India is Qatar's fourth-largest foreign investor, helped create 2,000 jobs in 7 years: report
13 Oct 2016
India has emerged the fourth largest investor in Qatar in terms of foreign direct investment with nearly two dozen domestic companies investing around $450 million in the Arab kingdom in the last seven years, creating 2,000 jobs in the process.
Since the beginning of 2010 till May 2016, a total of 21 Indian companies have invested nearly $450 million in Qatar, creating 2,000 jobs. This was revealed at a roadshow held by Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Of the total investments, $225 million were invested in Doha alone, reports quoting QFC chief strategy and business development officer Kamal Nagi as saying.
The QFC is a fully onshore business and financial centre under the government of Qatar, which is currently organising a multi-city roadshow in the country to boost investments in the Gulf state.
Indian companies from sectors such as infrastructure, banking, insurance, information technology and consulting have been present in Qatar for the past several years and have rapidly grown owing to the region's business-friendly policies and simplified tax and regulatory structure, he said.
Some of the largest Indian companies that have invested in Qatar include LIC, TCS, L&T, ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, Voltas and Shapoorji Pallonji, among others.
QFC director for strategy and business intelligence Akshay Randeva said Qatar has invested in a world-class infrastructure and envisages this momentum to grow in the run-up to 2022 FIFA World Cup and also to achieve the kingdom's 2030 Vision for sustainable growth.
"From India, we are observing that non-hydrocarbon exports are growing at a healthy rate of 12 per cent, which is a positive sign with a large scope for growth. These investments are in diverse areas such as IT, BFSI and professional services," Randeva added.
With the Qatari government working towards making the kingdom more business-friendly coupled with the economic growth in the region, Indian companies have a huge opportunity to expand outside India in the middle-eastern region, he said.