FDI in Qatar rises 27% showing investors’ trust

DOHA: The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Qatar has risen by around 27 percent last year, which shows that the trust of global investors on the country’s economy is intact.

Increase in FDI in Qatar is commendable considering the overall trend in the region was not encouraging as the region saw a declining trend in attracting foreign funds. The West Asia region, which included Qatar and other 12 countries, witnessed a fall of around 17 percent in 2017. The region attracted $25.5bn during last year which was around $5.2bn less than $30.8bn attracted by the countries in the region in 2016.

Increasing foreign investment is a signal of growing confidence of global investors in Qatar’s robust economy. The foreign investment has risen at a time when the country was put under unjust blockade by siege countries. The trust of global investors remained firm on Qatar’s economy reflecting that the fundamentals of Qatar’s economy are strong.

According to the report, FDI in Qatar during last year was around one percent of gross fixed capital formation. The inward FDI stock in the country increased from $33.9bn in 2016 to $34.9bn in 2017.

The flow of foreign funds is expected to continue this year and also in the coming years due to the proactive steps taken by the government.

Last month, the Cabinet approved a draft law that allows non-Qatari investors to invest 100 percent capital in all sectors. In another capital-attracting move, many Qatar Stock Exchange listed companies have increased their foreign ownership limit to 49 percent.