Dear Colleagues,

November is a historic month for Qatar as it hosts the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022^TM, the tournament’s first visit to the Middle East. The sporting event has been a boon to the economy from the time the host country was announced in 2010. Now that the games are here, the spotlight on Qatar is even brighter.

For the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), the tournament is an excellent opportunity to build relationships and network within an informal atmosphere. On the field, we have hosted key stakeholders from Qatar and from across the globe at the QFC Match Private Suite and QFC Match Business Lounge in Al Bayt Stadium to showcase our hospitality. Each day, for the duration of the tournament, select QFC employees will share this space with our special guests to enjoy FIFA World Cup 2022^TM matches side by side. Here at our base, we set up a viewing space in the QFC Master Hall to bring the tournament to all our employees.

Off the field on our business side, this month, the QFC has made another strategic step toward promoting innovation. We signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Google Cloud to further develop Qatar’s tech ecosystem and encourage cloud technology adoption within the business community across sectors.

With regards to engagement, we took part in the ninth edition of the Middle East Family Office Investment Summit in the United Arab Emirates, where our Deputy CEO and Chief Business Officer, Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad Al-Thani, gave a speech about “The Bright Future of Qatar’s Economy”. Internally, we organised a webinar on tax compliance to keep our firms abreast with QFC tax policies.

This month, we also launched the revamped Staff Portal, which gives users a better browsing experience and access to an exclusive club interface.

I am pleased to mention here that our Deputy CEO and Chief Legal Officer, Nasser Al Taweel, has once again been listed on the Legal 500, a global research and publishing company that has been analysing the capabilities of law firms in over 150 jurisdictions for over the past three decades. This recognition is also an honour for the QFC.

I look forward to highlighting more exciting QFC activities in our subsequent newsletter. In the meantime, I wish everyone a memorable FIFA World Cup 2022^TM month.

Sincerely,