CEO Foreword

Dear Colleagues,

We have begun the second half of the year having added several firms to our community and, consequently, to Qatar’s thriving business sector. These firms, represent key industries including digital and financial services.

Digitalisation and financial technology are crucial to creating a sustainable and inclusive economy, which we have always strived to achieve for Qatar and to promote globally. In the current environmental state of the world, we must do everything within our capacity, now, to help abate further adversity caused by inequality and climate breakdown.

Before we continue navigating these challenging times and creating more valuable opportunities for our stakeholders through strategic initiatives, dedication, and hard work, let me to take a quick look at some of our achievements in the last six months.

We attracted 152 companies to our platform in the last six months, a 12 per cent increase from the number of firms we registered during the same period the previous year. We also introduced the QFC Sustainable Sukuk and Bonds Framework to the market and implemented the amended Data Protection Regulations. These initiatives advance our efforts to align the local financial market ecosystem with international standard business processes and bolster our efforts to promote sustainability in the financial market.

Through Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), we added three international bodies as our partners, which include Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and Astana International Financial Centre Authority (AIFCA). These partnerships provide us with straightforward pathways to the markets where they operate and open more opportunities for us to introduce companies from these markets to Qatar’s rapidly growing economy. Future joint projects with these organisations will also build up our efforts to stimulate activities in our focus sectors and boost Qatar’s economy.

In addition, we signed an MoU with Bayt.com, an agreement that empowers the talent pool and entrepreneurs in Qatar and provides QFC firms access to Bayt network and support programmes, as well as with Founder Institute, Incorporated (FI) to help propel Qatar’s startup business environment.

Our event calendar was also full during the first half of the year. We hosted over 59 in-person and virtual events, including two roundtables in Berlin and Germany, encouraging discussions on global economic developments, emerging trends, and highlighting countless investment opportunities in Qatar.

In terms of engaging with the global community, QFC was invited to speak at several high-level international events, including The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, where we talked about addressing environmental challenges in the context of finance. We also had the opportunity to speak at the Hannover Messe to discuss QFC’s value proposition and the Qatar Economic Forum, where we joined a panel that tackled disruption and sustainability in finance.

With continued dedication and focus on our objectives, I am confident that the second half of 2022 will be as productive and rewarding for QFC and our firms.

Sincerely,