Hanwha Finance published a press release on September 21, 2026 confirming it is expanding its financial cooperation with Abu Dhabi through partnerships covering digital assets, real-world asset tokenization, stablecoins, and cross-border financial infrastructure between South Korea and the UAE.
The group announced the developments on September 17, following the Abu Dhabi Investment Forum Seoul, held September 16 at Seoul’s JW Marriott Hotel. Hanwha Life signed a partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), while Hanwha Asset Management agreed to cooperate with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and Hana Financial Group on stablecoins and digital financial infrastructure.
Hanwha Finance shared the development through its official X account, framing it as part of the group’s broader push into digital-asset infrastructure:
The initiatives form part of Hanwha Finance’s “Digital Asset Silk Road” vision, aimed at strengthening financial connections between Korea and Abu Dhabi.
What Hanwha Life’s ADIO Partnership Covers
Hanwha Life’s agreement with ADIO covers developing a digital finance ecosystem, strengthening connections between the Korean and Abu Dhabi financial markets, and cooperating on digital banking and financial innovation, including exploring the tokenization of real-world assets, a trend covered in more depth in a breakdown of how the Clarity Act could affect altcoins, DeFi, and tokenized assets in other markets.
Hanwha Asset Management is separately working with ADGM and Hana Financial Group to explore stablecoins, digital-asset infrastructure, and cross-border payment and remittance solutions connecting Korea and Abu Dhabi.
Hanwha Life vice chairman and CEO Kwon Hyek-woong said the company will seek to turn its cooperation with Abu Dhabi into concrete business opportunities.
The agreements are exploratory. No specific tokenized product, stablecoin, payment system, transaction volume, or commercial launch date has been announced.
Why Korea-UAE Trade Ties Provide a Larger Market
The digital-asset initiatives come within a much larger expansion of economic ties between South Korea and the UAE. Bilateral trade between the two exceeded $19.8 billion in 2025, while non-oil trade reached $6.9 billion.
The UAE has also committed $30 billion to investments across strategic sectors of the Korean economy, and a recent Abu Dhabi delegation to Korea included representatives from 88 public- and private-sector entities.
| UAE-Korea Economic Context | Latest Figure |
| Bilateral trade, 2025 | $19.8B+ |
| Non-oil trade, 2025 | $6.9B |
| UAE investment commitment in Korea | $30B |
| Entities in Abu Dhabi delegation | 88 |
Table 1. Scale of the broader UAE-Korea economic relationship surrounding Hanwha Finance’s new partnerships.
This broader commercial relationship provides a potential foundation for financial-services cooperation. For Hanwha Finance, the digital-asset initiatives form part of a wider cross-border strategy rather than a standalone blockchain project, connected to a market already covered in a guide to buying and selling cryptocurrencies in South Korea.
The Scale Behind Hanwha Finance’s $130 Billion in AUM
The Abu Dhabi expansion also gives context to the scale of the businesses involved. Hanwha Finance brings together Hanwha Life, Hanwha General Insurance, Hanwha Investment & Securities, and Hanwha Asset Management, with combined assets under management reaching approximately $130 billion, according to Hanwha’s own announcement.
The digital-asset strategy is being developed within a group already operating across insurance, securities, and asset management, and it’s extending its ADGM relationship through Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2026 this December, building on its ADFW 2025 engagement.
How Stablecoins Fit Into the Cross-Border Payment Plans
The agreement involving Hanwha Asset Management, ADGM, and Hana Financial Group specifically targets stablecoin and digital financial infrastructure, exploring cross-border payment and remittance applications while working toward greater interoperability between the financial systems of Korea and Abu Dhabi.
Hanwha Asset Management CEO Dongjun Im said the company will contribute to building a stable and interoperable digital asset ecosystem while strengthening its competitiveness in global digital finance.
In a payment infrastructure model, stablecoins can function as blockchain-based settlement assets while financial institutions handle compliance, conversion, and payment infrastructure, though no specific stablecoin, network, volume, or product has been announced.
What Comes Next for the Digital Asset Silk Road
Hanwha Finance and its partners will need to turn these agreements into specific projects before their commercial impact can be measured. Next steps likely involve identifying tokenization opportunities, defining stablecoin payment use cases, and determining how cross-border infrastructure could operate ahead of December’s Abu Dhabi Finance Week.
What this means for you: Hanwha Finance’s agreements show digital assets becoming part of a broader financial relationship between South Korea and Abu Dhabi. The immediate effect for individual users is limited since no consumer product has been announced, but the partnerships could eventually support tokenized assets, stablecoin payments, and financial infrastructure connecting the two markets.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Digital assets, stablecoins, tokenized assets, and blockchain-based financial infrastructure involve regulatory, technical, market, custody, and operational risks.
