Why Abu Dhabi's financial centre is getting room to grow

Al Maryah Island, home to Abu Dhabi Global Market. An expanding ADGM is living up to its 'capital of capital' moniker. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

It has been quite a year for Abu Dhabi Global Market, the international financial centre headquartered in the UAE capital on Al Maryah Island.

In March, The National reported that assets under ADGM management grew by 56 per cent in 2022. The month before, state-owned lender Emirates Development Bank announced it was joining forces with the hub to support companies that want to set up in the free zone. In November, the financial district’s court said it would launch a blockchain-based system to digitally certify judgments and allow their availability and enforcement anywhere – making the ADGM Courts the first in the world to do so.

These developments show that ADGM is well and truly living up to its “capital of capital” moniker. Therefore, Monday’s news that it is to undergo a tenfold expansion will not come as a surprise to those who have been monitoring the centre’s growth since it began operating in 2015. A Cabinet decision has kick-started the process of adding neighbouring Al Reem Island to ADGM’s jurisdiction, increasing the district's combined area to nearly 1,438 hectares.

The evident demand for physical office space reveals that the rise in remote working has not stopped companies – whether home-grown or foreign – from considering Abu Dhabi as a medium to long-term base for their operations. A report published in March from UK-based real estate consultancy Savills revealed that demand for office real estate across the city remained buoyant throughout 2022. Savills also found that on average, rent increased by 7 per cent across Abu Dhabi’s main office districts – with the ADGM building recording the highest increase in rental values compared to other Grade A developments.

This expansion shows that Abu Dhabi’s free-zone framework remains popular with companies and investors. A flexible approach to regulation, the ease of setting up and doing business, plus the physical infrastructure of office space and employee accommodation coupled with financial and professional services is an attractive package for companies that want to capitalise on the UAE’s commercial reputation.

Indeed, for a small country to have not one but two major international financial hubs – in Dubai and Abu Dhabi – is quite an achievement and the latest Global Financial Centres Index report published in March showed that Dubai and Abu Dhabi had maintained their first and second places in the Middle East and Africa region.

The planned expansion – one of the world’s largest – is coming at an opportune time for the UAE capital. A study from the EY consultancy published this week found that Abu Dhabi accounted for 14 per cent of all initial public offerings worldwide in the first quarter of this year, attracting $3 billion worth of IPO proceeds, placing it third worldwide. Having a larger free zone that helps established companies and start-ups alike to do business will boost the spirit of enterprise that exists in Abu Dhabi. It will also benefit the city socially as more talent comes to the capital to live and work, adding to its cosmopolitan mix.

For ADGM’s 1,400 operating entities and 11,000-strong workforce, it is the beginning of a new era, one in which previous achievements can be built upon. Abu Dhabi has already proved that it can weather global financial turmoil, whether it comes from pandemics or conflicts. This expansion shows that there continues to be an appetite to achieve even more.