The Dubai International Financial Centre has unveiled new regulations to encourage family businesses to establish single family offices in the jurisdiction, according to Al Bawaba.

The DIFC Single Family Office Regulations are designed to meet needs of family-run institutions and create a platform for wealthy families to set up holding companies at DIFC to manage private family wealth and family structures anywhere in the world, the publication said.

“In recent times, family offices have become highly significant on the global economic landscape. In the
Middle East, where family-run businesses make up over 75 per cent of firms and have total assets in excess of $1 trillion, the need for a specialised legal and regulatory framework is especially acute,” Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman, governor of the DIFC, was reported as saying.

“In contrast to conventional financial institutions, single family offices have no direct public liability as all their shareholders are bloodline descendants of a common ancestor. As such, their regulatory requirements differ significantly. By establishing the new regulations, DIFC is once again reaffirming its commitment to family businesses and the development of DIFC into a hub for local, regional and international family offices,” Dr Sulaiman said.

The regulations offer distinct benefits to SFOs as they exclude them from many of the regulatory constraints placed on conventional organisations located at DIFC.