The country that gave the world Al Jazeera TV has come a long way. Historically, focused on fishing and pearling, today Qatar boasts a thriving economy on the back of oil and gas revenues

Since its independence in 1971, Qatar has gone on to emulate its GCC neighbours and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world today. Located in the Persian Gulf and sharing its border with the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia, unofficial estimates put Qatar’s population at just over a million people, of which less than 25% are Qataris. A vibrant country, Qatar is making great strides towards being at the forefront of the economic boom. In the last few years, it has set its sights on increasing its global appeal through liberalisation and a simultaneous, multipronged approach to investment into infrastructure, education and tourism.

Like its neighbours, its economy is highly dependent on revenue from the oil and gas sector which accounts for over 50% of total GDP. With the third largest gas reserves in the world, the country more than makes up for its meager (by comparison to its neighbours’) oil reserves.

The government of Qatar is pushing hard to liberalise the economy in order to develop its non-oil sectors and replicate the economic boom that its neighbours, such as the UAE and Bahrain, are enjoying. It has set its sights on strengthening its private sector by partly privatising state-owned entities such as telecoms and the oil and gas sector. Additionally, the government has taken several steps to improve and promote foreign investment into the country by providing more incentives similar to those being offered by the UAE and Bahrain. These include a tax free environment, no restrictions on repatriation of capital or profits and low customs duty.

As of now, the country has two specialised Free Zones, namely, the Qatar Science & Technology Park and the Qatar Financial Centre.
The QFC is at the core of Qatar’s plans to develop its financial sector and an inevitable response to challenge Bahrain and the UAE’s status as the region’s prime financial hubs.

The Science & Technology Park was set up to house foreign technology-based companies including start-up enterprises, which the government hopes will grow into global players under the incubation of the Park.

On the SME end, the country is very focused on providing enough support to smaller businesses. In July last year, the government announced several measures focused on making it easier to set up businesses. It also promised the announcement of several lucrative investment opportunities for small and medium enterprises. This move (which came right after a United Nations report highlighted that Qatar could do much more to support the SME sector) demonstrates the country’s positive attitude towards change and willingness to grow its SME economy.

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Qatar Investment Promotions Department (IPD)
The IPD is a Government Authority responsible for attracting both local and foreign investment   into Qatar. It supports potential investors by providing them with information on the business environment and keeping them abreast of current and future investment projects, suitable business partners and government incentives.

They have an informative website with general information on the country and the various cities in Qatar. There is also information on setting up a business, the laws and regulations and web-links to all major ministries and government offices.

The ‘HOW TO SET UP A BUSINESS’ link is especially helpful and gives a step-by-step illustration and write-up on the various procedures involved in setting up a variety of businesses including industrial, trading, representative offices, healthcare and tourism based entities. (www.investinqatar.com)

Qatar Investment Promotions Dept: P.O.Box 22355, Doha, Qatar
Tel +974 (4945588); Fax +974 (4933054)
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