Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been the catalyst for expanding the country’s digital economy and broadening its ICT ecosystem. One of Qatar’s aspirations was to use the tournament to attract investment in emerging industries and drive innovation in 5G, internet of things (IoT), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality. These recently developed technological innovations will be deployed…
Qatari retailers that have weathered the Covid-19 pandemic are shifting to a blended, multichannel distribution strategy. Such a strategy involves expanding a company’s digital offerings, while at the same time maintaining a brick-and-mortar presence at an attractive location. The pandemic gave rise to a significant uptick in online shopping, a trend especially apparent when physical retail branches…
The Gulf banking sector has witnessed an increase in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in recent years, as lenders continue to deal with the economic headwinds associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. At the outset of the pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, it was anticipated that the economic slowdown and the associated fall in oil prices would accelerate the M&A trend among banks in the region,…
On the back of higher global oil prices and a stronger international economic environment, the Middle East returned to growth in 2021, with a number of governments taking the opportunity to implement or resume long-term initiatives aimed at bolstering diversification and modernisation. Following a year in which economies throughout the region contracted due to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic,…
Migrant labour has played a key role in the development and diversification of Gulf economies in recent decades, and Qatar is no exception. The population of the six GCC members in 1970 was 7.8m. Aided by the oil boom that began in that decade, the population started to rise, fuelled by the migration of both skilled and non-skilled workers required to develop hydrocarbons resources, staff construction…
As with other countries around the world, Qatar’s economy was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The health crisis has had wide-ranging effects in global markets, including disruptions to supply chains, a downturn in foreign and domestic travel, and a drop in international oil prices – trends that were especially apparent in the early stages of the pandemic. Due to these factors, in 2020 Qatar…
As the economies of the Middle East seek to mount a sustainable recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the fallout of the health crisis has underscored the importance of risk management and stakeholder engagement in mitigating corporate challenges and achieving long-term success. While the responses of companies in the region in late 2021 demonstrated that the pandemic served to raise awareness and demand…
Interview: Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Thani How can Qatar accelerate its transition to a diversified, knowledge-based economy, and what role will foreign direct investment (FDI) play? SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN HAMAD BIN QASSIM AL THANI: Qatar is moving towards a knowledge-based and more flexible economic model focused on sustainability in line with Qatar National Vision 2030. Achieving a quick…
Interview:Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which sectors offer the best potential to accelerate economic diversification? SHEIKH KHALIFA BIN JASSIM BIN MOHAMMED AL THANI: Many sectors have seen significant growth during the pandemic, including industry. Qatar attracted QR293bn ($80.3bn) in investment in 2020 and had 835 operational factories…
Interview:Ahmad Al Sayed What are the key developments and most promising projects taking place in Qatar’s free zones? AHMAD AL SAYED: Major projects completed during 2021 were built to provide business- and industrial-space solutions to investors. These include the Business Innovation Park, which provides more than 6000 sq metres of office space and 78 light industrial units with 79,000…
