About QFC
Last Updated :
07 July 2010
Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) is a financial and business centre established by the government of Qatar in 2005 to attract international financial services and multinational corporations to grow and develop the market for financial services in the region. QFC provides access to over US$140 billion of investment in Qatar over the next 5 years as well as to over US$1 trillion planned investment across the GCC.
QFC consists of a commercial arm, the QFC Authority and an independent financial regulator, the QFC Regulatory Authority. It also has an independent judiciary which comprises a civil and commercial court and a regulatory tribunal.
QFC aims to help all QFC licensed firms generate new, and sustainable, revenue streams. It provides access to local and regional investment opportunities. Business can be transacted inside or outside Qatar, in local or foreign currency. Uniquely, this allows businesses to operate both locally and internationally. Furthermore, QFC allows 100% ownership by foreign companies, and all profits can be remitted outside of Qatar. Firms licensed by the QFC can locate anywhere in Doha, and pay local market rents. As at 30 March 2009 there were 36 approved sites.
The QFC Authority is responsible for the organisation’s commercial strategy and for developing relationships with the global financial community and other key institutions both within and outside Qatar. One of the most important roles of QFCA is to approve and issue licences to individuals, businesses and other entities that wish to incorporate or establish themselves in Qatar with the Centre.
The QFC Regulatory Authority is an independent statutory body and authorises and supervises businesses that conduct financial services activities in, or from, the QFC. It has powers to authorise, supervise and, where necessary, discipline regulated firms and individuals.
The business environment created by the QFC enables firms to quickly establish a physical presence in Qatar and the region. With the ability to engage in both onshore and offshore business, firms licensed by the QFC have the chance to participate directly in one of the most economically dynamic regions of the world.