Hanwha expands Middle East financial ties at Abu Dhabi Finance Week

Kim Dong-won, left, president and chief global officer of Hanwha Life Insurance, and Kwon Hyeuk-woong, the firm’s co-CEO, attend Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2025 that kicked off Monday for a four-day run. Courtesy of Hanwha Life Insurance

Hanwha Group’s financial affiliates — Hanwha Life Insurance, Hanwha General Insurance, Hanwha Asset Management and Hanwha Investment & Securities — expanded their global capital network and strengthened financial cooperation in the Middle East by participating in major sessions and programs at Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2025, the life insurer said Thursday.

Held under the patronage of Abu Dhabi’s crown prince and organized by Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADFW is the Middle East’s largest financial event. It brings together leading global financial figures representing more than half of the world’s GDP to discuss future finance agendas and cooperation strategies.

This year’s four-day event, which began Monday, featured the four Hanwha affiliates as premier partners. The firms highlighted their strategy of combining the reliability of traditional finance with the openness of digital finance to build a seamless on-chain experience that integrates customers’ assets and financial activities.

Hanwha Life President and Chief Global Officer Kim Dong-won opened the event with a keynote at the Global Market Summit. On the second day, Hanwha Asset Management CEO Kim Jong-ho spoke at the Asset Abu Dhabi Forum, emphasizing the global scalability of Korean defense sector achievements showcased through the PLUS ETF, coupled with alternative investment strategies such as private equity and venture capital.

On the third day, Hanwha Life Chief Global Business Officer Kim Dong-wook outlined the future direction of insurance and financial operating systems at the Fintech Abu Dhabi Forum.

That evening, the companies hosted “K-Night by Hanwha,” a networking program for Korean students and professionals in the United Arab Emirates, which drew about 100 participants.

Throughout the event, executives from the Hanwha affiliates held consecutive meetings with overseas partners and signed several memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with global financial and technology companies.

Hanwha Asset Management signed an MOU with U.S. investment firm MarcyPen to support the global expansion of Korea’s culture and lifestyle industries. Hanwha Investment & Securities also signed an MOU with Kresus, a San Francisco-based digital wallet platform provider, bolstering its plans for specializing in digital assets.

“The Hanwha financial affiliates intend to use our participation in ADFW 2025 as a launching point to establish Abu Dhabi as one of our key strategic bases abroad and deepen our engagement in global financial markets,” a Hanwha Life official said. “We also plan to leverage our technological capabilities to strengthen our role as a financial bridge between Korea and the UAE while accelerating the global expansion of Korean financial services.”