I. Business legislation
Foreign business activities are mainly controlled by Emir
of the country, the Ministry of finance and trade, and also Qatar Chamber
of Commerce. By the Act is set to have for any business in the country a local
agent.
II. The tax system
In an effort to get foreign capital, Qatar provides good
conditions - cheap gas, electricity, duty-free imports of equipment, duty
free exports, zero tax on profits of certain, pre-approved term (50-10
years), and there are no taxed salaries of foreigners. Besides the current
expenditures in port-related transport, unloading and storage goods in
warehouses, Qatar has no taxes (like VAT, road tax, excise duty). Qatar
has no tax on labor (contributions to health and social security), but has the profit
tax. If the income tax applies, it ranges from 10 to 35% depending on the
industry.
III. Advantages and disadvantages of entrepreneurship in
Qatar
Qatar is an Islamic-oriented country with a very small
market (about 200 thousand of original inhabitants). The security
situation in Qatar is on high level and crime reaches just a tiny
percentage. Influential factor is difficult climate, since the peak
of temperature in summer months reaches 45° C. Qatar is an open
country with a self-professed straight legislative and trade and political
conditions for all competitors.
IV. Terms and conditions for the awarding public contracts
- Tenders
Public contracts are awarded by issued tenders. Tender
process requires an experienced agent who knows the different rules throughout
the process. Achieving a successful outcome in the tender process, especially
in investment subjects, it is necessary to have
long-established Representative posted by the company. Bids
may be submitted in Arabic or in English. Due to stiff competition it
is necessary to pay particular attention to the formal side. To obtain a
strong bond here, it is important to have a long-term personal contact. Much of
the matter is left to the trust between partners. Considerable weight to the
agreement of terms of trade, have agreements concluded orally.
Hello, I'm your consultant, and after reading the information you have provided about Qatar, it seems your company will need a lot of help from my colleagues, because the business environment is so different compared to Finland.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it seems there are great opportunities too. The question is, how can you win for example the projects you have listed in the "Potential demand" section to yourself? Maybe you could find out which MNCs are currently present in Qatar? Are there possibilities for partnerships?
Hi,
Deletethank you for your comment. To answer your questions, yes, untill now, we have been working on exactlly what you have pointed out. We need to coooperate and partner with many companies to be successful. We decided on our target customers as construction companies and architects. Something new is already written about it, but we will add more ASAP.
Hi, I'm your consultant as well and I support the first comment. Although Qatar is a country with the highest GDP growth and it seems that there are potential opportunities related to the new projects, it's always not so easy with Middle East countries, as political and cultural issues could cause some obstacles.
ReplyDeleteDue to the political change Prince family actually controls all business in the country. Doing business there would be complicated unless one of the prince relatives did join you or merged with you in the business.
How are you going to address this issue? Does your company already have any substantial contacts in Qatar? If not, the idea of partnerships with currently working there MNCs, mentioned by Noora, could be a good one.
Hi,
Deletealso thank you for your comment, I answered to Noora above and I think it can be also answer for you, but it will be more detailed in the near future :)