Dubai’s reputation as a premier global destination for multinational corporations, family-owned enterprises, and high-net-worth individuals has accelerated significantly in 2025, underlined by a surge in new entrants and record levels of wealth migration.
The Dubai International Chamber announced that it attracted 143 new companies in the first half of the year, including 31 multinational corporations, representing a 138 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
Small and medium-sized enterprises also showed robust growth, with 112 firms joining in the first six months compared to 47 in H1 2024, highlighting the emirate’s ability to appeal to both global giants and entrepreneurial ventures.
This momentum has been echoed across Dubai’s free zones and financial centres. The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre reported welcoming over 1,100 companies in the first half, taking total membership to nearly 26,000, while its Crypto Centre now hosts more than 700 firms, including global names like Bitcoin.com and Animoca Brands.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai International Chamber, said the chamber is making strong and steady progress in consolidating Dubai’s position as the global destination of choice for foreign direct investment and a launchpad for companies targeting international growth. “This momentum is fuelled by Dubai’s unique competitive advantages, which include world-class infrastructure, a pro-business regulatory environment, and a strategic location connecting global markets.”
The Dubai International Financial Centre, meanwhile, added several high-profile financial institutions in recent months, including PIMCO, Manulife, Silver Point Capital, Baron Capital and China International Capital Corporation, with the number of regulated entities rising 17 per cent year-on-year to 980. Such growth underscores Dubai’s increasingly central role as a hub for global capital and financial innovation.
Alongside corporate inflows, Dubai is experiencing a historic wave of family offices and wealthy individuals relocating to the emirate. Around 200 family offices have established themselves in Dubai’s offshore financial centre over the past year, bringing the total close to 800, many of them moving from Switzerland and other European jurisdictions in response to tightening regulation and higher tax regimes.
Dubai’s privacy, flexible structures, and favourable inheritance and ownership rules offer strong advantages, according to business analysts. The UAE is now home to three-quarters of all Middle Eastern family offices, with assets under management projected to reach $500 billion by the end of 2025, more than double current levels.
High-net-worth individuals are arriving in even greater numbers. According to Henley & Partners, nearly 10,000 millionaires and billionaires moved to the UAE in 2025, with Dubai capturing the lion’s share, bringing $63 billion of investable wealth into the country. The city is expected to welcome 7,100 millionaires this year alone, including over 200 centi-millionaires and at least 15 billionaires, giving Dubai more than a quarter of the Middle East’s total private wealth. Knight Frank’s Wealth Report highlights that
Dubai now counts over 72,000 resident HNWIs, with this figure projected to grow by nearly 50 per cent by 2030. Luxury property is a major draw, with 68 per cent of wealthy global investors planning to acquire homes in Dubai this year and an average intended spend of USD 32 million, supported by record-breaking transactions in Palm Jumeirah and Downtown Dubai.
The arrival of global wealth has spurred further expansion of wealth management firms in Dubai, with international players such as Rothschild & Co, St James’s Place, and UBS scaling operations in the DIFC. The emirate has become the world’s top destination for relocation of the ultra-wealthy, surpassing traditional centres such as London, New York and Singapore, and climbing into seventh place on the Julius Baer Global Wealth and Lifestyle Index. Rising property prices and growing demand for premium services reflect Dubai’s strengthening position as a magnet for global wealth, while its infrastructure and tax framework ensure that it remains competitive against rival destinations.
Family-owned enterprises, which account for about 60 per cent of the UAE’s GDP, are also turning to Dubai as a base for global expansion. Recent initiatives, including new advisory services launched by the Dubai Centre for Family Businesses, are helping them strengthen governance, prepare for succession, and access international capital. Such measures provide confidence to intergenerational firms looking to use Dubai as a launchpad for growth beyond the region.
Underlying this surge is Dubai’s unique combination of pro-business regulation, strategic location, world-class infrastructure, and lifestyle appeal. The city connects to over two-thirds of the world’s population within an eight-hour flight and is supported by modern airports, seaports, and logistics facilities that make it an unrivalled global gateway. Reforms such as the introduction of long-term Golden Visas, retirement residency schemes, 100 per cent foreign ownership in most sectors, and the creation of common-law jurisdictions such as DIFC and ADGM have made the city one of the most flexible and attractive investment environments worldwide.
The Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to double the size of the economy to Dh32 trillion by 2033, provides a clear roadmap for sustained expansion and greater integration into global trade networks.
Source: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/dubai-rises-as-hub-of-choice-for-mncs-family-offices
Recent Comments