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(Last updated: 11 June 2008)
Trends and opportunities
The market
Dubai wants to place itself firmly on the map as a financial services and capital markets hub, at par with well developed and highly regarded locations like London, New York and Hong Kong. This objective is part of the 2015 Dubai strategic plan of the Emirate’s ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum.
The city is one step closer to achieving this status through the establishment of Dubai International Financial Centre, which boasts world-class infrastructure, qualified and highly experienced staff and an international legal framework – and has already become home to almost 600 financial services companies that include 150 MNCs in the Global 500, including the Top 10.
The Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre stated in March 2007 that the contribution of financial services to Dubai’s GDP will more than quadruple to US$15 billion by 2015, from about US$3.4 billion now. He continued on to say that there will be at least two major financial services players coming out of Dubai by 2015.
It is important to view developments in Dubai (and the UAE as a whole) in the wider context of the Gulf region. All the Gulf economies have reaped the benefits of record high oil prices and the resulting increased liquidity and buoyant economic environment have given a massive boost to the banking and finance sector. These economies have even been relatively more immune to the global fallout from the US sub-prime crisis.
Other financial centres in the region are the Qatar Financial Centre and Bahrain Financial Harbour.
Increasing in prominence are the Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) from the region. Of these the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is the biggest fund in the world with US$875 billion in assets under management. Together, the funds under SWFs of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries (ie. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) are home to almost US$2 trillion and expected to grow to between US$10-US$12 trillion by 2015.
Banks
Currently there are 51 banks licensed by the UAE Central Bank to operate in the UAE – 23 are national banks and 28 are foreign banks.
Banking is one of the main sectors to have benefited from the economic boom that the UAE is currently experiencing. The large infrastructure projects, primarily in Dubai and Abu Dhabi but increasingly in other Emirates as well, have provided ample financing opportunities. The increasing inflow of expatriates is giving a boost to consumer lending portfolios. Non-performing loans have improved in a strong macro-economic environment. Besides their interest-based core income, banks have also placed greater focus on asset management, wealth management and investment banking to add to their fee based revenue stream. Their investment portfolios have also seen profit gains from increased IPO activity on the local bourses.
According to research by The National Investor, in the GCC the UAE is now the largest in terms of banking assets in absolute terms, followed by Saudi Arabia. The contribution of the UAE’s banking assets to the aggregate GCC banking assets (US$805 billion), as at end 2007, stood at 40.5 per cent (US$335.6 billion) followed by Saudi Arabia at 34.7 per cent (US$286.9 billion). (Source: Exciting Times Ahead, TNI Investment Research, April 14, 2008, p8).
Local banks dominate the banking sector. The largest bank in the UAE, in terms of assets, is Emirates NBD (ENBD) which came into being in October 2007 with the merger of Emirates Bank International (EBI) and National Bank of Dubai (NBD).
In 2007, the top five local banks in the UAE (in terms of market share as a % of the aggregate balance sheet size of the 16 listed banks in the UAE) (Source: Exciting Times Ahead, TNI Investment Research, April 14, 2008, p19).
- Emirates NBD – 26.9%
- National Bank of Abu Dhabi – 14.8%
- Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank – 11.2%
- Mashreq Bank – 9.3%
- Dubai Islamic Bank – 8.9%
(Source: Reuters, Annual Reports of Respective Banks)
While the UAE has no income or corporate tax, the only exceptions are foreign oil companies and foreign banks. There is a corporate tax rate of 20 per cent on profits of foreign banks and they are also subject to UAE Central Bank enforced restrictions on the number of branches they can operate.
Capital markets
There are three domestic stock exchanges trading in bonds and equities:
In November 2000, the ADX started operations in the country’s capital Abu Dhabi, and in March 2008 has entered into a cooperation deal with NYSE Euronext to enhance its trading platform, develop its derivatives market and improve overall service.
The DFM, established in Dubai in March 2000, was converted to a public joint stock company and 20 per cent of shares offered for public subscription (the remaining 80 per cent shares were transferred by the Dubai Government to Borse Dubai Limited. This is the first stock exchange in the Middle East to be privatised. Listed securities on the DFM include trading of securities issued by public shareholding companies, bonds issued by the Federal Government or local government or public institutions in the country, units of investment funds, and other financial instruments. Activity on this bourse centres on local and regional stocks and IPOs.
DIFX began operations in late 2005 within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), which is a 110 acre financial free zone opened in 2004 and governed by its own independent regulator and supervisory body called Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), which grants licences and regulates activities of financial institutions within this ‘onshore’ centre.
Borse Dubai holds a two-thirds stake and NASDAQ OMX Group owns a third. The exchange currently lists shares, bonds, Sukuk (see section on Islamic Finance below for more about these Islamic bonds) and structured products.
Financial derivatives are traded on the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DCGX). A new energy and commodities futures exchange, the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), has also been set up within the DIFC.
International institutional investors have pumped billions of dollars into UAE stock markets last year, significantly contributing to the increase in Dubai's and Abu Dhabi’s index in 2007. There is, however, a technical barrier holding back greater foreign participation. At present foreign ownership of listed companies is limited to 49 per cent and some companies prohibit foreign ownership. However, new legislation is expected to be announced this year to increase this limit.
The DIFC is a 110 acre ‘onshore’ financial precinct located within Dubai offering incentives of a free trade zone such as full foreign ownership rights, zero tax rate, dollar denominated environment, etc. It is governed by the DFSA and all financial institutions licensed to operate in the DIFC are subject to the independent judicial system of the DIFC Courts. wholly owned subsidiary is the Dubai International Financial Exchange Limited (DIFX) which is an electronic trading platform launched in 2005 for equities, bonds, funds, Islamic products, index products and derivatives.
There are over 600 international and regional companies based in DIFC and are listed in the DIFC Company Register. They include well known industry names like Morgan Stanley, Barclays Global, Standard and Poor’s International, Halliburton, AIG Global Investment Corp, Moody’s, JP Morgan Chase Bank and Merrill Lynch Bank.
Insurance
The UAE’s domestic insurance sector is relatively small by world standards and still considered quite fragmented. There are 48 insurance companies – 24 national and 24 foreign. Some banks in the country are also distributing third party insurance products as a means of shoring up their fee-based revenue streams.
International insurers have recognised the potential in this sector and have started to set up in the DIFC. They include AIG Life for life insurance, Allianz SE, the reinsurance arm of the world’s second largest insurer Allianz, Liberty International Underwriters and Lancashire Marketing Services (a subsidiary of Bermudian re-insurer Lancashire Holdings).
Insurance supervision has been the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy, which in 2007 issued tougher regulations on insurance brokers to improve standards of professionalism and corporate governance. A new law setting up an independent Insurance Commission (still under the Ministry of Economy) is also in place.
The Health Authority Abu Dhabi in 2007 has made it compulsory for employers to provide medical expenses cover to expatriates and their dependents in Abu Dhabi. Dubai is also introducing similar legislation.
The life insurance segment is under developed. Non-life insurance segment is dominated by accident and liability insurance. The large amount of construction and development is expected to create a higher demand for property insurance and reinsurance.
Islamic finance
Dubai is now trying to position itself as a global hub for Shariah-compliant products (meaning that they do not use interest, and prohibit investment exposure to companies active in alcohol, gambling, pornography, tobacco and or armaments).
In an article published on 7 May 2008 in Emirates Business 24/7, investment bank Goldman Sachs said that the total Islamic banking assets, including takaful, in the UAE could reach US$87 billion by 2010, increasing the country's global market share of Islamic banking to around 11.5 per cent. This would place the UAE among the world's top global Islamic financial centres. The same article also points out that $4.11 billion worth of sukuk, or asset-backed Islamic bonds, are listed on the DIFX, the world's largest listed value.
Currently there are six Islamic banks in the country:
- Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB)
- Dubai Bank
- Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB)
- Sharjah Islamic Bank
- Emirates Islamic Bank
- Noor Islamic Bank
Abu Dhabi has announced plans to launch another one called Al Hilal Islamic Bank. ADIB and DIB are amongst the Top 10 listed banks in the country. Dubai Holding has established in May 2008 the Dubai Banking Group, with assets valued at more than US$10 billion.
Conventional banks are also starting to offer Islamic banking activities via dedicated Islamic subsidiaries or from within their existing infrastructure.
To boost the Islamic investment industry, the World Gold Council and Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) are launching fully Shariah-compliant Dubai Gold Shares, which will be listed on the DIFX under the symbol 'GOLD'.
Opportunities
Financial services opportunities include, but are not restricted to, the following:
Asset and Fund Management
The Algebra Capital, an asset management company based in DIFC, has projected that the regional asset management business will grow 23.5 per cent per annum over the next five years. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has about US$70 billion worth of assets under management (AUM). Algebra Capital’s study shows that the GCC region has a current ratio of AUM to market capitalisation of less than 7.2 per cent, compared with an emerging market average of 25 per cent and developed market averages of 70-80 per cent.
Retail investors have changed their approach to equity investments, following losses in recent years resulting from market corrections in regional stock markets following unprecedented booms. They are now seeking professional investment advice to invest in managed funds.
Hedge funds are also being increasingly used by government owned funds and institutional investors. Although most hedge funds currently invest outside the region, there is growing demand for those that invest in local markets.
Australian fund management companies (with licenses granted to operate in the UAE) can offer fund management services.
Wealth management
The number of millionaires in the Gulf region as a whole is increasing at a growth rate that is faster than the global average. According to Bank Sarasin Alpen, a DIFC based subsidiary of Switzerland’s Sarasin Group, there will be 250,000 High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in the UAE by 2009. Annual growth rate in the number of millionaires stands at 12.6 per cent. The increase in the number of HNWIs has also been mirrored in the expansion of the mass-affluent population that has al least US$100,000 in assets.
Traditionally assets used to be held overseas (in Europe and the US) but there has been a growing demand from individuals to keep their assets closer to home in local real estate, private equity and stocks. This gradual shift from offshore to onshore has led to private banking units of international institutions to set up operations in the DIFC in growing numbers. There are opportunities for Australian wealth management advisory service providers.
Corporate financing
There are growing opportunities in project and trade finance for Australian companies as demand for project finance is coming from not only the energy sector but also from telecommunications, construction and real estate, utilities, transportation and aviation.
The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are the largest markets in the region for project financing. According to Darren Davis, head of project finance at HSBC Middle East, more than US$50 billion worth of deals will be completed in the GCC this year, higher than the US$40 billion completed in 2007.
Consulting and training services
The rapidly growing financial sector provides opportunities to Australian companies that are engaged in financial services consulting and corporate training. |