Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) may beat its target of more than doubling the number of financial firms registered within it by 2024 if interest continues from markets such as China, India and the Middle East, according to the governor Essa Kazim. The state-owned financial free zone in 2014 set a target of reaching 1,000 financial firms by 2024. The total hit 447 in 2016, up by 10% from the previous year. Its other targets include expanding DIFC’s workforce to 50,000 and growing the combined balance sheet of firms within it to USD400bn. The workforce hit 21,611 in 2016, while the combined balance sheet reached USD144bn. In 2017, there is a strong pipeline of firms interested in setting up, especially banks from the Middle East, China and India, according to Kazim. (Reuters)