Economy Qatar’s gas expansion plans to drive budget surplus until 2030 Qatar is expected to retain budget surpluses until 2030, driven by an increase in gas production at the North Field Expansion (NFE) project, Fitch Ratings has said. The budget surplus is forecast at 8.6 percent of GDP in 2024, compared to 9.3 percent percent in 2023, the rating agency said in a report. “Oil and […] March 21, 2024
Banking and Finance Gulf wealth funds put investing in US well ahead of China Most sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf remain heavily invested in the US, while China represents a much smaller part of their portfolios, data from the consultancy Global SWF shows. The data also shows that the portfolios of Gulf sovereign wealth funds vary widely in terms of their geographical distribution. This is partly a result […] March 8, 2024
Industry Qatar’s non-oil companies optimistic despite higher costs Higher output and strong demand for goods and services helped Qatar’s non-oil private sector to record a faster improvement in business conditions in February than in the previous month, a survey shows. The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey by Qatar Financial Centre and S&P Global registered 51 in February, up from 50.4 in January. […] March 7, 2024
Aviation Qatar Airways’ A350 fleet returns to the skies State-backed Qatar Airways has put its entire fleet of A350 jetliners back into service, a year after settling a dispute with European planemaker Airbus over flaking paint, a media report said. The A350 fleet is now completely repaired and back in air, chief commercial officer Thierry Antinori told Reuters. “You know we had this little […] March 6, 2024
Banking and Finance Qatar commits $11bn for French startups and funds Qatar will invest €10 billion ($10.9 billion) in French startups and investment funds as part of a new strategic partnership. The announcement was made in a French-Qatari joint communique released during Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani’s state visit to Paris. The investments will focus on energy transition, semiconductors, aerospace, artificial intelligence, health, […] February 28, 2024
Infrastructure Ooredoo to spend $1bn upgrading overseas networks Qatari telecoms group Ooredoo is to spend $1.1 billion upgrading its mobile coverage and quality of servies in a number of key overseas markets. Over the period 2024-26, the company will allocate substantial sums to improve connectivity in Algeria, Tunisia, Gaza and the West Bank, Iraq and the Maldives. Ooredoo’s operations in Gaza have been […] February 27, 2024
Tech Qatar’s new $1bn fund to propel global tech growth State-backed Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will launch the country’s first venture capital (VC) fund to invest more than $1 billion in international and regional VC funds. The “Fund of Funds” seeks to attract international VC funds and entrepreneurs to the Gulf state and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, focusing on the finance, education […] February 27, 2024
Energy Qatar’s new LNG discovery to expand output by 85% State-run QatarEnergy will start work on a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) expansion initiative to expand the Gulf state’s LNG production capacity to 142 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by the decade’s close. The North Field West project will see an 85 percent increase from current production levels, said Saad Al-Kaabi, president and CEO of […] February 26, 2024
Oil & Gas QatarEnergy breaks ground on $6bn ethylene complex QatarEnergy has broken ground on the $6 billion Ras Laffan petrochemical complex as part of its downstream expansion strategy. The state-owned Qatari energy firm had signed a final investment decision on the complex with its partner Chevron Phillips Chemical in January last year. The complex will house an ethane cracker with a capacity of 2.1 […] February 20, 2024
Finance Ooredoo’s 2023 profit reaches all-time high of $824m Qatari telecom major Ooredoo reported an all-time high net profit of QAR3 billion ($824 million) in 2023, up 28 percent year on year thanks to solid performances in Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria and the Maldives. Revenue increased by two percent year on year to QAR23.2 billion, the company, which trades on the Qatar stock exchange, said […] February 13, 2024
Analysis Trade $112bn of trade with India ‘ready to be tapped’ Untapped trade opportunities between India and the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey could be worth more than $112 billion, research has found. An HSBC report, which analyses data from the UN/WTO International Trade Centre, estimates that there is a $61 billion export gap for Indian companies in the key markets of the UAE, Saudi […] February 12, 2024
Markets Qatar sets up $200m fund to drive trade in Doha stocks Qatar Investment Authority has launched a $200 million fund for Doha-listed stocks as part of plans to reinvigorate trading on the country’s bourse. Trading turnover on the Qatar Stock Exchange has dropped from QAR160.4 billion ($44.1 billion) in 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine boosted the prices of Gulf hydrocarbon exports, spurring local, regional and […] February 8, 2024
Oil & Gas QatarEnergy to sell cheaper LNG to India’s Petronet QatarEnergy has renewed its contract to supply 7.5 million tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas to Indian importer Petronet LNG. The 20-year contract, which will begin in May 2028, is reportedly valued at $78 billion – significantly less than the agreement it will replace. Petronet could save around $6 billion over the contract term, […] February 7, 2024
Opinion Energy Hey Joe, your LNG plan could be downright dangerous Joe Biden's 'pause' on LNG exports seems to be about the election, not energy policy February 5, 2024
Oil & Gas Qatar awards contracts for oilfield expansion QatarEnergy has awarded contracts worth $6 billion for the third development phase at its largest oilfield, Al Shaheen. The deals are part of the Ru’ya project, designed to increase Al Shaheen’s production capacity by about 100,000 barrels per day. The third phase is intended to produce 550 million barrels of oil over five years, with […] February 1, 2024
Analysis Health Gulf embraces a personalised approach to healthcare The Gulf is shifting towards a more personalised approach to healthcare, but the growth of the sector faces challenges in terms of talent and data management according to experts. Traditional medicine tends to address only the initial health issues without tailoring solutions to the unique requirements of each patient, says Vadim Fedotov, CEO of Bioniq, […] February 1, 2024
Opinion Health How tech is reinventing regional healthcare Local governments are leveraging AI to shape the future of medicine January 29, 2024
Oil & Gas Italy forced to wait as Qatar reroutes LNG vessels The conflict in the Red Sea has forced QatarEnergy to delay shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, with Italy the first country to be directly affected. Italian energy company Edison said this week that a cargo scheduled to arrive at Italy’s Adriatic LNG terminal in Rovigo had been cancelled. According to a message […] January 26, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Finance UK steps up hunt for Mena projects with £50bn budget The UK’s export credit agency is stepping up its search for “transformational” projects to finance across the Middle East and North Africa and has a potential war chest of about £50 billion ($63 billion). Since 2018, UK Export Finance has completed £11 billion worth of business and delivered thousands of jobs for UK businesses related […] January 25, 2024
Finance Qatar National Bank raises $1bn from 5-year eurobonds Qatar National Bank, the Gulf region’s biggest bank by assets, has raised $1 billion through its eurobond medium-term note programme. The bond was issued on January 23 2024 and matures on January 30 2029, with a coupon rate of 4.875 percent a year, the state-owned Qatar News Agency reported, quoting a statement by the bank. […] January 25, 2024
