UAE surpasses UK to become world's second-largest fintech market in H1 2025
A.SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)The UAE has emerged as the second largest fintech investment market globally in the first half of 2025, overtaking the United Kingdom and trailing only the United States, according to data compiled by Innovate Finance.This notable shift was largely driven by a landmark $2 billion capital raised by Binance, which positioned the country ahead of more established fintech hubs such as London and Singapore.Global fintech investment stood at $24 billion across 2,597 deals in the first half of 2025, marking a 6% increase from the previous six-month period. Of this, the UAE accounted for $2.2 billion from just 58 deals, highlighting its strategic appeal for high-value fundraising.This compares to the UK's $1.5 billion over 240 deals and India's $1.4 billion from 109 transactions. Singapore, another leading Asian fintech hub, drew $797 million across 100 deals.The US, as top country for fintech investment, attracted $11.5 billion in 1,082 deals.France and Germany, traditionally strong European players, attracted $693 million and $668 million respectively. Canada followed with $543 million, while Ireland secured $354 million in funding. Brazil rounded out the top 10 with $350 million across 53 deals.Binance's $2 billion capital raise in the UAE was the largest fintech transaction globally during the first half of 2025.MGX, the Abu Dhabi government-backed investor focused on AI and advanced technologies, made the landmark investment in the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange to accelerate digital asset adoption. The deal, which was settled in stablecoins, eclipsed all other major fundraises and underscored the region's growing influence in the digital assets space. Other top global fintech deals included Plaid's $575 million raise in the US (open banking), Rapyd's $300 million in the UK (payments infrastructure), Airwallex's $300 million in Singapore (cross-border payments), and Mercury's $300 million in the US (neobanking).Commenting on the broader trends, Kaan Akin, Chief Investment Officer at Tenity, noted: 'We're not in a hype cycle – we're in a recalibration. Investors are moving away from broad bets and looking for sharper execution, deeper tech, and clear paths to revenue.'While global fintech investments are stabilising, the competition for capital is intensifying. The UK retained its crown as Europe's fintech leader, but the gap with the rest of the continent has narrowed. Europe (excluding the UK) raised $2.9 billion in H1 2025 – a 28% increase from H2 2024. France and Germany were key contributors, underlining strong regional momentum.Innovate Finance CEO Janine Hirt said the figures demonstrate resilience in the face of global headwinds. 'Despite the broader market adjustment, it is encouraging to see signs of stabilisation and resilience, in the UK and across Europe. The UK FinTech sector has proven its value. It is profitable, job-creating and globally recognised."To retain our global lead however we need to continue working with industry, government and regulators to improve access to growth capital and innovation.'Analysts pointed to a shift in investor behaviour, with capital becoming increasingly concentrated among top-tier funds.Rezso Szabo, Head of London at Illuminate Financial, said: 'In H1, we continued to see a bifurcated venture and early growth market... Yet another bifurcation is emerging: capital allocation is increasingly concentrated among top-tier funds and those emerging managers who have delivered meaningful exits.'
With the IPO market showing signs of revival and the venture ecosystem recalibrating, secondary market deals are also gaining traction. Kristaps Ronis of Ion Pacific expects global VC secondary transaction volume to reach a record $122 billion in 2025, as funds seek liquidity and exit opportunities.
Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
2 hours ago
- Al Etihad
ADQ completes acquisition of majority stake in Aramex
27 July 2025 20:32 A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)ADQ, an active sovereign investor focused on critical infrastructure and global supply chains, has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in a statement, ADQ said the voluntary tender offer for Aramex, submitted by its wholly owned indirect subsidiary Q Logistics Holding, has become will now become the majority shareholder in Aramex, with a 63.16% stake when combined with the shareholding held by AD Ports Group, in which ADQ holds a majority latest acquisition is confirmed by the Dubai Financial Market's data shows Q Logistics Holding holds 40.4492%, GeoPost SA 28%, and Abu Dhabi Ports Company 22.69%. The remaining 8.9% is held possibly by retail investors and smaller had initially aimed to acquire 100% of Aramex and potentially delist the company from the Dubai Financial Market. However, it secured voluntary acceptance from only 40.44% of shareholders. An FAQ published at the time of the offer stated, 'If you decide not to participate in the offer, you will be entitled to keep your shares. To the extent the offeror obtains 90% plus 1 share of the total share capital of Aramex, then the offeror is entitled to apply for the compulsory acquisition of the remaining securities held by minority shareholders.' As this threshold was not met, several shareholders, including GeoPost SA, which holds 28%, retained their a subsidiary of France's La Poste, became a shareholder in Aramex in 2021, initially acquiring a 24.9% stake and later increasing it to 28% in 2022, according to information available on Aramex's website.Q Logistics announced its intention to acquire up to 100% of Aramex shares not held by Abu Dhabi Ports on January 13, 2025. The Securities and Commodities Authority approved the offer document on February 9, and Aramex disclosed its receipt to the market the following February 11, Aramex's board reviewed the offer and HSBC's fairness opinion, which deemed the offer financially fair, and recommended that shareholders accept. A formal circular with these details was published on February 13. The offer was priced at Dh3 per share and open for acceptance from February 10 to March March 28, Aramex announced it had received final confirmation from ADQ that Q Logistics had secured acceptances amounting to 40.57%. When combined with the 22.69% held by AD Ports, this brought ADQ's total effective ownership to 63.26%, exceeding the minimum threshold set by SCA's Mergers and Acquisitions Rules. The offer became unconditional on July 22, 2025, following receipt of all regulatory approvals and said Aramex will be integrated into its Transport & Logistics cluster, reinforcing Abu Dhabi's position as a global logistics hub. With operations in over 65 countries and significant warehousing and trucking capacity, Aramex is expected to strengthen ADQ's multimodal logistics platform. ADQ Deputy Group CEO, Mansour AlMulla, said, 'ADQ's majority shareholding in Aramex marks a strategic step toward advancing our vision to build a globally integrated logistics platform anchored in the UAE. Aramex brings strong capabilities and operational depth that complement our existing investments across air, sea, and land infrastructure. Its addition enhances the services layer of the logistics value chain and supports the development of end-to-end trade and supply chain solutions. We believe Aramex is well-positioned to unlock long-term value through greater integration with ADQ's broader portfolio, and we are confident in its ability to deliver sustainable growth.'
Al Etihad
9 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Advanced technologies a key sector for FDI investors in UAE
27 July 2025 13:55 A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)Investments in advanced technologies remain the top priority for foreign direct investors considering the UAE, with 62% of them identifying it as a key sector, according to the seventh wave of Bloomberg Media's Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) comprehensive study, conducted between May 21 and June 11, 2025, surveyed 2,600 senior decision-makers from 31 countries, including 83 respondents from the UAE and 227 from the entire MENA ongoing geopolitical challenges and economic uncertainties, the UAE emerged as a standout destination, with the MENA region as a whole displaying the largest appetite for global to the study, 90% of MENA-based executives expressed a desire to grow their international operations, surpassing the global average of 76%. These investors also revealed higher-than-average investment plans, reporting an average FDI value of $239 million, well above the global mean of $194 advanced technology led the list of sectors attracting investment interest, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) considerations are also gaining report found that 60% of foreign direct investors considering the UAE already integrate ESG criteria into their strategies, with a further 36% planning to do the broader MENA region, 69% of decision-makers confirmed they currently incorporate ESG principles, reflecting a regional leadership in sustainable investment practices. This compares with a global average of 56%.Political and security concerns, however, remain at the forefront of investor considerations. The conflict in the Middle East, cybersecurity threats, and trade barriers were identified as the top three challenges when allocating investment despite these pressures, investor interest in projects across manufacturing, supply chains, and new market expansion rose notably from 2023 levels—by 10 percentage points in manufacturing, four in supply chains, and three in new market report, titled 'Rebalancing in Real Time: How Shocks Are Shaping the Global Investment Landscape,' underscores a growing shift in how global investors assess risk and opportunity. For MENA investors, cost incentives and long-term productivity now rank higher than traditional metrics such as location and easing of US–China trade tensions was cited as the single most important positive development for economic optimism in the MENA region, with 76% of respondents viewing it favourably—more than any other global the study highlighted a near-even balance between optimism and caution among global FDI decision-makers for the first time in five years, the outlook for the UAE remained broadly positive. The country's emphasis on stability, innovation, and forward-thinking economic reforms continues to make it a highly attractive hub for investment, particularly in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. The Global FDI Outlook is part of Bloomberg's Industry Accelerator suite of proprietary research, providing valuable insights into investment patterns, sector preferences, and global business sentiment across multiple industries. Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
Al Etihad
10 hours ago
- Al Etihad
UAE surpasses UK to become world's second-largest fintech market in H1 2025
27 July 2025 12:50 REDDY (ABU DHABI)The UAE has emerged as the second largest fintech investment market globally in the first half of 2025, overtaking the United Kingdom and trailing only the United States, according to data compiled by Innovate notable shift was largely driven by a landmark $2 billion capital raised by Binance, which positioned the country ahead of more established fintech hubs such as London and fintech investment stood at $24 billion across 2,597 deals in the first half of 2025, marking a 6% increase from the previous six-month period. Of this, the UAE accounted for $2.2 billion from just 58 deals, highlighting its strategic appeal for high-value compares to the UK's $1.5 billion over 240 deals and India's $1.4 billion from 109 transactions. Singapore, another leading Asian fintech hub, drew $797 million across 100 US, as top country for fintech investment, attracted $11.5 billion in 1,082 and Germany, traditionally strong European players, attracted $693 million and $668 million respectively. Canada followed with $543 million, while Ireland secured $354 million in funding. Brazil rounded out the top 10 with $350 million across 53 $2 billion capital raise in the UAE was the largest fintech transaction globally during the first half of the Abu Dhabi government-backed investor focused on AI and advanced technologies, made the landmark investment in the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange to accelerate digital asset adoption. The deal, which was settled in stablecoins, eclipsed all other major fundraises and underscored the region's growing influence in the digital assets space. Other top global fintech deals included Plaid's $575 million raise in the US (open banking), Rapyd's $300 million in the UK (payments infrastructure), Airwallex's $300 million in Singapore (cross-border payments), and Mercury's $300 million in the US (neobanking).Commenting on the broader trends, Kaan Akin, Chief Investment Officer at Tenity, noted: 'We're not in a hype cycle – we're in a recalibration. Investors are moving away from broad bets and looking for sharper execution, deeper tech, and clear paths to revenue.'While global fintech investments are stabilising, the competition for capital is intensifying. The UK retained its crown as Europe's fintech leader, but the gap with the rest of the continent has narrowed. Europe (excluding the UK) raised $2.9 billion in H1 2025 – a 28% increase from H2 2024. France and Germany were key contributors, underlining strong regional Finance CEO Janine Hirt said the figures demonstrate resilience in the face of global headwinds. 'Despite the broader market adjustment, it is encouraging to see signs of stabilisation and resilience, in the UK and across Europe. The UK FinTech sector has proven its value. It is profitable, job-creating and globally recognised."To retain our global lead however we need to continue working with industry, government and regulators to improve access to growth capital and innovation.'Analysts pointed to a shift in investor behaviour, with capital becoming increasingly concentrated among top-tier Szabo, Head of London at Illuminate Financial, said: 'In H1, we continued to see a bifurcated venture and early growth market... Yet another bifurcation is emerging: capital allocation is increasingly concentrated among top-tier funds and those emerging managers who have delivered meaningful exits.' With the IPO market showing signs of revival and the venture ecosystem recalibrating, secondary market deals are also gaining traction. Kristaps Ronis of Ion Pacific expects global VC secondary transaction volume to reach a record $122 billion in 2025, as funds seek liquidity and exit opportunities. Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
