Arif Amiri

Spear’s Review

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is integral to Dubai’s evolution as an economy and as a hub for international business. The organisation that oversees its development is the DIFC Authority, which has been led since 2014 by Arif Amiri. 

Amiri, who spent almost eight years at HSBC earlier in his career before moving on to UAE-based property developer Emaar, saw DIFC’s 2024 growth targets met in 2021, three years ahead of schedule. In 2023 the DIFC recorded the registration of 1,451 new companies and 5,514 new jobs, and the creation of the DIFC Family Wealth Centre, which is designed for families and owners looking for wealth and asset management support.

The DIFC – which comprises several high-rise towers and a burgeoning collection of high-quality hotels (such as the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton) and private members’ clubs (such as a Dubai outpost of London’s Arts Club) – aims to put in place everything that modern financial firms need to flourish. This includes regulation, which is overseen by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.