The Banking Executive Magazine - August 2024 Issue

505 New Firms Join QFC Platform 505 NEW FIRMS JOIN QFC PLATFORM IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2024 The mid-year progress review of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), a leading onshore financial and busi- ness 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, con- tributing nearly 38 per cent. This sig- nificant representation is largely due to QFC’s strong presence at the Web Summit 2024 in Doha last February, where QFC offered special incen- tives for companies registering dur- ing the event. This strategy was part of QFC’s efforts to increase the in- flow of foreign investments, diversify the economy, and position the coun- try as a leading tech hub in the re- gion. The financial services sector ac- counted 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 in- novation. The first half of 2024 also saw QFC entering into various partnerships and collaboration agreements, forg- ing 12 MoUs with prominent local and international organisations. Among them are Masraf Al Rayan, MEEZA QSTP, Hashgraph Associa- tion, the Chartered Institute for Secu- rities 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 Sum- mit Qatar 2024, the annual confer- ence of the Arab Federation of Capital Markets, World Blockchain Summit Dubai, and the Islamic Fin- tech Forum held in Dubai. To enhance its engagement with local and international business communities, QFC organised a num- ber of successful events, most no- tably the Qatar Financial Markets Forum 2024, held in partnership with Bloomberg. The forum focused on “Trends Impacting Emerging Mar- kets Landscape and Sustainable In- frastructure and Mobility Sectors”, highlighting developments and op- portunities 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. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 34 ISSUE 188 AUGUST 2024