Economy
From The Report: Qatar 2015
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The Qatari economy boasts a decade-long track record of extremely strong expansion, with the state’s GDP per capita having risen to become one of the highest in the world. While Qatar is the world’s highest exporter of liquefied natural gas, and the country’s income remains largely dependent on hydrocarbons activity, Qatar has, in recent times, pursued a vigorous plan of economic diversification in line with Qatar National Vision 2030. Leading non-hydrocarbons growth are the finance and construction sectors. The banking sector’s macro-indicators are favourable, with sound capital and strong liquid assets, which will allow banks to capitalise on the state’s construction drive. Meanwhile, and as a result of the state’s infrastructure investment programme, the construction sector expanded by 22% year-on-year between Q2 2013 and Q2 2014.

This chapter contains interviews with Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce; Abdullah Saleh Mubarak Al Khulaifi, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs; Eisa bin Saad Al Naimi, Minister of Administrative Development; Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary-General, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy; and Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, CEO, Qatar Development Bank.

Articles from this Chapter

Analysis

Qatar’s new financial management systems enhance on-target spending
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In keeping with the IMF’s recommendations, Qatar has moved to introduce a medium-term focus to its budget process, which is expected to help protect government spending from revenue volatility. These reforms have become especially pertinent, as oil prices plunged by 50% between June 2014 and early 2015. With the state now moving to plan its budget in three-year increments, planning to utilise the IMF-recommended Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (GFSM) as the foundation of its budget…

Interview

Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce: Interview
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Interview:Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al Thani How is the ministry streamlining regulations and enhancing the overall legal framework to create a more conducive investment environment? SHEIKH AHMED BIN JASSIM BIN MOHAMED AL THANI: Qatar’s competitiveness is based on two main factors: the expected level of output per working age individual and the overall quality of a specific nation as a place to do business. Therefore, in order to improve competitiveness in line with these factors,…

Analysis

Qatar supports entrepreneurs and start-ups
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The Qatari government has increasingly shifted its focus to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups as it moves to expand economic diversification and non-oil growth in the state. Start-ups and entrepreneurs will benefit as a result, with the state launching new support mechanisms for the sector, including the recently established Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC), the largest mixed-use incubator facility in the MENA region. Offering a series of targeted training programmes,…

Interview

Abdullah Saleh Mubarak Al Khulaifi, Former Minister of Labour and Social Affairs: Interview
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Interview:Abdullah Saleh Mubarak Al Khulaifi How successful have the government’s Qatarisation efforts been, and what new steps may be taken? ABDULLAH SALEH MUBARAK AL KHULAIFI: Qatarisation has been in place for over a decade and has been implemented in the banking, financial services and industrial sectors, as well as numerous other areas within the private sector. The figure approved by the cabinet is a 20% minimum, which more than two-thirds of private sector companies in Qatar have…

Interview

OBG talks to Eisa bin Saad Al Nuaimi, Minister of Administrative Development, Labour & Social Affairs
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Interview:Eisa bin Saad Al Nuaimi How is the new ministry pursuing optimal use of human resources in the public sector? EISA BIN SAAD AL NUAIMI: We consider optimal use of human resources one of the key roles for which the ministry was created. Among the most important projects in this area is job nationalisation at government entities, which aims to fill all supervisory and specialised posts, as well as technical and clerical ones, with Qataris so that they reach up to 90% of the workforce…

Analysis

Qatar implements new reforms to labour rights
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Qatar, like many Gulf nations, has seen its labour requirements soar in the wake of rapid economic development and a spate of construction and infrastructure projects. With less than 300,000 Qataris living in a country of some 2.22m people, the nation’s labour force is dominated by expatriate workers, the majority of whom are from Asia. Incomes earned in Qatar represent a critical channel for wealth redistribution, and benefit thousands of families, although human rights and labour law…

Interview

Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary-General, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC): Interview
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Interview:Hassan Al Thawadi What stadiums and facilities will the SC be responsible for constructing ahead of 2022? HASSAN AL THAWADI: The SC is tasked with delivering the proposed venues and projects for the 2022 FIFA World Cup – the first to be held in the Middle East – while also ensuring that its preparations align with Qatar’s other development imperatives, as described in Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030) and Qatar National Development Strategy 2011-16. The SC is working…

Interview

Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, CEO, Qatar Development Bank (QDB): Interview
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Interview:Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa How does the merging of Enterprise Qatar with QDB impact the development strategy for the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector? ABDULAZIZ BIN NASSER AL KHALIFA: The merger means we can provide SMEs and entrepreneurs with a single window for services, and it increases the role of the bank as the primary advocate for SMEs and entrepreneurs. Direct and indirect funding for SMEs is critical and will remain strong, but our success post-merger…

Analysis

Strong economic fundamentals in Qatar bolster many sectors
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With oil prices bouncing along the bottom of the charts, and most forecasts suggesting they are likely to stay well submerged for some time, Qatar’s infrastructure project pipeline may now be coming on-stream at a lessthan-opportune time, although the state’s solid economic fundamentals and rapid non-oil growth will help mitigate the worst of the near-term oil shocks, and should keep expansion strong over the mid-term. Ventures ONSITE, a regional construction project tracking system,…