The trust of investors and business on Qatar’s strong economy remains firm as companies across the globe are queuing up to set up their offices in the country.
Last month, the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), one of the world’s leading and fastest growing business and financial centers, announced that it had reached the half way mark in the number of firms it is aiming to register by 2022, as the total number of firms on the QFC platform has reached 507 firms as of March 31.
The QFC 2022 roadmap, which was announced last year, had outlined the QFC objectives to increase the number of licensed firms to reach 1,000, to create 10,000 jobs within the QFC ecosystem.
The geographical distribution of QFC firms spans across the globe with most recent statistics show that of the 507 firms registered under the QFC the breakdown, where 46 percent are from Qatar, 24 percent from Europe, 11 percent from North America, 11 percent from MENA excluding Qatar and 8 percent from Asia Pacific. The rest of the firms span from Africa and South America.
In terms of the type of firms the QFC licenses, they can be divided into two main sections, regulated and non-regulated, where regulated activities are those conducted by financial service firms, such as banking, investment banking, asset management, insurance and reinsurance.
The number of companies registered at QFC since the beginning of the siege until March 31 reached 120, confirming that the period was the best in the history for the Centre. QFC is looking over the second quarter of the year to unveil its strategy in detail in terms of the different sectors, particularly the financial services sector, in addition to revealing the QFC’s plan to develop the financial services sector in Qatar.
Since its inception in 2005, QFC has continued to play a key to attract foreign direct investment by providing a competitive platform for firms to expand to Qatar. The QFC recently amended its tax rules and regulations as part of the ongoing enhancement and development of its platform to better attract investments.
According to QFC, there will be a focus in the coming period on Asia, especially China, where QFC is considering attracting some Chinese companies, particularly since the State of Qatar hosts the headquarters of the clearing center of the Chinese currency, which will give some privileges to the center and the state.
The interest of companies in the country shows that Qatar will continue to remain an attractive destination for investment.
