The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) was set up in 2005 with a mandate to attract local and international services in the financial sector to the Gulf state. To date, its focus has been on banking, insurance and asset management. So far this year the QFC has doubled the number of companies it has licensed compared with 2014, with more licences expected to be issued before the year is out.

MEED spoke with Sheikh Salman bin Hassan al-Thani, chief strategic and business development officer at the QFC on its plans to attract more international investment, its recent market upgrade and the impact the 2022 Fifa football World Cup is having on the state’s investment environment.

What is the QFC doing to attract international investment, both from the financial sector and other sectors?

In early 2014, the board approved the expansion of the provision of services we offer to include a broader range of permitted activities such as professional and business services, consultancy and advisory, special purpose vehicles, holding companies and others.

This has resulted in an increase in the number of licensed firms. So we have seen the first IT [information technology] consultancy, the first project management in the QFC. This is a natural expansion, to the more general sectors with the firms that were already engaged in Qatar.

How are the emerging market upgrades from the MSCI and FTSE Russell index affecting the level of interest financial companies have in the QFC?

It is difficult to isolate the direct impact of the upgrade. The period when the upgrade took place has been marked by several major events such as the declining oil prices and certain changes in regional markets, for example the Saudi Tadawul [stock exchange] opening up to foreign investors this year.

There are several factors that have played a role. Not enough time has passed to see how these upgrades will affect the market.

However overall, the upgrades are positive. Qatari markets have seen several far-reaching regulatory changes in technologies and regulations, prompted by the upgrade itself.

The upgrades have also permitted the depth of the market to improve, so the investors investing in the Qatari capital market, the percentage of institutional investors trading volumes, and the numbers show more than 45 per cent of trades could be attributable to institutional investors.

Are those institutional investors encouraged to set up offices in the QFC?

If they want to set up in the QFC we can always structure their establishment, but of course they can trade from abroad.

How is the investment for the World Cup in 2022 driving interest in the QFC?

The World Cup has acted as a catalyst for growth, and companies do come in possibly because of the interest in [it]. But the majority of the companies that we deal with do not only focus on the opportunities provided by the tournament.

The key motivation element is that they are looking to establish in Qatar. We can consider it one of the engines of the economy, and it could potentially generate broader, longer term opportunities, as well as the opportunities that are generated by the general economy.

I expect the majority of these companies, and some of them may have come for the momentum created by 2022, to stay because of the economics and the growth model of the state itself.

There will certainly be opportunities for them beyond 2022. It’s a matter of the business environment. The companies that come and speak to us are here for the long term and not for a project related to the World Cup specifically. They believe in the fundamentals of the economy itself.

How do you compete against other financial centres in the region such as the Dubai International Financial Centre?

It’s not a matter of competition. The region and the economy have enough room for growth and for all business and financial centres.

The existence of more than one financial centre in the region is not a unique model; Europe has a couple of financial centres, and so does North America.

For Qatar it’s mainly about enhancing business competitiveness and to this end its efforts have shown some positive results. Qatar has been ranked the most competitive economy in the Mena [Middle East and North Africa] region by the WEF Global Competitiveness report 2015-16 and 14th globally.

And for economic governance it is ranked in second position globally. There is room for all the financial centres if you focus on your niche sectors, and the QFC is always open to collaborate with other regional markets.

What else is Doha doing to attract more international investment?

Qatar has several steps and initiatives towards attracting more international investment. It has opened up more sectors for 100 per cent foreign ownership and has raised foreign ownership limits on the Qatar Exchange.

It is also launching Special Economic Zones; to date we have three zones. We also have the expansion of the ambit of the QFC.

Qatar has taken many steps in creating transparency in the governance of the market, initiating institutions such as the QCSD [Qatar Central Securities Depository], expanding the number of custodians to three as of today and expanding the number of brokers.

We have seen positive indicators from our continuous efforts to try to increase the attractiveness of the Qatari markets in the long term.