In its third iteration, Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2024, saw over 20,000 conference delegates, twice the number of 2023, convene from December 9 to 11 at the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) campus at ADGM Square on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi.
ADFW convenes many of the world’s innovative capitalists from banking, asset management, and fintech on par with Davos or Milken’s LA Conference. The number of events now running across the week will blow your mind, and across a vast range of themes like economics, capital markets, blockchain, investment, fintech, family offices, sustainable investing, and Islamic Finance, to name a few.
Speakers included the chief executives of Blackrock, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Citigroup, BNY, Lunate, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Aldar. Monday of the conference, the first day, is a veritable who’s who to rub shoulders with on the intimate ADGM campus while recovering from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix F1 celebrations the evening before.
In addition to the cadre of CEOs, legends like Ray Dalio can be found circulating alongside rising statesmen like Eric Trump, grabbing the attention of many for selfies. Trump’s crisp and eloquent narrative on the utility of bitcoin as a strategic reserve to be used to pay down national debt in both open and closed door sessions impressed many.
ADFW24 saw eight global institutions, representing $635 billion announce they are setting up shop in Abu Dhabi, building on the $450 billion in commitments during last year’s ADFW23, and confirming ADGM’s status as the region’s fastest growing global financial centre.
H.E. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Member of Abu Dhabi’s Executive Council & Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and ADGM commented, “These milestones reflect the heart of what makes Abu Dhabi so special—a shared vision of progress, partnership, and possibility. The growing number of global financial leaders and innovators choosing ADGM is a testament to the trust they place in our infrastructure, robust regulations, commitment to excellence and Abu Dhabi’s reputation as the world’s safest and most dynamic jurisdiction for asset and wealth management.
“As we welcome these new partnerships, we remain dedicated to driving the growth and diversification of the ‘Falcon Economy’ and creating opportunities that resonate across industries and borders. It’s an exciting moment for ADGM, Abu Dhabi, and all those who are part of this remarkable journey.”
Chris Hughes, the editor-in-chief of ADFW, and his team must take a bow again this year on another outstanding ADFW, which grows from strength to strength. Hughes kicked off the afternoon session on the first day of the conference with a video interview with Larry Fink, chairman and ceo of Blackrock, recorded for the event.
On this year’s growth of ADGM, Fink commented, “It’s been a long journey watching how Abu Dhabi has matured as an economy. The constant innovation that I’m seeing from the economy and from the leadership. And Abu Dhabi has really positioned itself to become a leader over the next 20 years. Its psychology was different, and now it’s blossoming into this magnet of opportunity. With that strength, it is now becoming a foundation for innovation.”
Hughes followed with a live fireside chat with Jaap Kalkman, the group chief investment officer of ADQ, one of the Emirates three sovereign wealth funds which include Mubadala and Adia, collectively managing $1.7 trillion in assets – Abu Dhabi is ranked as the world’s the top city for sovereign wealth fund capital.
ADQ has launched a new report, “A New Era of Capital Flows in a Polycentric World”, in collaboration with ADFW and ADGM, and with Stern at NYU Abu Dhabi serving as academic advisor. The report explores the idea that the world is on the brink of a new era of capital flows. What is clear from listening to policymakers and asset allocators at ADFW is the Abu Dhabi is positioning the hub as a connector to the world’s major financial centres.
Said Hughes, “2024 was quite a year. Starting with Global Roadshows to far away places like the US, China, France, Switzerland, U.K. and more, to an unprecedented influx of investors setting up in the Capital, we finished the year by producing the breakout launch edition of Abu Dhabi Business Week for 12,500 people, and the biggest ever edition of Abu Dhabi Finance Week.”
Hughes, a most modest and congenial man from Northern Ireland, is one of the most connected people in the global financial services sector.
Crypto And Digital Assets Accelerating In The Region
There were a number of announcements that caught the attention of the global blockchain community. With the Bitcoin Mena conference running at the same time down the road, the prevalence of crypto and digital assets left its mark on ADFW.
Many market pundits have concluded that stablecoins are the the killer app in digital assets delivering the fiat on and off ramps to Web3.0. Circle announced plans for expansion and partnership with Binance on USDC to accelerate crypto adoption and their MENA hub in Abu Dhabi.
Commenting on the partnership, Dante Disparte, chief strategy officer and head of global policy at Circle, said, “The partnership demonstrates the maturation of our industry, with the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, with 250 million end users, and USDC, the world’s most trusted regulated digital dollar.”
ADGM Polygon Labs announced a collaboration focused on developing international disclosure standards that ensure transparency, security, and trust within the Web3 and broader blockchain ecosystem.
Rebecca Rettig, of Polygon Labs commented, “It’s been pretty amazing to work with the government here, and see how they are thinking about things, both to have regulatory guard rails, and to have innovate companies in the space.”
eToro announced that has partnered with ADX, the region’s stock exchange, to expand investment opportunities in the UAE. eToro’s users will be able to invest in a number of ADX-listed companies across various sectors, including energy, real estate, banking, finance, technology, and healthcare. ADX is one of the world’s fastest-growing exchanges that ranks among the top 20 globally in terms of market capitalization.
Yoni Assia, co-founder and ceo at eToro, commented, “We are excited to announce our partnership with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, enabling eToro users to trade ADX-listed stocks. Since our founding in 2007, we’ve built a global, multi-asset investment offering and today offer our users from 75 countries the ability to trade in equities from more than 20 stock exchanges.”
Fintech.TV and Finstreet are joining forces to empower investors with the knowledge and insights necessary to navigate the complexities of today’s financial markets. Finstreet is a global financial markets infrastructure business, designed to revolutionize the way capital is allocated, wealth is created, and investments are managed across global markets.
Commenting on the collaboration, Vince Molinari, founder and ceo of FintechTV said, “This collaboration will focus on promoting Finstreet’s vision and developing cutting-edge content together that addresses the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing investors.”
ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), the progressive Emirates regulator, formerly run by now Binance ceo Richard Teng, is in the hands of ceo Emmanuel Givanakis, a 10 year veteran of ADGM with a pedigree in policy and law, and an eye for innovation in conduct regulators.
Givanakis commented, “We have recently released our fiat-reference token framework which is a stablecoin framework, we have a lot of firms from North America wanting to issue stablecoins from ADGM. This week, we have come out a consultation paper for our virtual asset framework, and how we are going to enhance it.
“Abu Dhabi and its economy are growing, and the global influence is helping it to internally diversifying itself, and outwardly projecting itself to the world.”
You know you have arrived as the Capital of Capital when you have your own theme song. Abu Dhabi calls: New York, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, are you ready for greater capital connections?
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