CEO Foreword

Dear Colleagues,

With our feet now firmly planted in 2023, it is clear from all indicators that the year ahead holds plenty of opportunities.


It’s a sentiment echoed by the recent FDI Intelligence report, ‘FDI Standouts Watchlist 2023’, which listed Qatar first among 50 of the world’stop destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI). It’s a promising and encouraging statement that is further supported by the data gleaned from QFC’s latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI™), which confirms that, overall, 2022’s Output Index trended at 69.0, far outperforming the long-run trend of 54.8, and making it the highest annual figure in the survey’s history.


The optimism in Qatar’s resilient economy, along with the global goodwill garnered by hosting a successful FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, indeed strongly positions QFC to continue with our mandate to attract investments in vital sectors in line with Qatar’s 2030 National Vision diversification strategy.


With this in mind, we continue our endeavour to engage with the global community, expand our network and explore prospects of cooperation and potential business opportunities. We were thus pleased to participate in the 53rd World Economic Forum (WEF) held from


16- 20 January 2023 in Davos, Switzerland, where we highlighted QFC’s efforts to attract, explore prospects with, and present opportunities to, corporates, executives, and finance and economic leaders interested in establishing businesses in Qatar. The QFC also met with the Atlantic Council delegation to discuss bilateral collaboration.


Collaboration, as we know, is a key enabler of problem-solving, innovation and achieving goals. As such, we recently organised the Qatar Financial Market Forum, a joint effort between the QFC and Bloomberg Intelligence, providing an excellent platform to experts and stakeholders to discuss the role the banking sector plays in translating sustainability goals to reality.


Such events underline QFC’s continued commitment to providing platforms that facilitate the sharing of expertise, ultimately supporting economic development and the diversification of Qatar’s economy.


Moving forward, we will concentrate on sectors of focus for the State of Qatar, with the aim of developing local capital markets, introducing new financial products, and developing modern digital platforms in line with the global digital best practice and standards followed in the financial sector.


On a final note, we welcome the official appointment of Nasser Al-Taweel as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Legal Officer, and Sheikha Alanoud Bint Hamad Al-Thani as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Business Officer, in alignment with QFC’s employment strategy and our implementation of a corporate succession plan.


Indeed, 2023 looks set to be a year of opportunities, and whether one chooses to uncover them or create them, we remain committed to helping you to seize them.



Sincerely,