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Last Updated :
21 March 2012
In line with the State of Qatar’s Vision for 2030, the QFC Authority is committed to the development of a robust and diversified financial services industry, and is helping Qatar to achieve its goal of becoming a leading regional Financial Centre. In addition to focusing on the creation of a global business hub for three core sectors – Asset Management, Reinsurance and Captive Insurance – the QFC Authority is also supporting the broader development of the financial services industry in Qatar. Since 2005, the QFC Authority has issued more than 130 licences to international and local firms, drawn from across the full spectrum of the international financial services sector.
The sheer scale of Qatar’s public and private infrastructure and industrial investment programmes – which in Qatar are expected to total more than US$140 billion over the next five years - are creating huge opportunities. Moreover, the GCC as a whole is expected to invest US$1.6 trillion over the next three years in various projects across several sectors. All of this is accelerating demand for increasingly sophisticated and tailored financial, capital and risk intermediation services in the country and the region. This has opened avenues for banking services, with increased demand for commercial banking, project finance, investment banking, private banking and Islamic finance, as well as fostering the growth of capital markets, asset management and insurance in Qatar and the broader GCC region.
For example, the Qatari bond market continues to mature with a number of significant issues in recent years from Qatari Government and corporates, all of which met with huge investor demand. In terms of the equity market, the Qatar Exchange (QE), 20% owned by NYSE Euronext, currently has 43 companies listed with a total market capitalisation of more than US$100bn and is actively rolling out new technology and trading systems with a view to becoming a world class exchange.
Qatar is emerging as one of the most dynamic economies in the Middle East and offers significant business and investment opportunities to new players in the financial services sector. Through the QFC, both international and domestic financial services firms are able to participate directly in this vibrant and growing market.