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In 2017 the UAE was home to the largest and fastest-growing insurance sector in the GCC. The industry has recorded strong compound annual growth rates in both non-life and life segments during the last decade, while takaful (Islamic insurance) products have developed considerably since 2012. This growth has come on the heels of an influx of expatriates, increase in the population of working-age nationals, investment in construction in the run up to Expo 2020 and several legal reforms. The UAE Insurance Authority has recently taken steps to both boost public awareness about the benefits of coverage and to propose reforms that would professionalise industry standards to meet those of more mature, foreign markets.

Abu Dhabi is a prominent player in Islamic finance and is active in markets for sharia-compliant debt; deposit, lending and investment schemes; and risk-management through takaful (Islamic insurance). Acting through the Abu Dhabi Global Market, the emirate’s financial free zone, the sector has access to domestic as well as offshore service providers. Together with the six other emirates of the UAE, Abu Dhabi participates in a national level market, which is the world’s fourth-largest in terms of Islamic finance assets, at $203.2bn. The emirate holds just over 9% of the $2.2trn total global sharia-compliant assets, 72% of which is held by banks. This chapter contains an interview with Khamis Mohamed Buharoon, Acting CEO and Vice-Chairman, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.

Abu Dhabi’s capital markets have witnessed rapid expansion since the establishment of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) in 2000. Prior to the ADX, the sector played a much more limited role in the emirate’s financial services landscape. Historically the region has had a significant amount of capital owing to its oil wealth and, coupled with a relatively robust and liquid banking system, this created little domestic demand for capital markets as means for finance. Nevertheless, the region has long utilised international securities as an investment option, with sovereign wealth funds emerging as major buyers of stocks and bonds. The emirate has successfully worked to expand its securities offering in recent years, demonstrating a commitment to increasing liquidity and overall activity in its capital markets.

Banks in Abu Dhabi are well funded and have demonstrated resilience. They also exist in a competitive environment that is widely seen as overbanked. After a major merger created the region’s second-largest lender in 2017, further moves towards consolidation are expected. For now, the banking system has ample liquidity and would benefit from more opportunities to deploy it. The government has been effecting structural reforms since the 2007-08 economic crisis, to boost the efficiency of government spending and encourage greater self-reliance on the part of both the private corporate and government-linked businesses. This is part of a wider effort to prepare for a long-term future in which Abu Dhabi can thrive even when oil prices drop. This chapter contains an interview with Abdulhamid Mohammed Saeed, Group CEO, First Abu Dhabi Bank.

In both Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE, diversification away from the hydrocarbons sector is a key component of economic planning, and the emirate is moving to increase the role of non-oil exports in its trading profile. This will largely be supported by continued investment in the emirate’s port infrastructure, industrial and free zones, and the connectivity between the two. Agreements with Chinese authorities are expected to both boost port capacity in the emirate and help to build a foreign direct investment pipeline from China. This chapter contains interviews with Mohamed Thani Murshed Al Rumaithi, Chairperson, Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce; and Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Global Market.

Abu Dhabi is the largest of the emirates that comprise the UAE, in terms of both its land mass and economy, and home to the majority of the country’s energy production and reserves. According to Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD), its economy expanded at a rate of 31.7% in 2005 and 32.3% in 2011 in nominal terms. Given the current environment, in which oil prices remain below the $100 mark seen at the beginning of the decade, the emirate has embarked on a strategy focused on economic diversification and more efficient government spending. The drive features an examination of public spending and fiscal management; phased reductions and elimination of subsidies; and the gradual consolidation of duplicative commercial entities controlled by government bodies. This chapter contains interviews with Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Al Dhafra Region; Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Group CEO and Managing Director, Mubadala Investment Company; and Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.