Senior officials from the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), one of the world's leading and fastest growing onshore business and financial centres, successfully concluded panel discussions, face-to-face consultations and networking events with professionals from Chinese corporations in Xiamen, Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin. 

This follows news that the Bank of China has chosen to join the QFC's onshore regulated platform. The move reaffirms QFC's position as the region's financial centre of choice for financial services institutions looking to expand their business to Qatar and to the Middle East.

The Bank of China is one of the five biggest state-owned commercial banks in China and the fourth-largest bank in the world. As China's most internationalised and diversified bank, it provides a range of financial services to customers across the Chinese mainland as well as 55 countries and regions.

As well as the Bank of China, the QFC hosts a number of other Chinese entities including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Following the QFC's 2016 and 2017 Asian roadshows, the QFC has seen a sharp rise in interest from Chinese and Asian businesses looking join its onshore platform. 

Situated in the One Belt, One Road region, Qatar and China continue to strengthen economic and bilateral trade ties, with a 45%[i] increase in trade volume between Qatar and China recorded in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017. In addition, Qatar is the only country in the region to boast a currency-swap agreement with the Chinese central bank and the first to host a Renminbi clearing and settlement centre.