Manar Elbaz
DUBAI: FinCity.Tokyo, a public-private partnership that aims to boost Tokyo’s financial ecosystem, shared that it is looking to expand its partnership to the GCC region, especially in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, following its participation at Abu Dhabi Finance Week.
The public-private partnership was founded in 2019 by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. It currently has 54 members as of Oct. 2025, including but not limited to Japan Exchange Group, MUFG Bank, Development Bank of Japan Inc., and Mizuho Bank.
“Dubai is keeping up with the speed of development,” Tomohiko Shinohara, manager at FinCity.Tokyo, told Arab News Japan. “We want to convey our experience to other financial markets to achieve a common and sustainable economy on a regional basis because Japan cannot achieve sustainability alone. In doing so, we must get other countries involved.”
While FinCity.Tokyo aims to boost Tokyo’s financial image overseas, they also want to form partnerships in the region that focus on sustainability, highlighting that they often forge these partnerships in Asia but are looking to expand.
“In Abu Dhabi, (the companies) are interested in how to smoothly transition from an oil-based economy to a greener economy. Japan has experienced quite a change, so maybe Japan can help or offer something to help with the transition,” he added.
Some of the activities that FinCity.Tokyo helps companies with include explaining its members’ policies to investors worldwide.
“Compared with domestic investors, global investors are more sensitive to what they are doing with their policy and to making their business activities greener,” Shinohara said.
Shinohara highlighted that he sees future investments in Abu Dhabi in the field of renewable energy the most.
“The Tokyo Government, for example, is assisting quite a lot in the introduction of hydrogen as a new energy. Tokyo itself is trying to install more solar energy. I think the Japanese technologies seem to be familiar with what Abu Dhabi is looking for,” he said.
At Abu Dhabi Finance Week, which took place from Dec. 8 to 11, he noticed that companies are also interested in investing in non-traditional markets such as gaming and entertainment.
“Entertainment may seem a little bit less tangible in comparison to other industries like infrastructure for example. It, nonetheless, seems to occupy a very important place in the economy that is sustainable in a true manner,” he shared.
Additionally, FinCity.Tokyo holds the annual SusHi Tech Tokyo conference, a global conference that aims to showcase global companies in Japan. This year, the conference hosted approximately 15 Abu Dhabi-based companies, according to Shinohara.
“The Abu Dhabi companies had lively discussions with companies in Japan. It is interesting that companies are trying to find business opportunities in Tokyo. It is very encouraging,” he said.
FinCity. Tokyo said that the investment opportunities seen between Tokyo and Abu Dhabi can also extend to other GCC countries like Saudi Arabia.
“We haven’t been there but I’m pleasantly surprised that there are so many people in Saudi Arabia investing here (in Japan). Japan seems to be attracting attention for its predictability in comparison to other Asian countries,” Shinohara said.
FinCity.Tokyo is holding a global forum on Feb. 5, 2026, which will showcase the latest developments in Tokyo. It will feature former Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio.
AloJapan.com