Investment flow into Qatar would multiply manifold if comprehensive information about investment opportunities available in the country is provided, say foreign investors. Although Qatar’s foreign investment law is investor-friendly and the business environment here is highly favourable, what is needed is easy access to information about the investment opportunities available here. There are plenty of investment opportunities here in various sectors. According to a UN report, Qatar ranks 37th in the world in terms of attracting foreign direct investment. It has moved up one notch from last year, when it was in the 38th spot. In Qatar, it takes six working days on average to set the process of launching a project in motion while the average for countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is 7.4 days. Foreign investors, according to a survey conducted by Al Sharq, find the 10-year tax holiday, access to leased land for 50 years (the period is renewable), laws securing foreign investment and guaranteeing that there won’t be any confiscation, and zero customs levy on import of semi-finished products and machinery attractive incentives. “We find these incentives very attractive,” said a Kuwaiti investor, Hamad Mohamed Al Atiqi. More and more Kuwaiti investors were keen to come to Qatar, inspired by a beeline of foreign companies wanting to set foot here, he said. Al Atiqi said the three most lucrative fields for private investment, apart from the vibrant oil and gas sector, were education, health and infrastructure. These were among the key areas where massive investment opportunities were available, he said. The fact that billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects are going to be launched in the country over the next few years is also attracting a lot of foreign investors. But another foreign investor, who is here exploring avenues for setting up a plastic factory, said the authorities must make sure that only genuine investors are allowed to set foot here. He said Qatar could be made a regional hub from where foreign companies and manufacturers could produce and market their services and products elsewhere in the region. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=May2009&file=Local_News200905242814.xml

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