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Assets under management at ADGM rise by over 50%

By Gavin Gibbon
Americana announced a dividend of $130m and an additional one-time special dividend of $50m, subject to shareholders' approval Creative Commons/Omar Chatriwala
Americana announced a dividend of $130m and an additional one-time special dividend of $50m, subject to shareholders' approval

Abu Dhabi Global Market saw its assets under management increase by 56 percent year-on-year in 2022 as the authority became the fastest growing international financial centre in the region.

Total licence issues for financial and non-financial firms increased by 30 percent from 4,262 companies in 2021 to 5,546 in 2022, according to figures released on Monday.

Operational entities within Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) also witnessed a 30 percent growth with the total number rising from 1,061 to 1,378.

“Every milestone accomplished by ADGM has highlighted our capital city’s cemented foundation as a sustainable international financial hub demonstrating global significance,” said ADGM chairman Ahmed Al Jasim Al Zaabi.

The ADGM is the leading international financial centre in Middle East and Africa and number 32 in the world, according to the annual GFCI report, which evaluates competitiveness and ranks 119 financial centres around the world.

Companies from the Middle East raised $21.9 billion through IPOs in 2022, more than half the total for the wider Europe and Africa region, according to Dealogic data.

ADGM-registered companies Borouge, Burjeel Holdings, Bayanat AI and Americana Restaurants were among those listed last year on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). 

Americana Restaurants (which operates brands including KFC, Pizza Hut and TGI Fridays in Mena and Kazakhstan) was also listed on Saudi Exchange.

Anghami, which has its global headquarters and R&D centre in ADGM, completed its listing on Nasdaq in 2022.

Al Zaabi said he expected the positive results to continue in 2023 “as we see more and more global investors, businesses and professionals gravitating towards Abu Dhabi and making it their destination of choice to work and thrive”.

In 2022, the caseload for ADGM Courts increased to 317 cases, compared to 139 cases in 2021, with over 80 percent from parties outside the authority.

Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi estimates that growth in GDP touched 10.5 percent in the UAE capital over the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

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