Dubai is now home to over 40 hedge fund firms with assets exceeding $1bn each, collectively employing more than 1,000 people, according to a report by Bloomberg quoting Salmaan Jaffery, Chief Business Development Officer of the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFC).

“We have 63 hedge fund clients, 44 of which have over $1 billion in assets under management,” said Jaffery during an interview with Bloomberg TV.

The recent hedge fund boom is part of a wider expansion in Dubai's finance sector with employee numbers having surged by two-thirds since 2019 to around 44,000. According to Jaffrey, the number financial professionals – including bankers and senior asset and portfolio managers – relocating to Dubai in the past five years has been "unprecedented."

And Dubai’s appeal as a hedge fund-friendly jurisdiction could be set to grow further with the announcement this week by London-based Capricorn Fund Managers of the launch of a hosting platform that will help investment firms quickly establish operations in the city.

Neighbouring Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, has also been ramping up efforts to attract financial firms, unveiling initiatives to leverage its $1.5tn in sovereign wealth capital and its significant oil reserves.