

About Minhaj
MINHAJ is a DIFC based company specializing in providing Shari'ah financial advisory services, supervision, Shari'ah auditing, revision and training for Islamic and traditional financial institutions. It is the outcome of a partnership between Tharaa Holding and a number of most prominent scholars and specialists in the Islamic financial services industry world wide.