DIFC Grants China Securities Licence for Dubai Regional Office
Beijing-based China Securities wins a DIFC licence and DFSA authorisation for a regional office in Dubai.
Nadia Mansour Nadia Mansour covers fintech across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted -- digital banking, payments licences and the startups building around them. nadia@anecdoted.com
The Dubai International Financial Centre has granted China Securities a licence to open a regional office in the centre, handing the Beijing-headquartered firm a standing base in the Gulf.
China Securities is a publicly listed securities firm. Its work covers investment banking, asset management and services to institutional clients, along with raising capital in equity and debt markets. The company has also received authorisation from the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the independent regulator of financial services carried out in or from DIFC.
A regional base for customers and counterparties
DIFC says the office will give the firm a base in the region and support its dealings with customers, investors and financial firms across the Middle East. The centre expects the presence to strengthen connections among Chinese, UAE and international capital markets. It also reads the move as reinforcing Dubai's position as a gateway for investment flows between Asia and the Middle East.
The DFSA approval came in addition to the DIFC licence. The authority supervises financial services conducted in or from the centre, so a firm establishing itself there needs both.
Talks that preceded the move
Setting up in DIFC followed sustained engagement between the firm and the centre. DIFC introduced China Securities to the opportunities available through Dubai, helped it build an understanding of the regional market and backed its long-term plans to expand internationally.
An expanding Chinese cluster
China Securities is the newest Chinese investment bank to set up in DIFC. Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications and China Construction Bank all operate from the centre. China International Capital Corporation Limited, China Merchants Bank International and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China are also based there, alongside other Chinese securities and financial services firms.
Chinese lenders carry substantial weight in the centre. The country's five largest banks together hold more than 30% of total assets in DIFC's Banking and Capital Markets sector.
The new regional office will sit alongside those institutions and operate under the DFSA's supervision, as they do.
