At the time when the global economy is facing slowdown, Qatar has emerged preferred destination for companies across the world. Several companies decided to enter Qatar despite the challenging environment created by COVID-19 outbreak, which has slowed down economic activities across the globe.
The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), a leading onshore financial and business centre in the region, has revealed a significant increase of 63.7 percent in the number of new firms licensed on the QFC platform in 2020, compared to 2019. The QFC registered 334 firms in 2020, compared to almost 200 firms registered over the same period in 2019. Ending the year on a high note, the QFC maintained its business growth for the 8th consecutive year, despite the unprecedented global economic slowdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The expansion of the QFC-registered firms, which represents a variety of industries, both financial and non-financial services, included a record increase of 139.5 percent in the digital sector.
Given the tremendous opportunities that emerged in the technology and digital sectors amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, and backed by the QFC’s Fintech services provider license, the platform welcomed 91 new digital firms, hailing from diverse countries including India, USA, Pakistan, France, Russia and the United Kingdom. Companies prefer Qatar because of its strong economy. Last year in December, International Monetary Fund (IMF) had said that Qatar’s economy is likely to witness strong recovery next year.
According to IMF, a gradual recovery in Qatar - with real GDP growth projected at 2.7 percent in 2021- would be supported by increasing gas production and the rebound in domestic demand. Qatar has taken several measures in the past which has made its economy resilient and strong. Empowering the private sector is one of the main priorities of the government. Qatar had announced a financial package amounting to QR75bn to help support the private sector during the outbreak. Despite the challenges facing the global economy, including the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the economy has managed to maintain its high credit ratings with a stable outlook. The strength of Qatar’s economy has also been validated by rating agencies.
In November, S&P Global Ratings had affirmed Qatar’s sovereign credit rating at AA-/Stable/A-1+, with a stable outlook. With the help proactive government policies and resilience of private sector, Qatar’s economy is set to grow stronger in future.
