Starting a Business · Qatar
Starting a Business - Qatar
Since the 2019 Foreign Investment Law replaced the old 51% local-partner requirement, non-Qatari investors may own up to 100% of companies in most economic sectors, subject to MOCI approval. Formation runs through MOCI's Single Window platform with no fixed statutory minimum capital, but a few sectors remain restricted and the process still involves approvals, attestations and a resident manager, typically taking several weeks.
Under Law No. 1 of 2019, a non-Qatari investor may invest in all economic sectors with capital up to 100%, subject to Ministry of Commerce and Industry approval — removing the prior requirement for a 51% Qatari partner.
Full foreign ownership does not extend to banking and insurance (unless exempted by Council of Ministers decision), exploitation of natural resources, commercial agencies, and any other sectors the Council of Ministers excludes.
Per MOCI, there is no statutory minimum or maximum share capital to establish a company; in practice investors often allocate capital (commonly around QAR 200,000) to demonstrate solvency, but it is not legally mandated.
Core steps: reserve a trade name (foreign names need Arabic transliteration), secure and municipality-attest a commercial premises lease, define shareholders (1–50) and appoint a resident manager/authorized signatory, then obtain Commercial Registration (CR) and trade licence through MOCI's Single Window.
MOCI is required to decide on a complete foreign-investment application within 15 days (no decision is treated as a rejection, which may be appealed); overall LLC registration commonly completes in a few weeks when paperwork is in order.
The law offers non-Qatari investors land allocation via rent or usufruct, income-tax exemptions, and customs-duty exemptions on project machinery, equipment and raw materials unavailable locally.
Machine-assisted translation · verified 5/23/2026 · orientation, not legal advice. English version →