The Gulf’s leading financial hubs posted another year of strong growth in 2025, with the United Arab Emirates spearheading a regional push to attract hedge funds, asset managers, crypto investors and fintech firms.

December offered a snapshot of how intense competition has become between Dubai and Abu Dhabi — two cities just 90 minutes apart that are increasingly vying for the crown as the Middle East’s dominant financial capital.

On Dec. 15, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announced that the number of hedge funds registered in the free zone had reached 100, more than doubling since early 2024. Around 80% of those firms manage over $1 billion in assets, including some of the industry’s biggest names.

Days earlier, Abu Dhabi claimed its own symbolic victory. On Dec. 9, NYU Abu Dhabi’s Stern School of Business published its inaugural Financial Center Competitiveness Index, ranking the capital 12th globally — two places ahead of Dubai. While the methodology is new and the margin narrow, the result reflected a broader shift: DIFC remains the Gulf’s most established financial hub and has a broader regional reach, but Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has rapidly closed the gap.