The year 2018 has proven to be yet another period of extraordinary growth for the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) as it achieved a remarkable 31 percentage growth in 2018. This is evidence of the versatility and attractiveness of the QFC’s unique offerings. The number of firms registered on its platform reached 605 in December 2018, compared to 461 firms at the beginning of the year.
This is well past the 50 percent mark of the QFC’s goal of registering 1,000 firms by 2022 and includes businesses in a variety of industries that range from investment management, insurance, consultancy and investment advisory, as well as holding companies, special purpose companies and professional services firms.
The new firms originate from a diverse number of countries including Qatar, the US, Canada, the UK, France, Switzerland, Italy, Jordan, India as well as Pakistan and others.
Investors confidence on Qatari economy is based on country’s strong growth outlook. the local economy is expected to grow by 2.8 percent in 2019 compared ot 2.7 percent in 2018. Qatar is ranked 83 among 190 economies in the ease of doing business, according to the latest World Bank annual ratings.
According to Qatar Central bank (QCB), the international reserves at the Bank amounted to QR144.7bn by the end of April 2018.
The QFC’s growth is also reflected in the number of milestone MoUs, events and international engagements that took place in 2018. The QFC signed five landmark MoUs in 2018 with key local and international stakeholders to develop various sectors of the economy.
Most notably, with the Aspire Zone Foundation to establish ‘Qatar’s Sports Business District’ (QSBD), a new national project which aims to create a premier sports business cluster in Qatar and the Middle East.
The QFC also signed an MoU with B-Hive, a European collaborative innovation FinTech platform to develop the FinTech industry in Qatar. In line with its mandate to support Qatar’s economic diversification efforts, the QFC signed a key MoU with the Ministry of Transport and Communications to develop the digital industry.
The centre is gearing up for our next phase of growth, which will see the QFC supporting some of Qatar’s leading industries to further diversify its economy and attract foreign direct investment. Due to the proactive approach to engaging with key international markets around the world, QFC’s growth will continue in 2019 and beyond.
