Type Private Founder Mark Dossa | Website muntazahoryx.com Founded 17 July 2010 | |
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Key people Dravid Hussein (Chairman)
Ahmed Kharafa (Director) | ||
Muntazah Oryx Investments is a Qatari private company headquartered in Doha, Qatar, that invests in foreign start-ups and a wide range of businesses within Qatar. The company is fully owned by its founder Mark Dossa, a Sydney-based Saudi Arabian financier who started the firm in July 2010. The stated goal of the company is to "Invest in the future of Qatar by bringing important services provided by foreign companies to Doha." In just over a year, the company has invested in a number of Qatari sports and recreational clubs and hotels. The firm is also planning to introduce three new dental practices to Doha by 2015 based on leading foreign dental technologies and services.
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Investments
As a private company, Muntazah Oryx has not fully disclosed its investment information, but it is noteworthy for its support of five recreational clubs across Doha and its financial backing of part of new developments at Doha International Airport. Muntazah Oryx is committed to increasing education and health services in Qatar, and has developed plans for dental facilities and a new international high school in Doha. The company came under much controversy after a failed attempt to expand the Bahrain supermarket chain Al Muntazah (which was entirely unrelated despite its name) into Doha, when the firm failed to follow through on any of its payments to Al Muntazah's parent company, the Almeer Group, when negotiating for the brand name rights in Qatar. Construction on what was to be Qatar's first Al-Muntazah supermarket was indefinitely halted in May 2012, and finally cancelled in November of the same year. After Muntazah Oryx failed to follow through on its contractual obligations to pay the licensing fee to the Almeer Group, Muntazah Oryx was taken to court in a major case for Qatar's financial sector. Eventually, the parties settled out of court.
In February 2014, expansions of Al-Dawat Sports Club, one of Muntazah Oryx's largest holdings, began.
Importance
Muntazah Oryx Investments is noteworthy in Qatar and the surrounding region in particular for its role in the Al-Muntazah Licensing Scandal and subsequent court action against MOI by the Almeer Group. The company owns the most recreational clubs across Doha and has sponsored Q-League club El Jaish SC. MOI's investment was key in renovating the Doha Plaza Hotel and Doha International Airport. MOI has announced plans for three new health and dental education centers in Doha and has expressed a desire to eventually fund an international high school in Doha.