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British construction and consultancy firms eye Qatar expansion

British construction and consultancy firms are planning to advance their Qatar expansion plans in 2013 as the Gulf country gets ready to award a tranche of infrastructure projects, according to The Links Group, award-winning company formation specialists in the Middle East.

In partnership with premier UK business forum Middle East Association, The Links Group yesterday hosted a delegation of British companies in Doha. Members of the delegation indicated establishing a commercial presence in Qatar is now among their top business development priorities.

As hosts of the FIFA 2022 World Cup, Qatar is under increasing pressure to ramp up its development plans to deliver the US$60 billion worth of infrastructure projects committed to in its bid. With major contracts anticipated to reach between US$25-30 billion a year in 2013 and 2014, British companies are acutely aware of the importance of structuring their foreign presence correctly to take advantage of these lucrative opportunities.

“All the delegates I met know that Qatar offers one of the most buoyant projects markets in the world, but have in the past been deterred from setting up a foreign entity here because of concerns over local partner ownership and investor protection. However, the incorporation model offered by The Links Group has helped to address some of these risks and by the end of today’s session most delegates said they were bullish about expanding to Qatar this year,” said Wayne Merrick, General Manager – Qatar, The Links Group.

The Links Group provides a unique approach to onshore company formation in which the 51 per cent local ownership requirement is fulfilled by a corporate entity as opposed to an individual. This model affords the highest levels of transparency and stakeholder protection, in accordance with the Qatar Commercial Companies Law, while ensuring the foreign firm retains operational control of their business.

“UK firms bring to Qatar exceptional project management expertise, engineering prowess, legal expertise and education leadership. We are hopeful The Links Group will be able to help UK firms to expand to Qatar in order to take advantage of the vast opportunities in the country,” added Merrick.
“Qatar’s rapidly growing economy and its plans to spend around US$60 billion on infrastructure projects in the run up to FIFA 2022, offer unprecedented opportunities for British companies.

“I am delighted to be assisting delegates to develop their business here, building on the strong relations between the two countries and the high regard in which British products and expertise are held,” said Middle East Association Director General Matthew Smith, who is leading the delegation.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Richelle .