QCCI stresses role in helping local business

By Ayman AdlyStaff Reporter

Sheikh Khalifa: local businesses need to update their information on the registers

The Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) has reiterated its support for the development of Qatar’s private sector and promote its causes.QCCI yesterday held its general assembly meeting, convened by its chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassem bin Mohamed al-Thani.Members of the board, businessmen and QCCI staff were present at the meeting.“QCCI has been keen to attain two main targets: Sustaining the status of the Qatari business community internationally, and enabling the private sector to positively take part at the development projects going on in the country,” said Sheikh Khalifa.He pointed out that QCCI would host the World Chambers Congress, making Qatar the first to host this event in the Arab world.“The real value of this event is to attract decision makers from the top leaderships of the private sector worldwide. This gives the Qatari business community a good opportunity for interaction and communication,” he said.In the meantime, QCCI represented by its chairman has attained membership to the board of directors of the International Chamber of Commerce for the first time in its history.It also attained the membership of the G20 consultative group.Sheikh Khalifa indicated that QCCI was able to get the approval of various public entities in the country, including Ashghal, to give priority for the Qatari private sector to undertake their projects.He maintained that there have been serious measures taken to establish new shareholding companies such as the Industries holding company and the Agriculture city as well as supporting small and medium projects.However, he urged the members to update their information (with the QCCI database) so that the real size of economic activities in the country is reflected.“It is not acceptable that the number of recorded commercial registers in Qatar amounts to 55,000 and the really active registers do not exceed 25,000. That is more than 50% of the registered companies are inactive,” he stressed.Accordingly, QCCI would adopt a new mechanism to obtain true data about the private sector starting from the next month.Sheikh Khalifa also called all businessmen to actively participate at the forthcoming consultative meeting with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani, presenting their views and opinions about the general economic issues.During the QCCI meeting, a businessman complained that it is hard to implement the decision to move accommodation facilities for labourers away from family residential areas.Such a move entails extra cost and various logistic difficulties, especially considering the limited number of the labourer accommodations making the rental rates very high.QCCI borad member Nasser al-Meer responded that talks are being held with the relevant entities and the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning to allocate whole areas for labourer accommodations.He also said that the Barwa Real Estate Company has a project to build a complete “labourer city”. “The issue would be resolved in time.”