Here's a little background on the rapid growth of banking, investments and the financial world itself over the last several years within Dubai:


The Dubai Financial Market, AKA the DFM, opened in the year 2000 and within 4 years had 14 listed companies. It reported an increase in trading volume of 49 percent between 2002 and 2003. The Abu Dhabi Securities Market, which has been linked electronically to DFM since 2004, reported an increase in trading volume of 176 percent between 2002 and 2003!!!

The Shuaa Capital UAE General Index has shown exceptional growth. It rose by 103 percent in 2004 and at the end of April 2005 was up 87 percent since the beginning of the year. Terrorism is financed using the banking system in two primary ways: through money laundering and through financial transactions in the hawala system, which is a traditional alternative remittance system that operates outside the control of the conventional banking sector. The hawala finance system is thought to be the conduit for much of the funding earmarked for terrorist activities. Although hawala operators are now licensed in the UAE and required to report suspicious transactions to the UAE government, it is unclear whether this regulation is enforced.

A commodities exchange is currently being developed in Dubai where contracts of Oil, Natural Gas, Gasoline and Heating oil will be traded and will compete with the New York Mercantile Exchange which is in America and currently trades these same oil contracts.


Don Cardi