Maneesh Bakshi
Doha
CHAIRMAN of the Coordinating Panel for the Single Window System Management Salman Mohammed Keldari has said that food industry has attracted the largest number of investors as part of 'Own a factory in Qatar within 72 hours' initiative.
Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of an induction session for investors in Doha on Sunday, Keldari said, the initiative, which is the second initiative of the Single Window System, provided 250 investment opportunities in the industrial sector witnessing a huge turnout of 9,349 investors.
The investors included 3,168 in food sector followed by 1,334 in metal industry, 1,086 in paper industry, 941 in rubber and plastics industry, 826 in chemical industries, 732 in electrical industries, 710 in medical industries and 552 in machinery and vehicles.
He added that Qatari investors registered for investment opportunities were nearly 85 percent. There were also more than 3,000 investors from 52 countries who applied for investment opportunities in this initiative.
The committee will take a month to study the applications submitted by investors including Qataris and non-Qataris. The selected investors will be given a wide range of privileges, most notably environmental and operational licenses with the plot of land.
He said that the Coordinating Committee for the Single Window System Management, which follows the Office of the Prime Minister, distributed 75 market studies on the basic activities proposed to investors and gave them valuable information after consulting some expert houses on how to conduct feasibility studies based on the extent to which the domestic market needs products.
Keldari noted that the second initiative of the Single Window System provides a wide range of privileges to the investor, the most important of which is the possibility of issuing licenses within 72 hours, in addition to land readiness and access to visas immediately, and the readiness of industrial infrastructure of water, electricity, gas and roads, as well as priority for purchases with local manufacturing.
Among other privileges are the provision of means to promote exports from local industries and guarantees to the investor such as exemption from income tax for 10 years and customs exemptions for raw materials, and the provision of 10 percent support for the national product and government products, in addition to the financing facilities provided through Qatar Development Bank, he added.
He noted that the Coordinating Panel for the Single Window System Management were formed in 2016 and represents one of the most important government initiatives launched to develop the business environment, stimulate real participation of the private sector, encourage domestic and foreign investments and channel them towards sectors with added value to the national economy in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.