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The mid-year progress review of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), a leading onshore financial and business centre in the region, revealed an impressive increase in new company registrations, reaching 505 firms in the first six months of 2024, up 230 per cent from 149 firms in the same period last year, bringing the total number of firms on its platform to over 2,200.
The tech sector accounted for the largest share of registered firms, contributing nearly 38 per cent. This significant representation is largely due to QFC’s strong presence at the Web Summit 2024 in Doha last February, where QFC offered special incentives for companies registering during the event. This strategy was part of QFC’s efforts to increase the inflow of foreign investments, diversify the economy, and position the country as a leading tech hub in the region.
The financial services sector accounted for 10 per cent of the total number of new firms that joined the QFC platform in the first half of 2024.The majority of these firms hailed from the UK, France, Jordan, India, and the USA and represent a diverse range of industries, including advisory services, fintech, IT and innovation.
The first half of 2024 also saw QFC entering into various partnerships and collaboration agreements, forging 12 MoUs with prominent local and international organisations. Among them are Masraf Al Rayan, MEEZA QSTP, Hashgraph Association, the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI), the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) of Hong Kong, and the Canadian Arab Business Council (CABC). To streamline the business setup process in Qatar, QFC signed an MoU with Media City Qatar and a workflow agreement with Qatar Science and Technology Park.
As a prominent thought leader in the financial sector, QFC maintained its active participation at high-level local and global events, such as the Qatar Economic Forum, Web Summit Qatar 2024, the annual conference of the Arab Federation of Capital Markets, World Blockchain Summit Dubai, and the Islamic Fintech Forum held in Dubai.
To enhance its engagement with local and international business communities, QFC organised a number of successful events, most notably the Qatar Financial Markets Forum 2024, held in partnership with Bloomberg. The forum focused on “Trends Impacting Emerging Markets Landscape and Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility Sectors”, highlighting developments and opportunities in these fields. QFC also hosted an insightful event on wealth management, addressing challenges and spotlighting opportunities in the industry, with a particular emphasis on family businesses in Qatar.