The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has reached a milestone as the number of registered Special Purpose Companies (SPCs) and Intermediate Special Purpose Vehicles (ISPVs) has surpassed the 200 mark.

DIFC offers SPC and ISPV structures that aid a wide spectrum of trade sectors including education, transportation, and energy. These companies include regional organisations, family establishments and international corporations.

ISPVs serve as a progression planning tool for family or private firms. They are used by a series of businesses, especially those that are vulnerable in the foreign markets. Furthermore, fund management companies use them to restrict assets and liabilities from other capital structures within the same company group.

Special Purpose Companies play a crucial role in financial markets by providing a new legal entity as a business limited by shares, amalgamated under the DIFC law to arrange specific structured monetary transactions. SPCs typically are used for either structured Islamic or conventional financial transactions, as a loan facility or financial transaction as part of a corporate acquisition.

Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, said: “DIFC is now home to more than 200 SPCs and ISPVs that are becoming increasingly popular as financing structures, particularly in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. This milestone reinforces the financial hub’s status as a domicile of choice for innovative structured finance transactions.”

As the leading financial hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, the DIFC continues to play a vital role in meeting the rising financial services needs of the MEASA region.

GCC Solutions provide company formation services within the DIFC jurisdiction. GCC can act as a nominee director for SPCs in the DIFC framework. GCC Solutions can also act as a single point of contact to provide a turnkey solution for our client’s needs in each market we serve. We operate across the GCC focusing primarily on the UAE in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait respectively.