Ajman’s financial and insurance activities are a small but growing contributor to the emirate’s GDP, Rising from 3.5% in 2019 to 3.7% in 2023 and providing Dh1.3bn ($353.9m) to the overall economy. The emirate’s financial services sector is small compared to other emirates, such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with two banks headquartered in Ajman. However, their identity as Islamic banks may allow them to capitalise on growing social interest in more ethical and socially responsible financial options.
Structure & Oversight
The central bank of the UAE (CBUAE) is the main regulatory body for all banks operating in Ajman. By September 2024 there were 23 locally incorporated banks in the country, an additional six banks from the GCC and 38 foreign banks, with assets totalling Dh4.4trn ($1.2bn) in the third quarter of 2024, according to the CBUAE. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have the larger number of banks, with 14 and 26 commercial banks, respectively. The CBUAE has also licensed 17 finance companies and 76 money changers. Of these financial institutions, two are headquartered in Ajman: Ajman Bank and Ruya Bank. The primary law regulating the CBUAE is the Central Bank and Organisation of Financial Institutions and Activities Law from 2018, which was updated in 2020, 2021 and 2023. It oversees the CBUAE’s organisational structure and main responsibilities, including the promotion and protection of the stability of the financial system, licensing and supervision. The CBUAE also develops and enforces laws concerning a wide variety of financial activities including crowdfunding, mortgages and sustainable finance.
Ajman-focused regulatory bodies are the Ajman Department of Finance (DoF), Ajman Department of Economic Development (AJDED) and Free Zone Authority of Ajman (FZAA). The DoF is regulated by Emiri Decree No. 11 of 2011. Its primary tasks are budgeting, governmental supervision and financial reporting within the government. The business-facing side carries out administrative work regarding company formations, regulations and impact studies. Sheikh Ahmed bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, a son of the ruler of Ajman, is the DoF’s chairman. Its director-general, Marwan Ahmed Al Ali, is a member of the Executive Council of Ajman. Sheikh Ahmed also serves as the chairman of AJDED, an organisation founded in 2011 with the goal of enhancing Ajman’s investment climate and attracting more foreign investment.
AJDED handles regulatory issues like intellectual property protection and trademarks, in addition to running financial inclusion programmes like Taziz and Reyada, which are focused on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). AJDED is slated to play a key role in Ajman Vision 2030 plans, which aim to improve the competitiveness of the emirate’s business environment, enhance productivity and strengthen its trade infrastructure. The third body is FZAA, chaired by Sheikh Ahmed. Its primary responsibility is licensing companies and enforcing anti-money laundering and consumer protection regulations. It also handles visa issues and organises residence and work permits. FZAA interacts directly with the Emirati Ministry of Finance on regulatory issues.
Regulation
The primary regulatory body for the UAE’s capital markets is the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA). At the time of writing, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) in Abu Dhabi and the Dubai Financial Markets in Dubai were the two stock exchanges approved by the SCA. Neither exchange has a branch office in Ajman, though ADX has one in Sharjah. The chairman of the SCA is Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi, who also heads the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and sits on the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. The SCA is guided by Federal Law No. 4 of 2000 Concerning the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority and Market, which is divided into two parts. The first part establishes the SCA and lays out its responsibilities, including maintaining financial and economic stability, developing investment awareness, providing investment opportunities and regulating the market. This section describes the structure of the SCA, including its leadership and organisational framework.
Part two of the law establishes the securities and commodities market, outlining the market’s structure, leadership, and financing methods, as well as the licensing process for brokers. The SCA is responsible for managing complaints, accrediting staff, and handling license renewals for trading entities. Although the SCA does not have an office in Ajman, it collaborates closely with the Department of Economic Development in each emirate, including Ajman, as key partners. Among the country’s two stock markets, the ADX is the larger of the two. According to the SCA’s 2023 annual report, the average daily trading volume at the ADX for that year was Dh1.3bn ($353.9m), while at the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) it was Dh403m ($109.7m), bringing the total combined daily trading volume to Dh1.7bn ($462.7m).
Insurance
The CBUAE has been the insurance regulator since 2020. Previously, the sector was monitored by the Insurance Authority. The CBUAE licenses, regulates and supervises insurance companies, which are allowed to operate in four segments: health, liability, life and property insurance. The primary law laying out the responsibilities of the CBUAE was the Federal Law No. 6 of 2007 on the Establishment of the Insurance Authority and Organisation of the Insurance Operations; however, this law was superseded by the 2023 Insurance Activities Law that came into force in November 2023. The newer law lays out definitions, dispute resolution mechanisms and penalties.
The insurance sector has strict local ownership requirements. UAE and GCC nationals must hold at least 51% of shares in insurance brokerages, thirdparty administrator companies, insurance consultancies, and surveying and loss adjustment companies. Insurance agents must be fully owned by UAE nationals, and foreign insurance companies can only operate in the UAE through a branch office or insurance agent.
According to the October 2024 CBUAE register of companies in the insurance sector, there are 538 entities. Of these, 59 are licensed insurance organisations, and 26 are foreign, 23 are national and 10 are takaful (Islamic insurance) companies. Of the 163 insurance brokers, 159 are national and four are foreign. There are 51 insurance consultancies, 22 insurance agents, 19 third-party administrator firms and 75 actuarial businesses. There are 149 loss and damage adjusters, 11 of which are foreign. The overwhelming majority of firms are headquartered in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with a single provider based in Ajman. Of the foreign companies, most are Indian, Jordanian, Pakistani or from the UK.
Lending & Deposit Growth
The UAE banking sector enjoyed strong performance in 2023 and 2024. By the third quarter of 2024 there had been a 14.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in deposit growth, driven by an impressive 20.5% y-o-y increase in private corporate deposits and a 9.1% y-o-y increase in lending – primarily due to business and retail growth. According to the CBUAE’s September quarterly economic review, the inflation rate for 2024 was 2.2%. This rate is projected to continue throughout 2025.
The central bank cut its base rate from 4.9% to 4.65% in November 2024 and then again to 4.4% in December that year. The CBUAE’s credit sentiment survey, conducted in the third quarter of 2024, revealed that 44% of respondents observed a moderate increase in demand for business loans in the Northern Emirates – which includes all emirates except Abu Dhabi and Dubai – while 4.4% noted a substantial rise compared to the previous quarter. Despite this, the Northern Emirates still significantly trail behind Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with their combined gross assets accounting for less than 10% of the total assets of the two wealthier emirates. However, the Northern Emirates have experienced more rapid asset growth, with a y-o-y increase of around 9.3%, compared to 7.8% in Dubai and 8.2% in Abu Dhabi.
Two areas where the Northern Emirates have seen notably large growth are in government credit, which rose substantially by 28.8% y-o-y, compared to 7.9% in Dubai and 6.9% in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, foreign credit grew 52% y-o-y in the Northern Emirates, far outpacing Dubai’s 26.4% growth and Abu Dhabi’s 23% – albeit from a low base. In absolute terms, the foreign credit of these emirates was approximately Dh10.2bn ($2.8bn), compared to Dh291.7bn ($79.4bn) for Dubai and Abu Dhabi combined.
The difference in scale between Abu Dhabi and Dubai’s banking activities and that of the five remaining emirates is emphasised by the size differential of banking networks. As of September 2024 there were 14 national banks headquartered in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, compared to nine in the remaining five emirates. The two larger emirates have 341 bank branches combined, and the Northern Emirates have 141. For foreign banks, eight are headquartered in Abu Dhabi, 19 in Dubai and none are in the Northern Emirates.
Asset Trends
The Emirati banking sector has experienced several significant shifts. According to the CBUAE’s September 2024 statistical bulletin, foreign assets have grown at a faster rate than any other asset category, with credit to non-residents and assets due from foreign banks nearly doubling since December 2020. This surge may be attributed to the UAE, particularly Dubai, receiving the largest influx of millionaires in 2024, driven by increasing political and economic uncertainty in China and Russia.
Other trends include the steady increase in private sector loans, which grew from Dh985.7bn ($268.3bn) to Dh1.2trn ($326.7bn) between December 2020 and September 2024. Loans to the government declined from Dh242.1bn ($65.9bn) to Dh186.8bn ($50.8bn), but loans to government-related entities saw a steep rise from Dh203bn ($55.3bn) to Dh283bn ($77bn) over the same period. According to the central bank, this is due to continued financing demand for infrastructure projects. For foreign banks, domestic loans went down, but deposits more than doubled between December 2020 and September 2024. Domestic investment also saw a dramatic increase, from Dh5.9bn ($1.6bn) to Dh9.6bn ($2.6bn).
The central bank does not differentiate Islamic bank deposits by emirate, but at a national level, the conventional banking sector is almost five times larger than the Islamic banking sector, with Dh3.6trn ($980bn) in assets compared to the Dh762.7bn ($207.6bn) held by Islamic banks. From December 2020 to September 2024, assets held by Islamic banks grew by 27.6%, while those of conventional banks grew by more than 40%. Like conventional banks, Islamic banks saw a dramatic growth in their foreign assets, which more than doubled from Dh71bn ($19.3bn) in December 2020 to Dh148bn ($40.3bn) in September 2024. Assets due from banks abroad doubled, but the bulk of the increase came from a tripling in foreign securities held by Islamic banks, from Dh27.8bn ($7.6bn) to Dh86.1bn ($23.4bn).
According to the central bank, the two primary loan segments were personal consumption loans, with Dh484bn ($131.7bn) in September 2024, and construction and real estate loans, with Dh269bn ($73.2bn). Real estate alone totalled Dh220bn ($59.9bn). In Ajman, Ajman Bank has partnered with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure’s Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme to facilitate access to housing finance for UAE citizens. According to the 2023 CBUAE Financial Stability Report, real estate loans grew by 2.4% that year, while the non-performing loan ratio dropped to 6.9%, down slightly from its 7.6% peak during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. The corporate sector non-performing loans (NPL) ratio returned to pre-pandemic levels of around 8.1%. Across the whole banking industry, the NPL rate declined to 5.9% by end-2023.
The September 2024 Credit Sentiment Survey found that quarterly lending demand was softening, though still above historical levels, with property development having strong demand while the finance sector recorded lower demand than the other surveyed sectors. Personal lending sees the opposite trend, with consumer demand increasing across all loan categories, with credit cards, housing and car loans seeing especially strong growth, a trend helped by rising incomes and declining interest rates. The survey also found that demand for personal loans had increased in all emirates, though the Northern Emirates saw less growth than Abu Dhabi and Dubai. For business lending, the situation was reversed, with Northern Emirates seeing more demand for business loans than Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Technology & Financial Inclusion
One of the core principles of Ajman Vision 2030 is financial inclusion, and one of its main objectives is to cultivate a competitive business environment. AJDED runs multiple SME-focused initiatives to add dynamism to and diversify the emirate’s economy. In 2021 Ajman Bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Emirates Development Bank to offer credit guarantees to SMEs to ease their access to finance. In November 2024 the programme was renewed, with a focus on five sectors: advanced technology, food security, health care, manufacturing and renewables.
In October 2024 Ajman Bank partnered with Abu Dhabi-based payment solutions organisation Magnati to offer sharia-compliant financing to SMEs, making the emirate a relative frontrunner in the Islamic SME financing space. Ruya Bank, an Ajman-headquartered, digital-first Islamic financial service provider that started operating in the autumn of 2024, is positioning itself to capitalise on Islamic SME finance opportunities. According to Christoph Koster, CEO of Ruya Bank, “Historically, SMEs have struggled to access financing due to unpredictable cash flows and limited credit histories. Islamic banks can address this gap through innovative financing models like profit-and-loss sharing and alternative credit assessments, unlocking significant market potential.”
On the government side, the DoF has entered partnerships, including with Oracle and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), to digitise its financial bureaucracy. The Oracle partnership aids the emirate in its budgeting progress, while the collaboration with FAB will digitise all government transactions in the emirate and increase the features in the Ajman digital wallet. Ajman’s expansion of digital finance options is happening in tandem with the UAE positioning itself as a global leader in digital banking. In March 2023 the CBUAE launched its Central Bank Digital Currency Strategy, and in January 2024 the country made its first cross-border payment using the Digital Dirham. Due to a friendly regulatory environment and a growing number of financial technology (fintech) firms, the UAE’s digital banking sector is expected to be worth $175bn ($47.6bn) by 2029. The UAE has 99% internet penetration and 90% mobile banking penetration.
Capital Markets
According to the SCA 2023 Annual Report, there are 232 companies registered with the authority. Of these, 76 are unlisted, while 61 were listed on the DFM and 95 on the ADX. The DFM has more foreign listed companies, 11 to the ADX’s three, while the ADX has more private joint stock companies, 13 to DFM’s one and more companies based in free zones, and 11 to DFM’s zero.
According to the CBUAE 2023 annual report, by the end of that year, the ADX’s market capitalisation stood at Dh2.9trn ($789.4bn), while that of the DFM reached Dh671.9bn ($182.9bn) in the same period. However, the CBUAE’s December 2024 quarterly economic review said that in that timeframe, the ADX general index fell by 4.5% y-o-y while that of the DFM climbed by 6.4%. Despite this, both markets rose relative to December 2023, with the DFM’s market capitalisation reaching Dh733m ($199.5m) and that of the ADX achieving Dh2.9trn ($789.4bn). In 2023 cash dividends totalled approximately Dh42bn ($11.4bn), with banking (42.9%) and telecoms companies (19.3%) disbursing the majority of dividends.
A key legal development that was announced in 2020 and enacted in 2021 allows organisations based in free zones to do their initial public offering (IPO) on the ADX or DFM if they have Dh20m ($5.4m) or more in paid-up capital and the offer is between 25% and 70% of the company’s total share value. A major beneficiary of this legal change was ADNOC Gas, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, whose $2.5bn IPO for 5% of the company was the largest ever IPO on the ADX and one of the biggest globally that year. The IPO valued the company at $50bn.
The change has been lauded as investor friendly, as the two main free zones, the Dubai International Financial Centre and the Abu Dhabi Global Market, have well-understood legal regimes. The new expected norm of Emirati IPOs is that the listed company will be based in free zones while the operating entity is a subsidiary of the listed firm and established outside the free zone. Since 2023 green and sustainability-linked bonds and sukuk (Islamic bonds) have been exempted from registration fees to encourage investment in these instruments.
Another growing trend in the emirate is dual listings. The UAE’s growth as a global financial centre is causing more companies to list in both their home jurisdiction and either on the DFM or ADX. Americana Restaurants, a franchisee of fast-food restaurants, listed in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh in December 2022. Hypermarket chain Lulu Group is considered a dual listing in the same two jurisdictions, as is Kuwaiti supply chain services firm Agility Global. According to Bloomberg, the UAE’s strong fintech ecosystem is also attracting increased attention from companies considering dual listings in London and the UAE. In 2024 investment giant ADQ listed a $2.5bn bond on both the London Stock Exchange and the ADX.
IPO Environment
These developments likely contribute to the fact that a full 58% of IPO proceeds in the GCC in 2023 were in the UAE, for a total of $6bn. According to the 2023 SCA annual report, 2023 saw IPOS worth Dh22.3bn ($6.1bn). This was down from the 2022 total of around Dh51.8bn ($14.1bn).
The year 2022 saw almost half the total IPO value comprised of the Dh23.6bn ($6.4bn) listing of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. The Dh7.4bn ($2bn) listing of petrochemicals firm Borouge and the Dh4bn ($1.1bn) listing of Abu Dhabi Ports Company the same year meant that these three companies made up over two-thirds of the total IPO value of 2022. Major 2024 IPOs included Lulu Group’s Dh6.3bn ($1.7bn) listing in November; food delivery service Talabat’s Dh7.5bn ($2bn) listing in December, which proceeded to slide by 7.5% in value; energy firm NMDC’s Dh3.2bn ($871m) listing in September; and Alef Education’s Dh1.9bn ($517.2m) IPO in June. Potential IPOs for 2025 include that of Abu Dhabi’s flag carrier Etihad, and Dubai-based online marketplace Dubizzle and hospitality company Five Holdings.
The SCA does not differentiate between Islamic and non-Islamic bonds. In 2023 a total of $18.1bn in Islamic bonds and sukuk were approved by the SCA, of which $4.8bn were green bonds and sukuk. According to the SCA’s 2023 annual report, there were 51 outstanding bonds and sukuk on the ADX and four on the DFM that year. As an Islamic bank, Ajman Bank invests in several Islamic financial instruments, including sukuk, wakala (agency) and murabaha (cost-plus financing).
The SCA states that 12 out of the 31 registered local funds in the UAE are sharia-compliant.
Insurance
According to the 2023 insurance sector annual report, gross written premium (GWP) increased by 13% that year to Dh53.4bn ($14.5bn), driven by a 16.6% increase in property and liability insurance premium and a 19.1% rise in health insurance premium. Ajman makes up a small proportion of this market. GWP in Ajman was 0.3% of the total, with Dubai making up 61% and Abu Dhabi 27.7%. Ajman made up 0.5% of the UAE’s insurance policies and 0.3% of paid claims by value. The majority of Ajman’s policies are for health insurance, at 89%, though health insurance only makes up 38.1% of claims paid, with life and investment insurance, and property and liability insurance making up 26% and 35.4%, respectively.
Insurance paid by segment has remained stable since 2020, though certain life insurance policies saw large spikes in 2020 and 2022, likely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While national insurers are substantially larger than foreign insurance companies in the property, liability and health insurance segments, foreign insurance companies play a much larger role than local ones in ensuring investment and savings. This difference is narrowing, however, with foreign firms’ share of the market dropping from 81.9% in 2014 to 65% in 2023. At Dh2.5bn ($680.5m), profits in 2023 were dramatically higher than the nearly Dh2bn ($544m) reached in 2022, driven by an increase in investment income. Insurance company investment in 2023 included 42.6% in equity and debt securities, 28.9% in cash deposits, 5.7% in real estate investment and the remainder in other assets. Insurance brokers are by far the leading venue for sales in the UAE, making up 59.3% of GWP in the life sector and 47.8% of GWP in non-life. Banks place second in the life insurance segment, responsible for 21.2% of GWP, but only 0.5% of the non-life sector.
Takaful insurance is a growing sector in the UAE, with GWP in 2023 totalling Dh4.9bn ($1.3bn), compared to Dh34.3bn ($9.3bn) for traditional insurance companies, up from Dh4.2bn ($1.1bn) and Dh29.6bn ($8.1bn), respectively, in 2022. Despite their smaller size, takaful companies make up 40.6% of total GWP for life and investment insurance, showing a clear preference for Islamic products in those segments. For property and liability insurance, takaful insurance companies make up only 9.8% of the total GWP.
The Emirati insurance sector is heavily concentrated, with the three largest insurance providers holding a roughly 50% market share. Orient Insurance had a GWP of Dh7.4bn ($2bn) in 2023 with around 20% market share. The second-largest, Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC), had a GWP of Dh6.1bn ($1.7bn). The third-largest, Sukoon – also known as Oman Insurance Company, had a GWP of Dh4.6bn ($1.3bn). Salama Insurance, the largest takaful company, had a GWP of Dh1.3bn ($354m).
Banks
According to Ajman’s financial statements for the third quarter of 2024, its assets have declined slightly from Dh24.9bn ($6.8bn) to Dh24.4bn ($6.6bn) since December 2023. However, its pre-tax profits went up dramatically, from a loss of Dh87m ($23.7m) in the first three quarters of 2023 to a profit of Dh312m ($84.9m) in the same period of 2024. According to the bank’s 2023 annual report, those losses were due to provisions to address asset quality issues. Despite the loss, Ajman Bank’s 2023 Dh550m ($149.7m) rights issue was oversubscribed seven times. One of Ajman Bank’s asset classes that saw the most growth was Islamic credit cards, whose value went from Dh46m ($12.5m) to Dh64m ($17.4m) between December 2023 and December 2024, a substantially larger percentage increase than its other investing assets. The bank’s role in Ajman Vision 2030 will likely largely be that of a facilitator, building upon the SME initiatives discussed earlier. However, the blueprint’s plan to establish a government investment entity that will take over the emirate’s shareholding in government-owned enterprises will lead to a change in the bank’s ownership, as the government of Ajman is the bank’s largest shareholder with a 25% stake.
Ruya Bank, the other financial entity headquartered in Ajman, commenced operations in late 2024. The bank predicts that it can capitalise on a growing demand for Islamic finance due to the burgeoning trend of ethical consumerism in the UAE. “Ethical consumerism has emerged as a powerful force driving demand for Islamic banking in Ajman and the UAE. Younger consumers, in particular, increasingly align their financial decisions with values such as fairness, transparency, social responsibility, openness and honesty. These values resonate deeply with the principles of Islamic finance, making it a natural fit for this demographic,” Koster said.
Ruya Bank is decisively leveraging its position in the market. In October 2024 it signed an MoU with the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) to bring sharia-compliant digital banking to companies operating in the RAKEZ. Furthermore, in September 2024 it signed an agreement with AJDED to strengthen its business banking facilities.
Investment Flow
According to the SCA, average daily trading volume dropped by 21.8% from Dh2.1bn ($571.6m) in 2022 to Dh1.7bn ($462.7m) in 2023. As of April 2025, no further information had been provided about the decrease. The net investment flows show a substantial divergence, with net investment in Abu Dhabi markets having an outflow of Dh9.5bn ($2.6bn) while Dubai has an incoming flow of Dh5.1bn ($1.4bn) for a total net outflow of Dh4.4bn ($1.2bn). This is reflected in the relative performance of market indices, where the ADX declined 6.2% from end-2022 to end-2023, while the DFM rose by 21.7%, outperforming the Bahrain Bourse and the Saudi Exchange.
All major insurance companies saw growth in 2023 and 2024, likely aided by regulations announced in early 2024 mandating health insurance for all workers starting in January 2025. Orient Insurance’s assets jumped from Dh11.9bn ($3.2bn) to Dh15.3bn ($4.2bn) between December 2023 and September 2024, with profit increasing from Dh504m ($137.2m) to Dh536m ($145.9m) over the same period. From 2022 to 2023 the company saw its GWP rise by 22%, from Dh6.1bn ($1.7bn) to Dh7.4bn ($2bn). Sukoon saw similar asset growth, going from Dh7.6bn ($2.1bn) in 2022 to Dh8.8bn ($2.4bn) in 2023. Meanwhile, insurance revenue climbed from Dh3.9bn ($1.1bn) to Dh4.6bn ($1.3bn), though profit declined from Dh251m ($68.3m) to Dh201m ($54.7m). ADNIC saw asset growth but steady revenue and insurance profit, with assets going from Dh6.4bn ($1.7bn) in 2022 to Dh7.7bn ($2.1bn) in 2023, while insurance revenue stayed steady at Dh4.6bn ($1.3bn). The assets of takaful provider Salama increased from Dh3.6bn ($980m) in 2022 to Dh3.6bn ($980m) in 2023, though profit declined from Dh102m ($27.8m) to Dh46m ($12.5m) over the same period.
Outlook
Due to the continued rapid expansion of the UAE, Ajman’s broad outlook is positive. However, the emirate could benefit from attracting additional companies, as highlighted by the Ajman Chamber, to reap maximum benefits from that growth. The launch of Ruya Bank is, therefore, a welcome development, and the increase in extant free zones and the development of new ones should continue. Competing with the financial services sectors of Abu Dhabi and Dubai poses a challenge, but as Ajman Bank and Ruya Bank show, the emirate can create a productive niche for itself in the digitally capable Islamic banking segment.
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