The UAE is moving in the opposite direction of most global markets. While geopolitical instability typically slows expansion, freezes hiring, and pushes companies into risk-management mode, the UAE has kept attracting new business at pace.

Even as firms such as Deloitte and Bloomberg made temporary adjustments to their operations, new entrants and expansions continued across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In March alone, more than 2,700 new companies registered to do business in Dubai.

The shift goes beyond volume. Companies entering the UAE are committing capital, building leadership teams, and treating the country as a primary operating base for long-term growth.

Three structural factors are driving that momentum: regulatory credibility, geopolitical neutrality, and a talent market that has quietly retooled itself for expansion-phase hiring rather than maintenance staffing.

HOME FOR SERIOUS PLAYERS

Over the past two months, the list of companies establishing or expanding offices in the UAE has stretched across industries and continents. 

India’s ICICI Prudential Asset Management opened a branch at DIFC in March to deepen its presence across the Gulf and Africa. Singapore-based Hillhouse Investment Management launched an office in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in April. 

Swiss quantitative asset manager Finreon expanded into the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), while global investment firms including Bain Capital, Barings, and Muzinich & Co. all strengthened their UAE footprints.

American law firm Kirkland & Ellis registered with ADGM in April, adding to the growing concentration of international advisory firms establishing bases in the capital.

“The real story isn’t just another wave of companies opening shops here,” says Paul Scribner, CEO of DIFC-based investment platform General Holdings Limited. “It’s that the UAE has quietly moved from being a convenient service hub to a genuine permanent home for serious players.”

The retail and consumer sectors are also accelerating aggressively. Irish fashion giant Primark opened a 60,000-square-foot flagship at Dubai Mall in late March, followed by a second outlet at City Center Mirdif weeks later, with a third location at Mall of the Emirates scheduled for May.

The expansion activity cuts across finance, AI, retail, fintech, events, real estate technology, and digital infrastructure. 

FROM REGIONAL HUB TO PERMANENT BASE

For decades, the UAE—specifically Dubai—was seen as a high-end waiting room. It was a place where Western executives would rotate through for three years, park some capital, and eventually head back to London, New York, or Singapore.

According to Scribner, that era is officially over.

“Now multinationals are actually establishing headquarters here, families are putting down roots, and capital is being committed long-term rather than just routed through,” he says.

He says three forces are converging in the UAE: unrestricted capital mobility, institutional-grade regulation, and geopolitical neutrality.

“DIFC and ADGM run on English common law with independent courts, exactly what big cross-border work needs,” he says. “But unlike other places, you can actually get things done fast. Licensing and real ministerial access can happen in days, not months. Credible and agile is a rare combination.”

He also points to the UAE’s positioning between global power blocs as a growing competitive advantage.

“The UAE keeps working relationships alive across the board: the US, China, India, Europe, the Arab world, and now Israel following the Abraham Accords,” Scribner says. “For a global business, that means you don’t have to pick a side.”

NEW HIRING PATTERNS

This neutrality is drawing in a new breed of “hunter” talent. Francoise Brougher, CEO of the hiring platform Pebl, says the roles companies are hiring for in the UAE have changed fundamentally in the last 12 months, offering a glimpse into how global firms now view the region.

“Companies entering the UAE aren’t leading with maintenance hiring or back-office support roles,” she says. “They’re prioritizing hunter-style sales leaders, strategic partnerships, enterprise growth teams, and executives with deep Gulf market expertise. Those are expansion hires.

According to Brougher, sectors such as AI, cybersecurity, fintech, enterprise SaaS, and digital infrastructure are seeing especially strong momentum as companies position the UAE as a regional launchpad rather than a satellite office.

“The UAE continues signaling that it wants to attract builders, operators, and next-generation industries,” she says.

SERVICE INDUSTRIES FOLLOW THE BOOM

The events industry is experiencing a similar shift. Ireland-based Conference Rental opened a Dubai office in March after witnessing a surge in regional demand.

“As the UAE continues to position itself as a preferred location for major international events, it was a natural step for us to expand our services to the region,” says Andrew Murphy, CEO of Conference Rental.

He adds that Dubai’s growing role as a host city for international summits and conferences made expansion inevitable.

“We were already supporting a growing number of projects in the region, and it became clear that this trend was going to continue,” he says. “By establishing a local presence, we can better support events across the Gulf and align more closely with regional partners.”

The UAE’s appeal is also extending well beyond multinational giants.

Vault22, headquartered in South Africa, officially launched its AI-powered wealth management platform in the UAE in March.

“The UAE remains home to a highly mobile global professional community conducting business across international markets, making it a natural fit for a platform like Vault22,” says Stephen Ong, co-founder of Vault22.

FLEXIBILITY BECOMES THE BUSINESS MODEL

Meanwhile, proptech platform Rently expanded rapidly beyond Dubai into multiple emirates during March and April as demand for flexible rental solutions surged.

“We’ve now processed more than $10 million in rental transactions in the UAE,” says Shiv Mahajan, CEO of Rently. “That for us is a strong reflection of how quickly tenants and landlords are embracing more modern and flexible ways of managing rent.”

Mahajan says the company viewed economic uncertainty not as a reason to retreat, but as evidence that its flexible services were becoming increasingly essential.

“We came to a conclusion fairly quickly: this was a period when flexibility and financial support mattered even more for people,” he says.

The resilience extends to supply-chain-dependent businesses as well. Indian brand iD Fresh Food says it has continued to expand its availability across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

“At a time when many businesses tend to pull back and focus only on core operations, our approach was slightly different,” says PC Musthafa, global CEO and co-founder of iD Fresh Food.

“For us, consistency matters even more in such moments, especially as a clean-label food brand where freshness and trust are central to the consumer experience.”

While  Dubai still dominates in terms of sheer business volume and international visibility, particularly across retail, fintech, tourism, and events, Abu Dhabi is increasingly emerging as a heavyweight financial center, attracting sovereign-linked capital, investment managers, and institutional firms seeking proximity to some of the world’s largest pools of deployable capital.

“People build where they can live, move, educate their families, and operate efficiently,” Scribner says. “In a world where rules seem to flip every election cycle elsewhere, that predictability is worth a lot.”