Against a backdrop of sluggish global economic growth and ongoing tensions in the region, Qatar’s banking sector is proving to be strong and resilient, with growth in assets and profits reported by nearly all of the country’s listed institutions at the end of 2019. With a strong pipeline of major development project financing over the short term, against a backdrop of strong and sustained growth…
Qatar’s wealth of hydrocarbons puts it at the centre of global trade, with its liquefied natural gas feeding factories in China and powers stations in Japan, while its helium is used in everything from MRI scanners to aircraft parts. Qatar's rapid economic growth in the past two and a half decades should help the trade sector weather the challenges it faces in 2020. On the home front, investors…
The Qatari government has created a clear roadmap with Qatar National Vision 2030, which focuses on economic diversification and growth with a retention of the country’s key cultural values at its heart. Although much of the focus in recent times has been on infrastructure preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, it is the period following the tournament, when new liquefied natural gas and petrochemicals…
Prior to 2010 Qatar was primarily known for its vast gas reserves; however, the country’s global profile received a major boost in 2010 when it won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in November and December of that year. Backed by sustained levels of economic growth, Qatar is channelling its resources into transitioning to a knowledge-based economy. The country has been working to translate…
Foreign visitors have been prohibited from entering Qatar since March 17, but the Gulf state remains an important aviation transit destination. The rapid worldwide spread of Covid-19 has made some affluent states in the Gulf, among them Qatar, particularly vulnerable to imported cases, due to their mobile populations and high proportions of foreign workers. Qatar confirmed its first…
On emerging from challenging times in an advantageous position In what ways has Qatar evolved into a stronger economy following the blockade? SHEIKH FAISAL BIN QASSIM AL THANI: To prevent conflict or competition, there has always been a broad understanding among the GCC countries as to what products each country produces. As a result of the blockade, however, the Qatari government has successfully…
Oxford Business Group (OBG) began its CEO Survey in 2016 with the aim of giving our clients a handle on sentiment in the various markets we cover. Sentiment is of course intangible, but it is an all-important factor in the decisions business people and investors make when they weigh up their risk appetite. In turn, sentiment informs the level of confidence with which they view a market. It is also…
