The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), one of the world's leading and fastest growing onshore business and financial centres, hosted a high-level delegation of cybersecurity companies from the United Kingdom (UK), as part of an official visit organised by the Department for International Trade (DIT) at the British Embassy Doha.

The visit provided a valuable opportunity to discuss the rising importance of cyber-security within financial services, Qatar's growing financial sector, along with the lucrative business opportunities available in the market. It also offered an important platform to promote expertise and knowledge sharing, along with the many unique benefits offered by the QFC platform to facilitate business growth.

Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, Chief Executive Officer, QFC Authority said
"Qatar has made significant strides over the years to protect its cyber infrastructure and was one of the first two countries in the region to have cybercriminal and cybersecurity legislation in place. The average cost of cybercrime for financial services companies globally has increased by over 40 percent over the past three years[1] – this is significantly greater than in other industries, so there are clearly many opportunities for collaboration and investment in this space."

His Excellency, Ajay Sharma, British Ambassador to Qatar, said
"The UK government is committed to making the UK one of the most secure places to do business in the world. We have committed £1.9 billion of transformational investment to the UK's National Cyber Security Strategy to accomplish this. The Department for International Trade recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Qatar's Central Bank on cybersecurity for the financial services sector. This is an important part of UK/Qatar co-operation to tackle the shared challenges that cyber attacks pose to our prosperity and security. We are pleased that our delegation of UK companies could meet the Qatar Financial Centre to develop their understanding of the business environment here and forge new partnerships. We look forward to seeing soon some concrete results."

Sharma added:

"Qatar and the UK have enjoyed a long history of strong bilateral and trade relations, and the QFC is proud to have over 60 UK firms registered on its platform. We look forward to continuing to further strengthen our business relations with UK firms wishing to establish their businesses in Qatar and grow beyond."

The Qatar Financial Centre and the Department for International Trade (DIT) at the British Embassy have a history of close co-operation. DIT are the UK government department responsible for promoting British trade and investment across the world and championing free trade.

The QFC is an onshore jurisdiction, allowing companies to operate in and from Qatar within the QFC legal and tax environment. The QFC endeavours to promote Qatar as an attractive business destination. Companies that wish to establish a business in the QFC are guided throughout by a dedicated QFC relationship manager who assists in the process of obtaining a licence and offers support in matters related to operating a business in Qatar. QFC firms 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 tax treaty agreement network with 60+ countries.

In addition, the independent Employment Standards Office of the QFC embodies a unique Administrative Employment Dispute Resolution Centre accredited by the International Labour Organization (ILO), providing conciliation and adjudication services free of charge to help resolve workplace conflicts. The ESO is fully aligned with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and aspires to promote international best practices in the field of human capital.

[1] Source