Abu Dhabi: Strengthening Its Role as the Financial Bridge Between Asia and the Middle East
Ahead of the fourth Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) on December 8–11, ADGM—Abu Dhabi’s international financial centre—is accelerating partnerships across mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan to deepen cross-border investment, wealth management and financial innovation.
A key component of this strategy is ADGM’s Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Foundations Regulations, an early global framework for blockchain foundations and Web3 entities. It has already attracted the IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation, Chainlink Labs, Stacks Asia FLT Foundation and Singapore-based QCP Group, strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position in digital assets.
These efforts align with the UAE’s ambition to connect Asian and Middle Eastern capital ecosystems. Bilateral trade between the UAE and mainland China is expected to reach US$200 billion by 2030, and ADGM is positioning itself as a gateway for Chinese investors seeking regional expansion. Recent delegations to China and ongoing regulatory dialogues underscore this commitment.
Abu Dhabi’s wider capital ecosystem—anchored by more than US$1.82 trillion in sovereign wealth funds—has also made it a preferred hub for global family offices. Recent entrants include Ray Dalio, Elysium Management and Apeiron Investment Group. “Family offices increasingly view Abu Dhabi as a global gateway,” says Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, chairman of ADGM and ADDED.
Regulatory collaboration remains central. In 2025, ADGM signed an MoU with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to enhance oversight of cross-border asset managers, building on earlier agreements with the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Beijing Financial Street Services Bureau.
ADFW 2025, themed “Engineering the Capital Network,” will explore how emerging technologies—from AI to quantum computing—are reshaping finance. Speakers include Marc Randolph, Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara and Richard Teng.
As ADGM marks 10 years, it is preparing for its next phase: expanding Abu Dhabi’s global influence and advancing high-growth sectors such as digital assets, sustainable finance and private capital markets, with the long-term goal of joining the world’s top five international financial centres.
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