A new era of global finance – I love Dubai!
I was in Dubai from Tuesday, 14 April to Saturday, 18 April 2026 – one of the most rewarding weeks of my professional life. On the first day, I spent the entire time at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the DIFC Innovation Hub, and the Dubai AI Campus. There wasn’t enough time for a lunch at Shanghai Me, but I took a souvenir photo there – I had celebrated my 63rd birthday at this place two years ago, so it holds very special memories for me.
In addition to numerous meetings, I visited the major new development in the Zabeel District, the expansion of DIFC. This mega-project (over AED 100 bn, approximately CHF 25 bn) is being developed as a mixed-use district with offices, residential areas, hotels, retail, as well as cultural and tech hubs. It is planned to host around 42,000 companies and more than 125,000 professionals – essentially a «DIFC 2.0», aiming to become one of the world’s leading global business hubs by 2040 (with the first buildings expected around 2030).
The business opportunities – particularly for the Swiss financial industry – are enormous. Given all the outstanding impressions from this week, we have decided to hold four «The Finance & Futures» Sessions per year in Dubai going forward. The next one will take place on Wednesday, 5 August 2026. It will be a fantastic development! Thomas J. Caduff, CEO, Fundplat LLC
Dubai, 21.04.2026