Clifford Chance (CC) is to launch an office in Qatar as the firm ramps up its presence in the Middle East to take advantage of the region's growth potential.

The magic circle firm is set to open for business in the Qatar Financial Centre in Doha – subject to the approval of its licence – in the coming months.

The office will be headed by Dubai projects partner Richard Parris, who is relocating to the region to lead the new venture.

Parris will be supported by Dubai banking and finance lawyer Greg Englefield, who has previously spent time on secondment with a local Qatar law firm.

Parris said: "We have been carefully evaluating the opening of a Qatar office for over a year and we feel that we are now in a position to do so.

"The growth forecast for Qatar is tremendous. It is estimated by some analysts that it will be as high as 20% over the next year and will be in double digits for the years following, and so we felt that this was the right time to continue to develop and expand our Middle East presence.

"This move will also enable us to be more responsive to the needs of our Qatari clients and we will be looking to expand the office organically over the coming year as these opportunities and relationships continue to develop."

Parris has been a partner at CC since 2008 and specialises in project finance, energy and infrastructure.

CC has been active in Qatar since the 1980s and has an existing base of clients covering international banks, financial institutions and corporate entities based in the region.

The firm also announced in November last year that it is set to launch an office in Turkey in co-operation with local firm Yegin Legal Consultancy.