Qeshm Free Zone (QFA)   Geshm. A bright outlook onto active and exuberant iranian island on persian gulf. Qeshm island, lying the length of the strait of Hormoz, enjoys an exceptional location between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean such that vessels bound for all riverian states (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman) are obliged to pass within proximity of its southern shores and all east and west bound air-traffic to pass through its air space. The island, by all definitions, is the gateway to the Persian Gulf. Qeshm thus stands watch over the channel through which the bulk of the world's oil and gas has always and shall, for the next 100 years, be transported. Business Environment: QFA offers the security and the environment generally sought by the international business community. Such environment takes the form of incentives consisting of availability of natural gas at very competitive prices, a wide range of tax concessions and beneficial financial and currency arrangement. The Free Area's laws formally contemplate provision of a tax holiday by the authority and unrestricted circulation and convertibility of any amount of foreign currency and capital. The regulations also formally prohibit all forms of confiscation and expropriation of property rights and provide for the establishment of a mutually agreed court or an independent forum possessing the characteristics expected of an international arbitration tribunal to consider financial and trade disputes arising between the FREE AREA'S licensees Development Plans of QFA: Largely neglected to date, Qeshm island remains in a state of chronic under development. However, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has decided to optimize the important inherent comparative advantages of the island in order to allow it to contribute towards the economic reconstruction of the country which is the government's main objective for the 1990s. The authority's economic, financial and infrastructural plans will be implemented with a view to bringing about the orderly overall development of the FREE AREA and the realization of its comparative advantages (strategic geographic location as a major center for industrial, financial and commercial activities, serving the Persian Gulf and eastern hemisphere markets, abundant energy resources, access to a large labour pool, advantageous fiscal and economic environment, etc.). At the same time, banking and insurance are to be developed to provide the necessary financial services to businesses established in the FREE AREA