Navigating the Future of Finance: DIFC and Asia House explore the new realignments shaping global investment flows
The Future of Finance is going through key realignments in geography, capital, and technology. This was the key takeaway from a webinar held in partnership between Asia House and DIFC marking the launch of DIFC’s first report in its flagship Future of Finance series: The Global Finance and Investment Outlook: Charting technological shifts and new global flows.
Leading figures within the world of finance were convened for a panel discussion, moderated by Michael Lawrence OBE, Chief Executive at Asia House featuring:
- Salmaan Jaffery, Chief Business Development Officer, DIFC
- Taimur Baig, Chief Economist and Managing Director of Group Research, DBS Bank
- Salman Ahmed, Global Head of Macro and Strategic Asset Allocation, Fidelity International
- Reece Merrick, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, Ripple
The panel addressed the uncertain short-term macroeconomic outlook, focusing on geopolitical and geoeconomic shifts. While inflation persists, the global economy remains strong and panellists discussed the key factors shaping global asset allocation. Geographical realignments, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, are influencing global trade flows. AI’s impact on business practices was also highlighted with Reece Merrick from Ripple concluding that AI technology will bring a huge amount of success in streamlining business functions.
Freddie Neve, Lead Middle East Associate at Asia House, also presented the key findings of the report, highlighting the positive outlook for the Future of Finance in 2025, despite three headwinds in the form of inflation, protectionism, and US-China relations.
The session concluded with a Q&A session with the 250-strong audience, where panellists discussed the revolutionary impact of AI on financial services, emphasising the importance of technology as an equaliser in terms of economic competitive advantage. Panellists also touched upon the impact of cross-board payments in a fragmented world and how to drive more efficient cross-border payment systems in the future.
Read the report here
Watch the full event here
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