Dubai names new governor for financial centre DIFC

Dubai names new governor for financial centre DIFC

Dubai has named a new governor for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the state news agency WAM reported on Monday, without giving a reason for the change.

July 26, 2011 9:56 by Reuters

Abdullah Mohammed Saleh, who has served as chairman of the Dubai Financial Services Authority — DIFC’s regulator — was appointed as DIFC’s governor by the emirate’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the agency reported.

Saleh replaces Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, a prominent figure in Dubai, one of the seven members of the United Arab Emirates.

In late June, Dubai’s ruler named his uncle and close adviser Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum as chairman of Emirates NBD , the UAE’s largest bank by assets, also replacing Tayer.

The DIFC, launched in 2004, is a financial free zone home to 800 active registered firms, including 18 of the top 25 global banks, global asset managers, insurers and law firms.

Dubai, a trade and business hub in the leading OPEC producer, is recovering from a $25 billion debt restructuring last year in its flagship company, Dubai World , after its 2009 standstill sent global markets reeling. (Reporting by Firouz Sedarat; Editing by David Cowell)