Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), one of the worlds leading and fastest growing onshore business and financial centers, is hosting a series of digital events both independently and with partner organizations in an effort to engage existing and prospective clients as well as the wider business community amidst the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and subsequent social distancing guidelines.

In line with its newly-launched webcast series entitled #AccessQatar: QFC Webcast Series, QFC continues to cover the latest trends and developments across a number of industries and topics including Qatars economy, Financial Services, FinTech, Foreign Direct Investment, Digital, and Sports. QFC has hosted over 10 webcasts to date with over 640 attendees, in total, having tuned in. Recent webcasts include Liquidity Landscape for Banks During COVID-19 held in partnership with Bloomberg; Fintech, a Catalyst for Growth During COVID-19 which featured speakers from Finch Capital, University of Hong Kong, Qatar University, and former leadership of Level39; and a webcast on Digital Opportunities in Qatar which was joined by the Embassy of Australia in Qatar, Bureau of Foreign Trade of Taiwans Ministry of Economic Affairs, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

As in-person events continue to be reformatted virtually in light of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, QFC is also adapting its traditional model of face-to-face roadshows to a digital format, and is currently underway in organising two major virtual roadshows to highlight the resilience of Qatars economy during this crisis, opportunities for international firms looking to expand to Qatar, and the benefits of setting up with the QFC. QFCs upcoming roadshows include a US roadshow which aims to highlight key business opportunities in Qatars digital sector, and a Russia roadshow in partnership with Russia Investment Agency (RIA) which will discuss key business opportunities and areas for growth across a range of sectors in the post COVID-19 era.

Sarah Al-Dorani, Chief Marketing and Corporate Communications Officer, QFC Authority, said: "We are witnessing both the acceleration and demand of digital capabilities at both a global and local level in light of COVID-19, whereby connectivity and digitalisation are becoming increasingly vital to business continuity and operational resilience. This epidemic continues to be a test of preparedness for organisations and businesses on their capabilities to adapt to evolving demands."

Al-Dorani continued: "QFC prides itself on the extensive business and partner community it has built over the years, and together we have held a series of webinars and thought-leadership activities on our digital platforms, promoting the resilience and strength of Qatars market that continues to attract investors even during this unique time. In our commitment to maintain this momentum and continue to support Qatars economy, we remain fully connected to our existing client-base as well as potential clients both locally and internationally."

Affirming its ongoing commitment to supporting the nations economic policies, QFC recently announced a set of business stimulus measures for its growing number of firms, including deadline extensions for tax filings; reducing the rate of the charge due on the late payment of tax (late payment charge) to 0% from 1 March 2020 to 31 August 2020; the waiver of the Concessionary Rate Charge due on qualifying QFC entities that elect for the 0% Concessionary Rate under Part 15 of the Tax Regulations if the election is made during the year 2020; and deadline extensions for filing audited annual financial statements by a period of two months.

QFC has also strengthened its digitalisation processes for firms incorporation, ensuring that all automated processes are approved swiftly, from the point where a firm submits a business case to when a firm is licensed on the QFC platform and receiving post licensing services such as immigration, banking and relocation support. In addition, QFC continues to offer full support to its firms in light of temporary business closures during COVID-19, including a 24/7, multilingual call centre where clients can continue to relay their queries and concerns.

The QFC is an onshore jurisdiction that allows registered companies to enjoy competitive benefits, such as working within a legal environment based on English common law, the right to trade in any currency, up to 100% foreign ownership, 100% repatriation of profits, 10% corporate tax on locally sourced profits, and an extensive double taxation avoidance agreement network with 81 countries.

Source: Qatar News Agency
Image credit: QFC

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Sumaica Asad

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