“Dubai Week for the Future of the Financial Sector” examines the future of family wealth and asset tokenization

The activities of the fourth day of “Dubai Future Financial Sector Week” focused on the future of family wealth management and its transfer between generations, in addition to the transformations that the financial sector is witnessing with the expansion of asset tokenization and the development of the infrastructure for digital markets, in light of the growing importance of governance, regulatory frameworks, and modern technologies in managing long-term investments.

The events, organized by the Dubai International Financial Center, witnessed the holding of a number of specialized summits and forums, which addressed the future of family businesses, the challenges of wealth transfer, the development of tokenization-based financing, and institutional investment strategies and risk management.

It also witnessed the announcement of a program to qualify the next generation of family business leaders, and the issuance of reports and research papers addressing the legal and regulatory requirements to expand the use of tokenized assets in financial markets.

The future of family wealth

The Dubai Family Wealth Summit discussed the most prominent challenges and opportunities facing family businesses, offices specialized in wealth management, and high-net-worth individuals, with a focus on planning for the succession of generations, enhancing governance, and ensuring business sustainability in light of global economic and regulatory changes.

The summit sessions addressed structuring wealth and investments in light of geoeconomic transformations, the role of technology and future assets in developing capital management strategies, in addition to responsible investment and charitable work, and enhancing financial and institutional flexibility.

The participants stressed that the sustainability of family wealth goes beyond the financial management of assets, to include preparing leaders capable of dealing with economic and technological transformations, establishing clear mechanisms for decision-making, and ensuring the orderly transfer of ownership and management between generations.

In a keynote speech, Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, stressed the importance of enhancing economic interconnection and international cooperation, at a time when Dubai continues to consolidate its position as a global center for trade, investment and financial services.

Qualifying the next generation of leaders

In the context of preparing future leaders, the Dubai International Financial Center announced the launch of the internal training program for the next generation of leaders for the year 2027, which aims to qualify young candidates to assume leadership responsibilities in family companies, by gaining practical experiences within the institutions operating in the center.

The program is an extension of the first edition of the “Next Generation Leaders Program,” and provides participants with training in the fields of financial services, auditing, consulting, and law, in addition to artificial intelligence, financial technology, and innovation.

The program gains importance in light of expectations indicating the transfer of family wealth estimated at approximately $18.3 trillion globally by 2030, which reinforces the need to develop institutional mechanisms to manage the transfer of wealth and prepare leaders with the necessary skills to ensure its sustainability.

The future of tokenization-based finance

In another axis, the “Future of Coding Forum” discussed the transformations that the financial sector is witnessing with the expansion of the use of asset coding technologies, which allow the rights associated with financial and real assets to be represented digitally using distributed ledger technologies, which contributes to the development of trading, settlement and ownership management processes.

The forum was opened by Mark Steward, CEO of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, with the participation of representatives from regulators, financial institutions, investors and technology companies, to discuss the requirements for moving from limited applications of coding to an integrated financial infrastructure that enjoys reliability and scalability.

The discussions focused on digital settlement, asset custody for institutions, regulatory compliance, legal certainty, and enhancing interconnection between financial markets across borders, in addition to opportunities for integration between traditional finance, digital assets, and Web 3 technologies.

During the forum, the Dubai Financial Services Authority issued a report entitled “Expanding Tokenization: The Path to the Future,” which addressed the regulatory, legal and operational requirements necessary to support the development of tokenization-based financial markets.

The report collected the insights of a number of global financial and technological institutions, including BlackRock, Ripple, Robinhood, Sutter Ensure, and Standard Chartered, reviewing the opportunities for coding to move from the initial experimental stage to actual use in financial products, payments, and market infrastructure.

Steward said that the report brings together the views of financial sector leaders on the future of coding, noting that the move towards the practical use of these technologies raises questions about the necessary requirements to build markets capable of growing and expanding responsibly.

He added that the report aims to stimulate dialogue between financial institutions, investors, regulators and policy makers, to identify possible paths for developing tokenization-based markets, and to enhance their reliability and ability to integrate with the global financial system.

The report does not provide a single vision of the development path of coding, but rather reviews areas of agreement and difference between the parties concerned, with a focus on the requirements that support the building of interconnected and expandable markets.

A mechanism for resolving digital asset disputes

In a related context, the Dubai International Financial Center Courts, in cooperation with the “Deca 4” consulting company and partners from the sector, issued a research paper proposing the development of a global standard for settling disputes related to transactions recorded on “Blockchain” networks.

The proposal is based on a mechanism known as the “Dispute Resolution Oracle,” which aims to create an optional link between smart contracts and the competent judicial authorities, allowing the implementation of legal decisions related to digital assets directly across the networks on which transactions are recorded.

The proposal seeks to address one of the legal challenges facing digital markets, which is the difficulty of implementing judicial rulings directly on blockchain networks, even when clear decisions are issued regarding ownership of assets.

Under the proposed mechanism, the parties can agree in advance on the competent judicial authority to consider potential disputes, while allowing the imposition of temporary restrictions on the assets in dispute, and the implementation of final decisions on the network after they are issued.

The initiative is designed to be an open standard applicable across different jurisdictions, while maintaining the role of judges, arbitrators and mediators in adjudicating disputes, and ensuring the continuation of normal legal procedures, including rights of appeal.

Officials and experts from international financial and regulatory institutions participated in the forum’s discussions, including Glenn Fernandez, Senior Executive Director of the BNY Mellon branch in the Dubai International Financial Center, Paul Kayrouz, Head of the Financial Technology Sector at the UAE Central Bank, and Amna Al Owais, Deputy Director of the Dubai International Financial Center Courts, along with representatives of financial markets and virtual assets regulatory bodies.

Investment strategies and risk management

The fourth day witnessed the holding of the “Investment Leaders Forum,” which brought together representatives of sovereign wealth funds, major investment institutions, and heads of family offices, to discuss strategies for allocating capital in the long term, in light of the economic and technological transformations taking place in global markets.

The discussions covered the distribution of investments between traditional and digital asset classes, managing risks associated with cross-border investments, and opportunities to integrate digital assets into institutional investment portfolios, with a focus on achieving a balance between growth and risk management.

The activities of the fourth day reflected the widening scope of transformations facing financial institutions and wealth managers, whether through developing governance models and the transfer of capital between generations, or building legal, regulatory and technical frameworks that support the integration of digital assets into the financial system, thus strengthening Dubai’s position as an international center for wealth management and financial innovation.

Konstantin Kolesnik, CEO of Tetra Pak in the Arab region, said that Saudi Arabia’s focus on enhancing food security, local production, and diversifying the economy, in line with the goals of “Vision 2030,” has created promising investment opportunities in food manufacturing, processing, packaging, and recycling.

He added that the expansion of local production enhances the flexibility of supply chains and enables companies to meet the needs of the Saudi and regional markets, but investment decisions remain linked to the size of the product, economic feasibility and production capabilities. He pointed out that Tetra Pak has been operating in the Kingdom since 1980, and its facility in Jeddah produces cardboard containers to meet the needs of regional markets, in addition to its cooperation with local companies to modernize production, digital transformation, and sustainability.

Kolesnik explained that food and beverage companies face a major challenge, which is transforming innovative ideas that respond to consumer aspirations into products that can be manufactured, packaged, and produced on a commercial scale. Product success requires achieving a balance between taste, texture, nutritional value and price, in addition to the availability of ingredients, suitability of production lines, and food safety and packaging requirements.

He said that shifts in consumer preferences make it necessary for product development decisions to be based on market research and cooperation with producers, rather than following general trends alone. Consumers around the world are increasingly turning to products that meet their aspirations in the areas of health, wellness, comfort and sustainability, and give them new experiences, while continuing to prefer familiar options that they trust.

In the Middle East, these trends are emerging in parallel with great interest in food quality, safety, and availability at prices that reflect its value, according to Kolesnik. He said that Tetra Pak follows shifts in consumer preferences through research, analysis of market trends, and close work with food and beverage producers, with the aim of understanding the needs of the public and helping companies develop products that respond to them.

The company's Trendipedia reports combine its own research with external studies, to provide clients with insights into changes in consumer behavior and help them make informed decisions about product development. But Kolesnik stressed the need to test trends in each market individually; Because the spread of a global trend does not necessarily mean the existence of a similar demand locally, and consumers’ declared interest in a product is not always reflected in actual purchasing decisions.

Test ideas

Kolesnik explained that developing a new product goes beyond the initial idea; A promising product needs to work on its recipe, taste, texture, nutritional value and price, taking into account the availability of ingredients, processing and packaging requirements and food safety. The capabilities of production lines and packaging options also affect the possibility of launching and expanding the product commercially.

Tetra Pak helps its customers test recipes and processing technologies in pilot production environments, through collaboration and product trials in its product development centers. This allows technical challenges to be detected early and adjustments made before moving to larger scale production. Kolesnik said that, during its participation in the Gulfood Manufacturing Exhibition, the company is showcasing its range of solutions that aim to help food producers transform their ideas into practical opportunities for developing new products.

Consumer research provides a way to understand priorities, identify unmet needs, and evaluate the feasibility and potential development of new ideas. Market analysis also helps to form a clearer picture of the performance of product categories, levels of competition, and emerging opportunities.

Tetra Pak relies on these analyzes to help its customers understand indicators and changes in consumer behavior and estimate their potential impact on product innovation. Next comes the stage of verifying the suitability of the results for a specific market and the nature of the product to be developed. Kolesnik believes that combining consumer research, market analysis, technical expertise, product trials, and processing and packaging techniques gives producers a more realistic basis for making their investment decisions.

Regarding modern technologies, he said that they allow production processes to be monitored and controlled with greater accuracy and consistency, which helps improve the quality and safety of products, in addition to revealing opportunities to increase operational efficiency. But he stressed the necessity of choosing the technology that suits the nature of the product and the factory’s needs, rather than adopting it simply to keep pace with technological developments.

Tetra Pak offers food processing and automation solutions, including the Tetra Pak Factory OS platform, which helps customers manage production operations and make better use of operational data. These solutions, according to Kolesnik, aim to achieve a balance between consumer expectations and production requirements, taking into account the volume of productivity and the efficiency of using resources and costs.

Reducing waste and improving factory efficiency

Kolesnik pointed out that innovation in food processing can address deficiencies in various stages of production, from reducing product losses and downtime of production lines, to rationalizing the consumption of energy, water and chemicals. This can be achieved through developing equipment and designing production lines, improving processes and modernizing systems, in addition to using automation and advanced monitoring technologies.

He said that the first step is often to identify sources of waste in production processes, then choose appropriate solutions to address them. Tetra Pak provides specialized solutions and services in food processing to help customers improve performance and reduce waste, thus enhancing the efficiency of resource use and reducing operational costs. These solutions include improving the performance of existing equipment, raising the level of control in production processes, and benefiting from manufacturing by-products and converting them into value-added products, allowing better use of raw materials.

In the packaging industry, efforts to reduce emissions and costs include reducing the environmental impact of the materials used, increasing the efficiency of using resources in manufacturing, developing systems for collecting and recycling containers, and designing containers that can be dealt with after their use ends. Kolesnik stressed that these efforts should take into account the essential role of packaging in protecting food, maintaining its quality, and ensuring its safe distribution.

Tetra Pak helps food and beverage producers study packaging solutions that balance product protection, resource efficiency, and reducing environmental impact. An example mentioned by Kolesnik is the “Tetrakart” solution, which uses cardboard containers intended for food that can be preserved for long periods without refrigeration. He explained that evaluating the environmental performance of this type of packaging must be done by comparing it to other options, based on equivalent studies to evaluate the life cycle of the products.

Consumers' willingness to pay additional prices for more sustainable products varies from one person to another. Kolesnik pointed out that sustainability has become an influential factor in purchasing decisions, citing a study conducted by Tetra Pak in Saudi Arabia in 2024, which showed that 64 percent of survey participants expressed their concern about environmental issues, pollution, and food waste. He said that the results confirm the importance of understanding consumer expectations in local markets, and achieving a balance between environmental considerations, appropriate prices, and product quality.

Plant products and functional foods

In his assessment of the opportunities for plant-based products and functional foods, Kolesnik said that the two sectors offer promising opportunities for growth, but it is important not to treat either of them as one homogeneous market. Plant products differ in terms of their ingredients, categories, taste, prices, and occasions for consumption, while functional foods include various products that respond to different nutritional needs, from protein and fiber to products associated with certain lifestyles or age stages.

He added that rising investments and consumer interest alone do not guarantee sustainable demand. Commercial success is linked to repeat purchases, competitive prices, and the product’s ability to meet consumers’ aspirations in terms of taste, nutritional value, and ease of consumption. In the long term, growth opportunities depend on meeting real needs and providing a satisfying experience at an affordable price.

Therefore, producers need to focus on taste, texture, nutritional value claims, product formulation and presentation, as well as test new ideas with target groups. Kolesnik said that Tetra Pak supports its customers in these areas through specialized expertise in food ingredients and their applications, product development solutions and processing technologies, to help them explore opportunities and evaluate the possibility of converting them into scalable and productive products.

He touched on fermentation techniques for biomass production and microfermentation, as emerging technologies in the new food sector, which seeks to diversify food sources and develop more sustainable production methods. These technologies provide opportunities for companies wishing to enter a rapidly growing market, but their economic feasibility depends on the applications used, production costs, consumer acceptance, and the ability to expand production while maintaining stability of operations and quality of outputs.

He pointed out that government investments can play a pivotal role in supporting emerging innovations and helping them advance, especially in light of global efforts to enhance food security and develop production systems capable of adapting to climate change. But moving from technology development to commercial production poses challenges; These methods rely on the use of microorganisms to produce foods and their components, such as alternative proteins, which requires verifying production efficiency and understanding the characteristics and behavior of microorganisms.