Construction Parsons wins $52m road design contract in Qatar The Qatar government’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has awarded a contract to US firm Parsons Corporation to deliver engineering consultancy services for a new road and infrastructure framework. The $52 million, six-year contract includes design for roads and infrastructure projects within Doha city. More than half of Qatar’s three million-strong population lives in the capital […] August 9, 2023
Renewable Energy QIA buys $500m stake in Adani’s green energy firm India’s Adani Group has raised $500 million by selling a part of its holdings in Adani Green Energy Limited to investors, including INQ Holding, a wholly owned unit of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). The stake sale by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani aims to reduce promoter-level debt and release stock pledges. Infinite Trade and Investment sold 42.6 million […] August 8, 2023
Economy Qatar’s non-oil sector up but real estate slows Business conditions for Qatar’s non-oil private sector continued to improve in July. However there was a lack of demand for real estate following previous growth in construction that was linked to the Fifa World Cup. Output, new orders, employment and purchasing all expanded, with Qatar’s latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reaching 54.0 in July, up […] August 7, 2023
EXCLUSIVE Business of Sport Baseball ready to strike home run in the Middle East When the opening pitch is thrown at Dubai International Stadium in November it will signal the official start of the first ever professional baseball league in the Middle East and South Asia. And the power broker behind the ambitious project hopes the 25,000-seater venue will be at least a quarter full to mark the inaugural […] August 6, 2023
Banking and Finance Argentina agrees $775m loan with Qatar to repay IMF Argentina agreed a $775 million loan with Qatar on Friday, which will be used to make an immediate International Monetary Fund repayment. The country’s government is grappling with a severe economic crisis with sky-high inflation and falling central bank reserves while facing IMF repayments. Its economy minister Sergio Massa said on Monday Argentina would not […] August 4, 2023
Oil & Gas India’s Gail set to finalise Qatar LNG purchase deal Gail (India) Ltd is close to finalising a long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) import deal with Qatar to buy at least one million metric tonnes per year (tpy). The agreement would potentially be for more than 20 years, three industry and trade sources said. The deal would be part of Gail’s plans to lock in […] August 4, 2023
Development Qatar’s Ooredoo profit rises 26% to $228m in Q2 Qatari telecom company Ooredoo reported a net profit of QAR831 million ($228 million) in the second quarter of 2023. This is an increase of 26 percent compared to a year earlier. Revenue for the second quarter rose four percent year on year to QAR5.77 billion, the telecom company said in a statement. The net profit […] July 31, 2023
Aviation Qatar Airways to buy 203 new planes despite profit fall Qatar Airways is set to acquire 203 new aircraft despite reporting a 21 percent drop in net profit in the fiscal year to the end of March. The state-owned airline’s 2023 annual report, published this week, showed that its capital commitments for the purchase of aircraft and engines has increased from QR242 billion to QR255 […] July 28, 2023
Lifestyle Valentino’s Qatari owner to sell 30% stake for $1.9bn The Qatari owner of Italian fashion brand Valentino is to sell a 30 percent stake to the French luxury group behind rival brands such as Gucci, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen, it was announced on Thursday. Paris-based Kering announced it will pay Mayhoola Lux Sàrl (Mayhoola), a Qatari investment company controlled by the mother of the […] July 28, 2023
Retail Qatar in talks to invest $1bn in Reliance Retail Ventures Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is negotiating to buy a minority stake in Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail Ventures. The $450 billion Qatari sovereign fund is weighing a $1 billion investment to take about one percent and valuing the retail business at around $100 billion, informed sources told the Financial Times newspaper. The agreement is […] July 26, 2023
Oil & Gas QatarEnergy’s 2022 profit surges 58% to $42.5bn State-owned QatarEnergy’s net profit jumped 58 percent to QAR154.6 billion ($42.47 billion) in 2022, compared to QAR97.9 billion in 2021. Revenue rose to QAR189 billion in 2022, from QAR120.3 billion in 2021. Net operating income from the profit share of associates jumped to QAR1 billion from QAR645.8 million in 2021. Income from its share of […] July 19, 2023
Oil & Gas Japan and Qatar talks focus on bolstering energy supplies Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to strengthen energy ties and economic cooperation with major gas producer Qatar on Tuesday, in the final leg of a Gulf tour that has focused on securing energy supplies and promoting Japanese high tech. Kishida, who has been urged by Japan’s gas lobby to secure new liquefied natural gas […] July 19, 2023
Energy Qatar expects record volume of LNG deals in 2023 Qatar this year will sign record volumes of long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) offtake contracts, the country’s energy minister said at a conference in Vancouver. About 40 percent of new global LNG output will come from Qatar by 2029, said minister of energy Saad Al Kaabi at the LNG 2023 conference. The country last year […] July 12, 2023
Energy QatarEnergy and Enoc sign gas byproduct supply deal State-run QatarEnergy and Dubai’s Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) Group have signed a long-term deal to supply condensate, a natural gas byproduct. Under the 10-year agreement, the Qatari energy company will supply up to 120 million barrels of condensates to Enoc from this month, QatarEnergy said in a statement. “We are pleased to sign this […] July 11, 2023
Energy Thailand’s PTT in talks with Qatar for LNG deal Thailand’s largest energy company, state-controlled PTT, is in advanced talks with Qatar for a 15-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal, four trading sources told Reuters. The oil and gas conglomerate is negotiating a supply of one or two million tonnes per annum (mtpa), according to different figures cited by the sources, in what would […] July 9, 2023
Opinion Aviation India’s airlines face fight for market gains from the Gulf The real winner should be the traveller July 6, 2023
Aviation Qatar Airways’ profit down 21% despite World Cup Qatar Airways Group’s net profit fell 21.4 percent year-on-year to QAR4.4 billion ($1.21 billion) in 2022-2023 despite flying more passengers for the Fifa World Cup. The profit drop came despite revenue increasing 45 percent year-on-year to QAR76.3 billion. Passenger revenue also doubled, as capacity rose 31 percent year-on-year, driven by a load factor of 80 […] July 6, 2023
Opinion Business of Sport The Gulf’s bid for global dominion in sport Governments are spending billions in the hope it will accelerate economic transformation July 5, 2023
Banking and Finance Qatar firms boost hiring to clear backlogs Business conditions in Qatar’s non-oil private sector continued to improve in June, according to a report by Qatar Financial Centre and ratings firm S&P Global. The financial services industry was the biggest beneficiary. Rising employment helped firms “reduce their levels of outstanding business” and smooth supply chains, the report said. However, cost burdens rose – […] July 5, 2023
Business of Sport Bayern Munich and Qatar Airways end $50m sponsorship German football club Bayern Munich will not renew its five-year sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways after it expires this month. The decision was made by mutual consent, according to a joint statement issued on the club’s website on Wednesday. “The connections that FC Bayern has been able to forge with its fans in the Arab […] June 28, 2023
