The latest Global Financial Centers Index, GFCI 14, covering 80 financial centers published by the London based Z/Yen Group ranks Qatar as the top financial center in the Middle East.
Qatar’s rating rose by 11 points, mainly driven by the economy’s strong growth prospects, improving infrastructure, international connectivity, low employee taxation and commitment to human development. As a result, Qatar moved up the overall ranking by 6 places from 30th to 24th place to achieve the top position in the region.
Professor Michael Mainelli, Executive Chairman of the Z/Yen Group, said: “In the Middle East, Qatar, Bahrain and Istanbul see significant increases in their rankings whilst other centres fall slightly. Elsewhere, South America now joins Asia chasing London’s and New York’s supremacy.”
Shashank Srivastava, CEO and Board Member of the QFC Authority, added: “I am delighted that Qatar has been recognized as the leading financial center in the Middle East. This latest index, and Qatar’s rise in the rankings, reflects how well the economy is performing, the attractiveness of the business environment and the world class standard of regulation. It is also testament to the Government’s commitment to employee development and training, continuing improvements to infrastructure, growing international connectivity and low taxation. The GFC Index, which is published twice a year, is a highly relevant and recognized indicator reflecting the views and opinions of executives from all over the world. The latest index demonstrates how Qatar continues to strengthen its standing as a prominent financial center. These excellent results, together with recent confirmation of Qatar’s global ranking of 13th in the latest World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2013-14, the highest ranking of any state in the GCC, reinforce my belief that the Qatar Financial Centre offers financial services firms a uniquely attractive platform from which to grow their business both in Qatar and the broader GCC region.”
GFCI 14 uses 25,749 financial center assessments completed by 2,786 financial services professionals. The GFCI is updated regularly and ratings change as assessments and instrumental factors change. To view the GFCI 14 report, please see: http://www.longfinance.net/images/GFCI14_30Sept2013.pdf
Ifpinfo
30 September
