For over a decade Qatar has been the world’s leading supplier of liquefied natural gas, and by 2024 the country aims to boost output by 43%. While much of Qatar’s growth in the decades after independence in 1971 was fuelled by crude oil, natural gas gained prominence in the 1990s. In 2018 Qatar announced it would leave the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which it joined as one of…
Despite a relatively small population of around 2.7m, Qatar accounts for around 5% of insurance premiums in MENA. Nevertheless, relative to the size of its economy, insurance activity remains at a modest level. Annual premiums of around $3bn account for 1.5% of GDP, compared to a global average of more than 6%. The insurance penetration rate, meanwhile, stands at less than 2%, significantly below the…
Qatar is home to some of the region’s most prominent sharia-compliant institutions. Despite operating in a crowded and competitive arena, over recent decades the country has claimed a significant share of the banking, insurance and investment segments. More recently, Qatar faced the challenges of a sustained dip in oil prices and a regional economic blockade. However, due to a prudent regulatory…
The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) has faced considerable challenges in recent years, including a dip in oil prices and the effects of an economic blockade. However, after an initial decline in late 2017, the main index’s performance during 2018 established it as one of the fastest growing in MENA. The QSE has also succeeded in attracting an increasing number of foreign investors – an important development…
Over the course of 2018 Qatar’s banking industry demonstrated its resilience in the face of an economic blockade placed upon the country by a number of governments. Credit ratings agencies Moody’s and Fitch both upgraded Qatar’s sovereign credit ratings outlook to stable in the summer of 2018, recognising the improving macroeconomic scenario and the largely successful resolution of the challenges…
Rising oil prices and effective policy-making have played a significant role in returning Qatar to a healthy trade surplus. A swift response by a range of government ministries has secured new routes to global markets. In March 2018 Hamad Port, which officially opened in 2017, celebrated the handling of 1m twenty-foot equivalent units ahead of schedule. Foreign investment also continues to rise on…
Qatar’s relatively small population and status as the world’s biggest gas exporter have helped it to become the richest country globally in terms of GDP per capita. In recent years, however, it has faced strong economic headwinds. The oil price decline beginning in the second half of 2014 led to the country’s first budget deficit in 2016, prompting the government to cut costs and reinvigorate…
Since gaining independence in 1971 Qatar has quickly risen to prominence both regionally and internationally to become an economic, political and cultural powerhouse in the Middle East. With a relatively small local population and substantial revenues generated from having the third-largest proven natural gas reserves globally, Qatar boasts one of the world’s highest GDP per capita, according to…
While the country has primarily been known for its vast gas reserves, Qatar’s global profile received a major boost in 2010 when it won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Since the announcement, the country has witnessed extensive international investment and substantial infrastructure projects, allowing the population to grow by an estimated 40% since 2010 due to an influx of foreign work
