opportunities for foreigners to own interests in select real estate projects in the West Bay Lagoon area, Al-Khor district, Pearl of the Gulf Development project and certain other designated zones. •
Banking: A total of 19 banks operate in Qatar, including 11 Qatari institutions and eight foreign branch banks. Out of the 11 Qatari banks, eight are commercial institutions (Ahlibank, Al Khaliji Bank, Barwa Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar, Doha Bank, International Bank of Qatar, Qatar Development Bank, and Qatar National Bank); the other three are Islamic institutions (Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar International Islamic Bank and Qatar Islamic Bank). The eight foreign banks include: Arab Bank, Bank Saderat Iran, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Mashreq Bank, Standard Chartered, Barclays Bank and United Bank.
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Commercial Agents: The Commercial Agents law requires all agency agreements to be exclusive arrangements.
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Corporate Income Tax: The corporate income tax rate has been cut to a flat rate of 10%, effective January 1, 2010. Previously, foreign companies had to pay between 5 and 35 percent.
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Government Procurement: There are concerns about transparency in government procurement, particularly regarding the following: a lack of clarity in the conditions and criteria of tenders, improper notification or explanation to nonqualifying companies, irregularities in the awards process, and the inability to formally challenge awards.
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Import Duties: The import duty for most processed food products is a flat five percent ad valorem. There is no import duty for live animals, fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood, grains, flours, tea, sugar, spices and seeds for planting. Existing import duties on tobacco products have been increased two-fold, from 100 to 200%, based on talks between the ministers of finance and health of several GCC countries.
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Import Restrictions: Qatar has no import quotas. However, non-tariff barriers arise occasionally. For example, a ban on pork was maintained until late 2011 but has been lifted as of 2012. Sale of pork is, however, regulated heavily, with sales being restricted to only be handled by Qatar Distribution Company.
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Inflation: The booming economy in Qatar is leading to shortages of materials and labor. This is compounded by a rapidly growing population, which is approaching two million people, up from just 700,000 five years ago. This has an inflationary effect on the economy, with housing prices particularly hard hit in years up to 2010. Inflation levels hit 3.3% in 2011 and are expected to average at 4% in 2012, with housing prices remaining depressed and the main brunt of burden falling upon food prices. The cost of living in Qatar is high by U.S. standards.
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Standards and Labeling: As part of the GCC Customs Union, the six Member States are working toward unifying their standards and conformity assessment regimes. However, each Member State applies its own standards until a uniform