Financial Services

A major part of the banking sector within the UAE, Dubai is also a key player in the wider MENA region. In the first quarter of 2012, Dubai-based Emirates NBD (ENBD) was not only the largest bank by assets in the UAE, but number three in the GCC, after Qatar National Bank and Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank. ENBD shares the Dubai banking...

The UAE is one of the largest insurance markets in the Gulf region, with Dubai taking an impressive share of the country’s total premiums. There is still plenty of room for growth in life and general, with the period ahead likely to see more of this potential realised. Dubai is moving towards compulsory health insurance (see analysis), while there...

As efforts to widen and deepen the pool of Islamic financial products continue, one area that has recently seen growth is capital-protected instruments. Both Dubai, and the UAE as a whole, have been keen to pursue this trend and boost choices among Islamic investors. One of the main challenges is the provision of sharia-compliant instruments for...

The emirate’s reputation as a safe haven – a sentiment supported over the past 12 months by its stability during much regional and international turmoil – plus the ability of its government-related entities (GREs) to negotiate restructuring packages with their creditors, have recently created some very positive conditions for a revival of the...

Among Dubai’s insurers, one of the most widely anticipated developments set for the year ahead is the likely introduction of mandatory, employer-funded health coverage for all Dubai residents. This is expected to give a major boost to both premiums and competition as local insurers do battle for health care accounts. The move is expected to ease...

With global Islamic financial assets worth some $1.2trn at the end of 2011 and growth of 150% over the previous five years, according to the UK Islamic Finance Secretariat, Dubai has long been eager to take a bigger share of this rapidly expanding market.