Qatar recorded 3,295 non-Qatari company registrations in the first quarter of 2026, a 66% rise from the same period a year earlier, according to figures released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI).
The increase came alongside broader business activity across the country. MoCI said new commercial registrations reached 6,328 in Q1, up 18.5% year on year, while cumulative investment in the industrial sector stood at QR270bn, a 0.13% increase.
The ministry’s quarterly data also showed progress in adjacent indicators.
17 factories started production during the quarter, up 112% from Q1 2025, and 32 factories were assessed for readiness, a 191% increase. MoCI also granted 1,661 trademarks and 145 patents in the first three months of the year.
Separately, the Qatar Financial Centre said it licensed more than 800 new firms between January and March, representing 57% year-on-year growth in registrations on its platform.
While QFC figures measure activity within its own business platform and should not be treated as the same metric as nationwide non-Qatari company registrations, both sets of numbers point to strong company formation momentum in early 2026.
Taken together, the data suggests Qatar opened the year with continued business expansion across commercial, industrial, and investment-related channels.
The official data was published as part of MoCI's first-quarter review, while QFC released its own platform results separately.
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