Qatar is to set up special economic zones that will allow for 100 per cent overseas ownership.

A draft law approved by Qatar’s cabinet allows for the creation of an airport or sea port in the economic zones which will allow companies “unrestricted transfer of capital out of the country”, state news agency QNA reported.

Foreign firms looking to expand into the Gulf state have typically required a local partner to own at least a 51 per cent stake, though different rules apply for Qatar’s Science and Technology Park and the Qatar Financial Centre.

Under the draft law, Qatar plans three economic zones: a warehousing and logistics hub specialising in airfreight and technology, close to Hamad International Airport; a light manufacturing site for petrochemical and food processing firms; and a zone near the Saudi border that would focus on businesses involved in construction materials and machinery.

The first phase of the warehousing hub will be completed in early 2017, according to Manatec, which will operate the zones.