(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Amid rising bilateral trade relations between Qatar and Turkey, Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida, CEO and Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad Al Thani, Managing Director, Business Development, at the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority, recently met with Ankara and Istanbul based investors and businesses looking to expand to Qatar. They also met several government officials including Nihat Zeybekci, Turkey's Minister of Economy and Commerce.
Qatar and Turkey have always had strategic relations in many areas of cooperation, built upon a strong and friendly historical relationship. Trade relations continue to increase; in the first quarter of 2017 Turkish companies undertook 128 projects totalling $14.2bn in Qatar. It was recently announced that Qatar will invest $19bn in Turkey in 2018. The bilateral trade volume between Qatar and Turkey stood at $834.5m in 2016 and that figure was recorded at $634m in the first eight months of 2017.
'Our recent visit to Ankara and Istanbul was highly productive. Qatar and Turkey's economic and business interests continue to grow stronger and both regions are benefitting from one another. As one of the most competitive countries in the Arab region, Qatar's business environment offers countless rewarding opportunities to businesses and investors looking to expand, Al Jaida said.
'The QFC continues to be an integral part of Qatar's strategy to diversify its economy. Our meetings with Turkish government officials were also very positive and gave us the chance to discuss our diversification ambitions and how we can help to add to the increasing bilateral trade relations between Qatar and Turkey, he said.
Sheikha Alanoud added: 'Our discussions with Turkish businesses have proved very worthwhile. We have raised awareness about the QFC platform and have had a lot of interest from businesses wishing to expand to Qatar. There are over 200 Turkish companies operating in Qatar with many joint ventures between Turkish and Qatari business people. This is a figure we anticipate will increase, and the QFC platform is one avenue that will help bring more Turkish companies to Qatar.
The QFC endeavours to promote Qatar as a lucrative destination for Turkish companies. Once a company submits its application, a dedicated QFC relationship manager is appointed to provide guidance on the registration process, obtaining a license and setting up operations. QFC firms enjoy competitive benefits, such as operating within a legal environment based on English common law, the right to trade in any currency, 100 percent foreign ownership, 100 percent repatriation of profits, 10 percent corporate tax on locally sourced profits, and an extensive double tax treaty agreement network with more than 60 countries, including Turkey.
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