Connecting Capital with Opportunity, with ADCB

Good morning your excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. It's a privilege to join you at Abu Dhabi Finance Week among so many people shaping the future of global finance. On behalf of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to those visiting our country, the and visiting the capital of our nation, the capital of capital, a city that is one of the world's most vibrant destinations for capital and innovation. This is the place where ambition meets execution, where long-term vision turns into tangible progress. And I want to speak about one aspect of the story today.

How Abu Dhabi connects capital to opportunity. How our financial ecosystem has taken shape and how it's accelerating into the next phase of growth powered by deeper markets, new technologies, and trusted institutions. Since the earliest days of the UAE's modern economic development, it was the banking sector that carried the weight of national progress, acting as the primary conduit for global capital. And perhaps that explains why there is over 60 banks represented in the UAE today. We at ADCB have been financing our nation's growth for the past 40 years, connecting capital with opportunity.

That intermediation has transformed the country at extraordinary speed from energy to logistics, real estate to healthcare, helping to create a diversified, globally connected economy. Around those banking foundations, a broader financial ecosystem has taken shape. You can see this in the rapid expansion of the UAE's equity markets. Together, the ADX and DFM have a combined market cap of more than1 trillion US dollars, fueled by a series of major IPOs and new international inflows. As regional markets mature, financial centers such as the one we are standing in today have emerged as the new engines of growth, attracting fund managers, private capital, and fintech innovators who see long-term opportunity in this region.

Their arrival has a compounding effect. More investors are seeing firsthand the pace of change underway. And as confidence builds, more capital is being allocated here. In just 10 years, ADGM has attracted a thriving community of banks, asset managers, hedge funds, and fintexs with assets under management at almost half a trillion US and office space effectively full. So yes, now that Abu Dhabi has become a natural home for global capital, investors no longer have to buy a bank's equity to gain exposure to the UAE's economy.

But for those of you that are looking, I hear that ADCB is a good buy. The next great connection between capital and opportunity will be powered by technology, specifically AI. Once again, Abu Dhabi is leading the charge with our national champion G42 and institutions such as the Muhammad bin Zed University of AI with the development of homegrown LLMs and the largest grouping of active data centers in the GCC. Our technology base will continue to expand. Regulation is also keeping up.

The UAE centrals bank open finance framework enables secure data sharing and collaboration between banks and fintexs. Together, these advances make Abu Dhabi one of the world's most exciting sandboxes for financial innovation. Benefiting from the ecosystem being built around us, ADC launched Midas early on this year. a pioneering independent entity based here in ADGM with the sole purpose of building a portfolio of companies looking to innovate and disrupt the financial services sector. Within months, Midas formed two landmark partnerships, a joint venture with Brinks, the global leader in next generation cash logistics and ATM management, and a partnership with indebted, introducing AI powered empathetic collections for banks, telos, and governments alike.

These partnerships show how Abu Dhabi's ecosystem turns collaboration into practical innovation. Three predictions for the future. One, Abu Dhabi will design new financial models shaping private markets, infrastructure, and sustainable finance globally. Two, AI built in Abu Dhabi will redefine trust in finance, assessing credit and risk faster and more objectively. And three, Abu Dhabi will issue the world's first fully digital sovereign instrument.

Live, regulated, and tradable. Now, how will Abu Dhabi succeed? Capital and technology accelerate growth, but institutions sustain it. Abu Dhabi combines ambition with strong governance, sovereign wealth, and corporate pillars that inspire trust. Our story is one of conviction to build, innovate, and lead.

As the world searches for confidence, Abu Dhabi offers it through its institutions, a regulator that listens to the market, and commitment to connecting capital with opportunity. Thank you and pray you have a blessed week ahead. Thanks.