The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) is eyeing several European firms, especially from Germany and the UK, as part of widening and expanding its international appeal.
“We’ve seen a lot of interest from companies in Germany and the UK that are looking to expand to the region and we are confident that we will be welcoming a host of companies from these markets in the near future,” QFC Authority chief executive Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida (pictured) said.
He said this at the German-Arab Business Forum in Berlin, an important platform for initiation and promotion of promising business opportunities between German and Arab businessmen.
“Our recent outreach efforts in Berlin and London were highly beneficial and provided us with an opportunity to showcase the QFC’s unique platform to businesses in Germany and the UK,” al-Jaida said.
The QFC’s outreach efforts follow their recent and current roadshows in Berlin, Munich, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Manchester and Edinburgh.
The QFC had kickstarted its 2017 global outreach with roadshow in Germany, showcasing the country and its corporate sector to professionals from German corporations and private companies in Berlin and Munich.
The QFC, an onshore financial centre, is eyeing as much as 5% of market capitalisation of the Qatar Stock Exchange through the listing of its authorised firms and plans to triple the foreign direct investments to more than QR200bn in the next five years.
Last year, its Asia outreach saw it touring Mumbai and Bangalore as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral and economic relations between Qatar and India and attract more foreign direct investments.
The QFC had earlier entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, which is responsible for long-term planning, promotion of new growth centres, implementation of strategic projects and financing infrastructure development in Mumbai.
Al-Jaida had earlier said there are credible evidences to show that the QFC is an ideal platform, not only for international companies who want to expand their business activities to Qatar, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia; but also for local businesses looking to expand regionally and internationally.
Highlighting that Qatar’s real economic growth remained “healthy” at 3.9% in 2016, a trend that is likely to continue this year as well; he had said these statistics confirm its belief that there is no better time for international and local companies to expand in Qatar and make use of the country’s strong economic foothold.
As part of its ongoing collaboration with the Qatar Tourism Authority, the QFC had invited Singapore and Hong Kong business leaders to explore the investment opportunities in Qatar’s tourism sector.
u201cWe’ve seen a lot of interest from companies in Germany and the UK that are looking to expand to the region and we are confident that we will be welcoming a host of companies from these markets in the near futureu201d
