Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2026: Dates, speakers and how to register for tickets

The fifth Abu Dhabi Finance Week will run from December 7 to 10 on Al Maryah Island. Interest registration is open, but public ticket prices and the detailed 2026 agenda have yet to be announced.

Abu Dhabi Finance Week will return in December 2026 with senior figures from global banking, asset management, private equity and technology expected to gather in the UAE capital for four days of conferences and investor meetings.

The fifth edition of the event is scheduled for December 7–10 at The Grand Steps and other venues across Al Maryah Island, home to Abu Dhabi Global Market. It will be held under the patronage of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

For prospective visitors, the most important detail is also the easiest to misunderstand: the official ADFW website currently invites people to register their interest, but it does not publish ticket prices or show a completed public ticket-purchase process. Registration of interest should therefore not be described as confirmation of admission.

Applicants are asked to submit their name, business email, company and job title through the official form. They should then wait for the organiser to provide availability, ticket-category, price and access information. Anyone planning to travel from outside Abu Dhabi would be wise to confirm admission before making non-refundable hotel or flight bookings.

Global investors join the first speaker line-up

ADFW has named an initial group of 2026 speakers drawn largely from institutional finance and investment management.

The published line-up includes Oliver Bäte, chairman and chief executive of Allianz; Tan Su Shan, chief executive and director of DBS Group; Jenny Johnson, chief executive of Franklin Templeton; and Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, executive director and chief executive of Temasek Holdings.

Private-market and hedge-fund leaders announced by the organiser include Charles R. Kaye, chairman of Warburg Pincus; Dmitry Balyasny, managing partner and chief investment officer of Balyasny Asset Management; and Chamath Palihapitiya, founder and chief executive of Social Capital. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, chairman of ADGM and the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, is also listed.

These names suggest that private capital, asset allocation, market volatility and the movement of investment between regions will remain prominent subjects. The final subjects assigned to individual speakers have not yet been published, however, and appearances can change before an event. Readers should check the official speaker page when booking.

What the four-day programme is expected to cover

The organiser says ADFW 2026 will include five flagship forums and more than 65 associated events. Its main programmes are the Abu Dhabi Economic Forum, Asset Abu Dhabi, the Fintech Forum, the Sustainable Finance Forum and the ADFW Dispute Resolution Forum.

Each forum serves a different professional audience. The economic forum focuses on Abu Dhabi’s development and diversification agenda. Asset Abu Dhabi brings together sovereign investors, asset managers and other capital allocators, while the Fintech Forum covers financial technology, digital assets and new payment infrastructure.

The Sustainable Finance Forum is aimed at investors, companies and policymakers working on climate finance and the energy transition. The dispute-resolution programme examines the legal and institutional systems needed to support cross-border finance.

The detailed 2026 agenda is still marked “coming soon” on the official website. The schedule currently visible on the agenda page largely describes the 2025 programme and should not be presented as a confirmed timetable for this year.

This distinction matters because access is unlikely to be identical across the entire week. Previous programmes included sessions available to general delegates, events limited to executive-ticket holders and private meetings held by invitation. Prospective attendees should check exactly which forums, networking areas and evening functions are included before paying for a pass.

ADFW grows alongside Abu Dhabi’s financial ambitions

Abu Dhabi Finance Week is presented by ADGM, the international financial centre whose jurisdiction covers Al Maryah and Al Reem islands. The event has become one of the emirate’s principal platforms for bringing global investors into direct contact with sovereign funds, regulators, banks and local companies.

According to organiser figures, the 2025 edition attracted more than 35,000 participants representing over 175 nationalities. It hosted more than 800 speakers, over 65 events and roughly 390 sessions. ADFW also says institutions representing more than $62 trillion in assets were present.

Those numbers are supplied by the organiser and refer to the 2025 event, not guaranteed attendance in 2026. The “assets present” figure should not be confused with capital invested, committed or managed in Abu Dhabi; it represents the reported assets associated with participating institutions.

Even with that qualification, the event’s expansion tracks Abu Dhabi’s effort to strengthen its position in global finance. The city combines substantial sovereign capital with a growing population of international banks, asset managers, fintech companies and professional-services firms.

The UAE will also host the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Abu Dhabi in 2029, following approval by the institutions’ governors. That decision gives the capital another high-profile platform for economic diplomacy and international finance.

Who is most likely to benefit from attending?

ADFW is primarily a business event rather than a consumer exhibition. It is most relevant to institutional investors, fund managers, bankers, fintech founders, regulators, family offices, legal advisers and companies raising or allocating capital.

For founders, the potential value lies less in attending a large number of panels than in securing relevant meetings before the week begins. A startup seeking venture funding should identify investors active in its sector and stage, while an asset manager entering the Gulf may prioritise regulators, distributors and potential institutional clients.

Professionals travelling from Dubai can reach Abu Dhabi without booking a flight, but the event’s scale makes planning important. Meetings can take place at different venues across Al Maryah Island, and some of the most useful sessions may overlap. Delegates should wait for the full agenda, then build their schedule around a small number of priority forums and confirmed appointments.

Visitors should also register only through the official ADFW website or links clearly operated by ADGM. Until prices are displayed by the organiser, third-party pages claiming a definitive fee or guaranteed access should be treated cautiously.

What prospective delegates should do now

People interested in attending can submit the official registration-of-interest form now. Doing so places them in the organiser’s communication process, but it does not by itself establish the price, access level or approval status of a ticket.

Before completing a purchase, delegates should verify five points: the pass category, total price including taxes, sessions included, refund or transfer conditions, and whether identity documents are required during registration or collection.

ADFW 2026 already has confirmed dates, a venue and an initial speaker list. The two details most important to ordinary delegates—public ticket pricing and the final agenda—remain outstanding. Registration may be sensible for professionals who want early updates, but travel spending should wait until access is formally confirmed.

Fact-check and sources

• ADFW 2026 official website 

• Reuters: IMF and World Bank to hold 2029 annual meetings in Abu Dhabi