H.E. Ahmad Al Sayed, Minister of State and Chairman of QFZA, hosted a special ceremony for the signing of licenses for seven global companies to join the free zones. The companies, which join a group of more than 50 registered projects and companies in the free zones, are Unistrong, Gaussin, China Harbor, Inventus Power, Thales Group, Volkswagen and Wasco Coatings. All seven will contribute significantly to the strength of the free zones and in turn to the growth and development of Qatar’s economy.

The special ceremony was organized on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, a global platform for many of the world’s top decision-makers and policy leaders. QFZA also organized a panel at the event to discuss the role of free trade zones in fostering international trade and development. The panel was attended by several senior executives from the investment and international trade sector.

H.E. Ahmad Al Sayed, Minister of State and Chairman of QFZA, said, “We are very proud to welcome seven leading global companies to Qatar Free Zones, joining a diversified list of over 50 approved and registered projects and companies. We have been working closely with companies around the world to demonstrate all that Qatar – and Qatar Free Zones specifically – has to offer, and this announcement marks the end of a very successful year for us.”

“Each of these companies are leaders in their space and come from diverse markets around the world, including China, Malaysia, Germany, France and the USA,” His Excellency added. “Our partnership with them is testament to the strength of our bilateral economic and trade relations between Qatar and many countries around the world, and to the attractiveness of Qatar as an investment destination and Qatar Free Zones as a competitive regional business platform. I look forward to seeing their diverse projects come to life in the free zones and compete in various global markets.”

The companies will commence their operations in the free zones in the new year. The projects of the first group of companies represent a total investment of more than 1.5 billion QAR in Qatar Free Zones.

Bloomberg Interview:

H.E Ahmad Bin Mohammed Al-Sayed, Minister of State and Chairman of Qatar Free Zones Authority, discusses new investment totaling 1.5 billion Qatari riyals by a group of international companies. He spoke with Bloomberg’s Simone Foxman at Doha Forum.

Watch the full interview via Bloomberg here.