On 1 February 2010, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani signed Law Number 1 of 2010 including amendments to foreign ownership ceilings of certain businesses. As numerous and consistent press reports indicate, businesses in consulting, technical services, information technology, distribution services and cultural, sports and leisure services may now be owned up to 100 percent by foreign nationals.
 
Prior to the change, foreign persons were only allowed to hold at most 49 percent of a given business.