Matrix ME Alignment Fund Management, announced that it has recently received authorisation from the QFC Regulatory Authority to operate in the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC).

The firm will now be based in the only fully regulated onshore jurisdiction for funds in the GCC and is in a position to engage in both onshore and offshore property investment activities in Qatar and the wider region, a statement said.

The QFC will provide Qatari and GCC investors with a more structured regulatory environment than is currently available in unregulated investment structures, whilst offering the additional benefit of zero tax on income at a fund level unlike other major regulated centres.

Matrix ME Alignment Fund Management is a joint venture company of Matrix Group and ME Alignment and is made up of an experienced team of asset managers with affiliate offices in London, Dubai and Qatar offering both local and international property management expertise and a proven track record of investment and development in the Gulf region.

Established in 2007, ME Alignment is a Qatar-based real estate development and investment company, owned by prominent members of the Al Attiya Family of Qatar.

Matrix Group is a UK-based privately owned financial services company with an established track record in UK and mainland Europe and almost £4bn in assets under management.

“The fact that this combined entity of Qatari, GCC and UK property investment and fund management expertise is now in a position to engage in business onshore in Qatar and offshore across the GCC is a very positive development for investors locally, regionally and internationally,” stated Andrew White, chief executive, Matrix ME Alignment Fund Management.

“This latest announcement is another endorsement of how the QFC Authority's legal and regulatory environment is conducive to global asset managers’ abilities to leverage the QFC as a uniquely sustainable platform to expand their business,” added Shashank Srivastava, acting chief, QFC Authority.-TradeArabia News Service