On 1 January 2015, new prudential rules for Investment Management and Advisory firms in the Qatar Financial Centre (‘QFC') came into force. The revisions, contained in the Investment Management and Advisory Rules 2014, support the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority's commitment to the continued development of the Centre as a leading financial and business centre in the Middle East and as a viable alternative to the UAE's Dubai International Financial Centre (‘DIFC'). The Dubai Financial Services Authority (‘DFSA') made changes to its prudential rules back in 2012 in order to align the DIFC regime more closely with the requirements of Basel III.