Dear Colleagues,

This month, the QFC activities underscored some of the fundamental elements of our growth strategy: collaboration and commitment to promoting entrepreneurship and sustainability.

We brought the 4th IFSB Innovation Forum to Qatar under the patronage of the Qatar Central Bank in collaboration with the Islamic Finance Services Board. The forum is one of the most relevant events in the international financial community today, with objectives that resonate with the work we are doing within the financial industry to promote sustainable financial instruments and services and transparent regulations.

This year, the forum introduced in-depth discussions exploring opportunities to leverage regulations and maximise digital technologies, fintech, and Islamic financial instruments to advance the global sustainability agenda.

QFC also held the 2nd session of the Conference on Fiscal Policy and Economic Development in partnership with Qatar University. Titled "Global Tax Reform & its Implications on Gulf States", the event saw the participation of financial and tax policymakers, as well as researchers and experts in the legal and financial domains, highlighting solutions that can facilitate the adoption of the agreed upon global tax reform and align Qatar with international standards and practices.

We also held an Angel Investment Masterclass together with Qatar FinTech Hub. Angel investors are crucial to developing entrepreneurship. In this masterclass, we brought potential investors up to speed on the benefits of angel investing and the dynamics of the angel investing ecosystem in Qatar.

It pleases me that within our backyard, the QFCA Operations Group has set out to express their gratitude to the blue-collar workers who have been working hard to ready the road infrastructure around West Bay before the FIFA World Cup 2022. As part of their CSR initiative, the group prepared and distributed 300 food and refreshment packets, which the workers received with appreciation.

In addition, through the collaborative efforts of IT and Client Affairs, we made significant enhancements to our e-Services portal, making it easier for our clients to access data and avail of services. We have automated the service request creation process, restructured documents for easier data validation and prevention of duplication, improved the notification system and provided round-the-clock access to our unique services.

These innovations advance our efforts in further easing business operations and increasing productivity, by helping our firms save valuable time.

I look forward to seeing more initiatives that amplify our efforts to grow and diversify Qatar’s economy and meet our commitment to creating an equitable future for everyone.

Sincerely,