The Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) has announced that company registrations grew 32 per cent in the first half of the year as the financial hub welcomed 1,081 new companies, including asset management firms, hedge funds and family offices.

The DIFC said in a statement that the total number of active companies at the Gulf’s largest financial hub sat at 7,700 as of the end of June, up 25 per cent from a year earlier.

As Gulf countries diversify their economies away from oil, betting on sectors like financial services, hubs like DIFC have been attracting an increasing number of firms in recent years, lured by lower taxes, ease and clarity of regulations and the presence of some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds.

The number of hedge funds in DIFC grew by 72 per cent to reach a total of 85 at the end of the first half.

New entrants included RV Capital and Silver Point Capital, which joined some of the industry’s largest names that had already set up base in Dubai, such as Millenium and Point72.

The hub also reported a 19 per cent increase in wealth management firms and a 73 per cent jump in entities associated with family businesses as Dubai continues to attract private wealth.

The United Arab Emirates is on track to welcome nearly 10,000 high-net-worth individuals this year, more than any other country in the world, according to wealth migration consultancy Henley and Partners.