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The Ministry of Commerce and Industry officially launched Companies House on September 14, 2026, under the leadership of Minister Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani, who also chairs its advisory council. The new authority consolidates company registration and licensing processes that had previously been handled separately by authorities governing each economic zone. According to the ministry, the unified structure aims to create a single point of contact for investors establishing operations in these specialised areas.
Companies House assumes responsibility for registering companies and licensing their activities while maintaining the public registers for the Qatar Financial Centre, Qatar Free Zones Authority, Qatar Science and Technology Park and Media City Qatar. It will also deliver tax and immigration services to those registered entities and conduct verifications of their compliance with labour standards and data protection rules. Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani said, “Bringing these functions together in one place will enable investors to establish their businesses in Qatar’s special economic zones, strengthening the competitiveness of the State of Qatar’s investment environment in line with the objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030.”
The advisory council is chaired by Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani and includes Sheikh Ali bin Alwaleed Al-Thani as chief executive of Invest Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Faisal Al-Thani as chief executive of the Qatar Free Zones Authority and Mansoor Rashid Al-Khater as chief executive of the Qatar Financial Centre. Hamad Omar Al-Mannai, chief executive of Media City Qatar, and Rama Chakaki, president of Qatar Science and Technology Park, complete the membership. The ministry’s announcement detailed that the council will guide the entity’s operations across all covered zones.
Prior to the launch, businesses seeking to operate in Qatar’s economic zones had to navigate multiple agencies for incorporation, licensing and ongoing compliance, a process the new body is designed to streamline. The Qatar Free Zones Authority and Qatar Financial Centre have operated as key hubs for international investors, offering incentives such as full foreign ownership in designated sectors. The ministry’s statement positioned Companies House as the mechanism to coordinate these frameworks under one administrative roof.
Invest Qatar figures show the country recorded $3.4 billion in foreign direct investment across 373 projects in 2025, with the number of new projects rising 52 percent from the previous year and generating more than 15,000 jobs. Over half of that capital expenditure flowed into greenfield developments, while nearly half the projects fell into medium- to high-technology categories. These inflows spanned consumer products, business services, food and beverages, software, IT services and textiles, which together represented 69 percent of total activity.
Ministry of Commerce and Industry data places non-Qatari company registrations at 3,295 in the first quarter of 2026 alone, reflecting a 66 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. Commercial registrations overall reached 6,328 during those three months, an 18.5 percent rise year on year. The quarter also saw 145 patents granted, more than double the figure from the prior year, alongside growth in trademarks and copyrights.
