ADFW 2025 Delivers Successful Edition, Showcasing Abu Dhabi's Next Decade of Growth with Over 35,000 Attendees
ABU DHABI, UAE, Dec. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2025, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council concluded after a momentous week of dynamic discussions, announcements, and visionary collaboration that further rooted Abu Dhabi's stature as a leading global financial hub.
As Abu Dhabi's flagship financial and investment event, organised by ADGM with ADQ as Headline Partner, ADFW 2025 brought together an unprecedented 35,000+ attendees with more than 30% international participants, representing 175 nationalities, across 68 events and 394 thematic sessions. The event convened 819 influential speakers and over 69 global and regional partners, including Hanwha as a Strategic Partner.
For the first time in the event's history, the total assets represented during the week surpassed USD 62 trillion – equivalent to 53% of global GDP – as international capital leaders, investors, regulators, and innovators amalgamated in Abu Dhabi to shape the future of global finance.
Commenting on ADFW's most successful edition, H.E. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of ADGM, said, "ADFW has been recognised as one of the world's most influential financial gatherings. This record-breaking edition demonstrated Abu Dhabi's ability to convene global capital at a meaningful scale, with decision makers representing more than USD 62 trillion in assets coming together to shape the future of finance. ADFW has evolved as Abu Dhabi's own global platform, enabling deal-making and capital formation by uniting capital, policy, and innovation with confidence and precision. As the "Capital of Capital", Abu Dhabi is not only hosting global financial dialogue but actively engineering the architecture that will define the next decade of global growth."
Impactful Dialogue and Transformative Announcements
This year's edition catalysed strategic progress across global finance. Among the most consequential developments, ADGM welcomed 11 global financial institutions managing over USD 9 trillion in AUM, in the run-up to and during the fourth and largest edition of ADFW, marking a historic presence of global capital in Abu Dhabi's thriving financial ecosystem. In 2025, in the run-up to ADFW, global giants such as UBS Group, KKR, Julius Baer, HarbourVest, Madison Realty Capital, Partners Group, DWS and Monroe Capital announced setting up within ADGM's jurisdiction. Additionally, during the four-day event, entities such as Cantor Fitzgerald, Circle Internet MEA, BBVA, 'Arab Bank (Switzerland) Middle East Ltd, Gulf, Plenary ME Infrastructure Partners, iCapital and Eurasian Development Bank unveiled the opening of offices in Abu Dhabi's international financial centre.
In a powerful convergence of finance and philanthropy, a USD 1.9 billion global commitment to eradicate polio was pledged during a high-level moment convened by the Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ) Foundation for Humanity, with the participation of Bill Gates, as well as global, regional, and local donors.
In a major regulatory milestone, Binance became the first crypto exchange globally to receive a global licence under ADGM's regulatory framework, setting a new global benchmark for digital asset oversight and reinforcing Abu Dhabi's leadership in financial innovation. ERM, the world's largest specialist sustainability consultancy, announced the opening of its new office within ADGM, highlighting the financial centre's expanding role in advancing the global sustainability agenda.
Abu Dhabi Ranked MENA's No. 1 Financial Hub
An inaugural Financial Centres Competitiveness Index (FCCI), unveiled during ADFW by the Stern School of Business at NYU Abu Dhabi (Stern at NYUAD), ranked Abu Dhabi as the top financial centre in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and 12th globally. This achievement further strengthens the UAE capital's reputation as one of the world's most influential financial hubs through ADGM.
ADFW 2025 has Engineered the Capital Network
The record-breaking edition of ADFW 2025 was anchored by the theme "Engineering the Capital Network," and demonstrated Abu Dhabi's continued emergence as a global financial epicentre as well as ADGM's role in shaping the future architecture of global finance by connecting capital, technology and policy in new and transformative ways.
The event witnessed the announcement of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and strategic collaborations among global, regional, and local entities. This year, 82 MoUs and partnerships were signed during ADFW, further strengthening cross-border alliances and innovation pipelines in the coming year. Top entities that leveraged ADFW's strategic platform to announce their collaborations include BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Mubadala, Mastercard, Hanwha, Swiss Re, RIQ, Kitopi Global, Kresus, Zelo, MarcyPen Capital Partners, Tether, Crypto.com, Zodia, Presto, PCP, Warner bros. Discovery, Global World Gold Council, Bain Capital and more.
The next edition of Abu Dhabi Finance Week will take place from 7–10 December 2026, building on the momentum of ADFW 2025 and reinforcing ADFW as the region's leading global financial gathering.
For more information, please visit: www.adfw.com
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