On the back of vital government support, the private sector is seen to contribute further in efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and to continue its role in nation building and economic development, a top official of Qatar Chamber has said.
As early as last year, Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani said, Qatar announced a series of legal reforms and policies that ensures ease of doing business by streamlining procedures and other regulations in the country.
Similarly, Qatar passed a foreign capital investment law allowing 100% foreign ownership of local companies across all sectors, as well as new investment incentives that would allocate land to foreign investors in free zones and special economic zones.
And despite an ongoing land, air, and sea blockade, Sheikh Khalifa emphasised that Qatar was able to position itself as one of the strongest economies in the region, and furthermore, among the most promising economies globally in terms of competitiveness and growth.
“Qatar was ranked higher among other FDI destinations across the world,” Sheikh Khalifa told Gulf Times, citing global businesses indices and ranking agencies that pointed to the incentives that Qatar offers to foreign investors.
Sheikh Khalifa also pointed out that Qatar ranked 29th globally and second among Arab countries out of 141 nations on the World Economic Forum’s 2019 Global Competitiveness Index.
In the 2020 World Bank report in the ease of doing business, Qatar ranked 77 globally. The country’s ranking also increased in several key indicators, and ranked No 1 in the property registration index, and No 3 in the world in the tax payment index, and 13th in the building permits index. Similarly, Qatar’s index on obtaining electricity and obtaining credit witnessed a significant increase, official reports indicated.
Only recently, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani announced a QR75bn financial stimulus to help the private sector cope with the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on the business operations of the country.
According to Sheikh Khalifa, the economic package is a concrete example of the government’s support to Qatar’s business sector, and a testimony to the State’s mission to let the private sector continue its role as an enabler of economic diversification and development.
During a recent video conference with HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani, Sheikh Khalifa expressed the private sector’s gratitude, saying the QR75bn worth of funding would not only support the private sector but it will also enhance its participation in economic development.
Similarly, Qatar Chamber director general Saleh bin Hamad al-Sharqi said earlier that Qatar’s private sector responded immediately to the government’s health and safety programmes against the spread of the Covid-19 infection in the country.
At the onset of the health crisis, the chamber activated a series of initiatives and meetings through its board of directors, sectorial committees, and executive management, “leaving no stone unturned in combating the repercussions of the spread of Covid-19,” al-Sharqi emphasised.
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