Author: OBG Admin

Éric N’guessan-Managing Partner-EY Côte d’Ivoire

Regulatory reforms foster investor confidence on Qatar’s capital markets

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  The upgrade of the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in May 2014, which was followed by a similar upgrade by Standard & Poor’s (S&P), was the reward of a long process of technical and regulatory reform. The genesis of this process dates back half a decade: in 2010 Qatar’s adoption of the NYSE Euronext Universal Trading Platform established it as the first jurisdiction outside NYSE Euronext’s core markets to use the cash trading application suite. Just a year later the QSE bagged another regional first with the adoption of a full delivery-versus-payment system, which, after being enhanced twice in

Pham Hong Hai-CEO-HSBC Vietnam

Qatar strives to provide accurate information on Islamic financial services

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  As Qatar’s Islamic financial services (IFS) sector expands, options are multipling for investors wishing to deploy their assets in a sharia-compliant manner. A key development in this regard came in 2013, when the nation’s stock market, the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE), teamed up with Al Rayan Investment, a subsidiary of Qatar’s second-largest Islamic bank, Masraf Al Rayan, to create the Al Rayan Islamic Index. The new index, based on QSE-listed stocks, uses a weighting scheme designed to ensure both trade-ability and diversification across the exchange’s various sectors: in essence, large caps are prioritised by weight, though small- and mid-cap stocks from the best-performing sectors

Nhon Luc Ly-CEO-AIA Myanmar; Son Nguyen-Country President-Chubb Life Insurance Myanmar; Daw Zarchi Tin-CEO

Qatar’s sukuk market looks promising

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  The MENA market for sukuk,or sharia-compliant bonds, has seen an impressive recovery since the onset of the global financial crisis led to a sharp dip in Islamic debt issuance. After peaking at $19bn in 2007, the value of the region’s annual sukuk offerings settled at about half that in the following three years, according to KIPCO Asset Management Company, but then recaptured its pre-crisis momentum with $19.9bn issued in 2011 and setting a new record of $26.4bn in 2013. The $23.3bn in sukuk issued in 2014 represents a consolidation of this growth, leading analysts to assert that the market has shrugged off its 2008

Sheikh Ahmad Duaij Jaber Al Sabah-Chairman-Commercial Bank of Kuwait

Qatar extending its National Health Insurance Scheme

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  While the large investments in infrastructure anticipated over the coming years represent the most significant growth driver for the insurance industry, changes in the way that Qataris access health care are also expected to have a large impact on the sector. In April 2014 the National Health Insurance Scheme, known as Seha, was extended to all citizens. This development is the most recent milestone in a process that will see Qatar move from a system of free and subsidised health care for nationals and expatriates to one in which the government will pay for the health care for nationals, while employers (or sponsors) are

Daouda Coulibaly-Managing Director-Société Ivoirienne de Banque

GTL production ramps up in Qatar

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  Hosting the world’s largest gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant, while also being a global centre for GTL research and development, Qatar today is at the forefront of this high-tech hydrocarbons sub-sector. Indeed, the success of GTL in the state has acted as a catalyst for development elsewhere, with the global sector expanding in 2014. Yet, as with other segments of the hydrocarbons industry, recent movements in oil and gas prices may have an effect on GTL, with the arbitrage at the heart of the finances of the process the subject of recent debate. Nonetheless, with GTL in Qatar able to provide high-quality products at large volumes,

Stuart Tait-Regional Head of Commercial Banking-Asia Pacific

Qatar becoming a vital centre for the energy industry

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  A key part of Qatar’s long-term development plan, Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030), is the transformation of the state from a resource-based economy to one that is knowledge-based. Aimed at unhooking the country from hydrocarbons dependency and diversifying its economy, this bold strategy has entailed major investment in human, social, environmental and economic development, with a big role in each for research and development (R&D). At the same time, the country’s major oil and gas resources – and the consequent presence of several international oil companies (IOCs) – has also led to on-the-ground investment from the IOCs in R&D. These two strands being

Pham Hong Hai-CEO-HSBC Vietnam

Production of condensates rising in Qatar

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  The global market is far more competitive these days, and 2014 saw a dramatic decline in oil prices, which continued into 2015. In March 2015 Brent Crude was retailing at $57 per barrel. Behind this is a global oversupply – Bloomberg reported that the UAE and Qatar estimated this to be in the region of 2m barrels per day (bpd) in mid-January 2015. This is primarily the result of surging US output, which was at a three-decade high. However, this output seems likely to taper off, as falling prices make some of the fracking on which US production is based no longer economically feasible.

Nhon Luc Ly-CEO-AIA Myanmar; Son Nguyen-Country President-Chubb Life Insurance Myanmar; Daw Zarchi Tin-CEO

Qatar’s utilities projects depend on increased R&D

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  While rapid progress is being made on a major campaign to expand the country’s power and water infrastructure, Doha is also at the centre of research and development (R&D) efforts in the utilities field. Programmes currently under way in the state are investigating ways to improve desalination techniques, reverse the salination of Qatar’s groundwater, and power future water plants with solar energy (see analysis). At the same time, “soft power” campaigns aim to raise public awareness of water’s vital importance to the country. KNOWLEDGE BASE: Since Qatar embarked on its ambitious national development plan, Qatar National Vision 2030, the state has been investing in

Pham Hong Hai-CEO-HSBC Vietnam

The sun will come out: Solar energy plays a key role in meeting development goals

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  Qatar is globally known for its vast natural gas reserves and extensive oil reservoirs, with these powering the country’s economy, as well as its electricity and water sector. Yet now, the government and private companies are giving the time of day to a different – and abundant – energy source: sunshine. Indeed, with one of the world’s highest annual irradiation levels at 2190 KWh/sq metre and up to 3400 daylight hours, solar power is being seen as a potential long-term energy source for Qatar’s desalination projects and power generation. It is also now the subject of extensive research by the state’s leading science and

Éric N’guessan-Managing Partner-EY Côte d’Ivoire

Qatar’s dominant fertiliser company adapts to a changing market

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  Located at the heart of a region that has seen double-digit growth in fertiliser production capacity in recent years, Qatar is now one of the international leaders in exports of these products, which remain vital to global food security. According to the figures from the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), the GCC accounted for approximately one-quarter of global urea trade by volume in 2013 and 12% of global ammonia trade, with 90% of the region’s output exported. Qatar accounts for a considerable slice of this industry. Its leading fertiliser manufacturer, Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO), is “now the largest exporter of urea in the