The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) has reported “exceptional” growth with combined assets under management of more than $33bn in 2024 as total number of registered firms stood at 2,489.

The firms registered in 2024 represent 90 countries, with the largest number of firms coming from the UK, India, the US, Jordan, Turkiye, France, Lebanon, and Qatar. These firms span a wide range of activities and industries, including fintech, consulting services, media, IT, and wealth management.

“The exceptional growth witnessed by the QFC in 2024 reflects our commitment to provide a developed and attractive business environment for local and international companies,” said QFC Authority chief executive officer Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida.

These achievements would not have been possible without the concerted efforts of all business units, along with close cooperation with clients, key stakeholders in Qatar and the strategic local and global partners, according to him.

“Over the past year, we have continued to enhance innovation and support economic growth and diversification in Qatar, and we aim to achieve more successes in the coming years,” al-Jaida said.

The active participation of QFC in the first edition of the Web Summit Qatar in February 2024 was instrumental in attracting a substantial number of technology firms to its platform, which accounted for the largest share of firms registered in 2024 at 26%.

The QFC offered compelling incentives to companies that opted to register their business during the Web Summit, attracting foreign investments, contributing to economic diversification, and advancing the country’s efforts in positioning Qatar as a leading technology hub in the region.

The year also saw significant progress in one of QFC’s forward-thinking initiatives, the Digital Assets Lab, which commenced activities with 29 participants, developing unique digital solutions and services based on distributed ledger technology (DLT).

To support the programme, QFC issued the Digital Assets Framework to regulate digital assets, which includes comprehensive and clear legal guidelines for digital assets creation and regulation, including processes related to tokenisation, legal recognition of ownership rights of encryptions and underlying assets, custody arrangements, and transfer and exchange transactions.

These initiatives align with the Qatar Fintech Strategy and reinforce the country’s position as a regional leader in financial innovation.