Dubai is considered as a safe haven for wealthy HNW families and their investments from around the world compared to the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other Middle Eastern countries, according to a report published by Deloitte.

The report titled ‘Introducing Dubai: A destination for private and corporate wealth’, says that the Dubai International Financial Centre, DIFC, was an early proponent of the concept of the Single Family Office, SFO, and the first jurisdiction in the Middle East to define a family office in legal terms.

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According to the report, family offices based in the DIFC will benefit from the robust legal and regulatory framework and highly qualified and experienced professionals.

The report found that Dubai has many free zones and Special Economic Zones which allow 100% foreign ownership.

The Deloitte report also revealed that with oil prices impacting the regional economy, a cohort of ‘next generation’ family business owners will be instrumental in the continued advancement of the Dubai economy.

Deloitte partner and private leader in the Middle East Walid Chiniara said: "The DIFC has strict anti-money laundering rules to ensure that it is a real contender on the international financial scene.

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"Efforts are being made in government to amend and update some of the other commercial and private legislation in the rest of the country, so as to attract more foreign investment into the UAE, which it is hoped will increase exponentially in the run-up to Dubai’s hosting of Expo in 2020.

"As host city of Expo 2020, Dubai anticipates it will attract 25 million visitors, the vast majority of whom will, unusually for this sort of event, be from overseas.

"This multicultural ‘mega-event’, which will be held under the theme of Connecting Minds, Creating the Future, is hoped to showcase Dubai as a springboard facilitating investment in Africa as well as Asia," he added.