Dubai International Financial Centre or DIFC said on Monday that it has seen exponential growth in the presence of Chinese financial firms and state-owned banks in recent years. The global financial services hub reaffirmed its commitment to supporting China's 'One Belt One Road' pointed out that Chinese banks in DIFC have doubled their balance sheet in the last 18 months.

According to the Centre's 2015 full year Operating Review results China's top four state-owned banks - Bank of China Agricultural Bank of China ICBC and China Construction Bank - have combined total assets of $21.5 billion. The four banks representing 26 per cent of the total assets booked in DIFC have additionally upgraded their licences at DIFC to Category 1 expanding their presence from subsidiary to branch status.

DIFC which welcomed 309 new companies in 2015 up almost 28 per cent from the year before with growth among financial services firms surging by 13 per cent said the financial hub is continuing discussions with two Chinese banks to set up operations at DIFC.

In 2015 Chinese financial firms were increasingly active on DIFC's global financial exchange.Bank of China (BOC) listed a two billion yuan bond (Dh1.18 billion) on Nasdaq Dubai in July 2015 to support cross-border trade and infrastructure activities while Agricultural Bank of China listed a 1 billion yuan bond (Dh590 million) in 2014.

Arif Amiri chief executive officer of DIFC Authority said the financial hub is committed to building long-lasting partnerships with the emerging Chinese market. "Contributing to a large portion of our business activity we envisage an increasingly significant role for Chinese firms as we seek to become a leading global financial hub."

With the objective of attracting moreChinese firms in the next 10 years DIFC has aligned its South-South strategy with China's OBOR initiative.

"As China continues to invest in emerging economies across the region DIFC's conducive and supportive framework acts as a gateway for companies looking to expand their business interests and investments in these markets. Linking Asia to Africa and Latin America Dubai is emerging as a crucial hub along China's New Silk Road" said Amiri. Meanwhile the DIFC Courts expect the value of cases handled at the Court of First Instance to rise in 2016 as bigger cases make it into the legal system of Dubai's financial free zone. Mark Beer the courts' registrar said he did not expect a significant increase in the number of cases this year. "But what we may well see this year is the continuing trend of increasing value of cases that come to the court."

The total value of the 295 cases handled at DIFC Courts rose in 2015 to Dh5.56 billion greater than the combined value of cases handled in 2012 2013 and 2014.

The registrar said the number of cases rose nine per cent in 2015 compared to 2014 while the value of cases handled nearly trebled to Dh4.46 billion last year compared with Dh1.55 billion in 2014.

He said the DIFC Courts would like to maintain its 92 per cent settlement rate through 2021 when it is aiming to become a leading commercial court in line with Dubai's growth plan Vision 2021.

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