Retail Qatari fund sells half its stake in Spanish retailer El Corte Ingles Privately owned Spanish department store chain El Corte Ingles said on Tuesday it bought back half of the stake Qatari fund Primefin held in the company. Primefin, an investment vehicle of Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani, the former Prime Minister of Qatar, will keep a 5.53 percent stake in Corte Ingles, while […] June 21, 2022
Exclusive World Cup 2022 Most lavish World Cup package costs $1.6m – hotel not included UAE residents have bought 7,500 hospitality packages for the Qatar World Cup, with the most expensive option costing an eyewatering $1.6 million. Football fans wanting to attend Qatar 2022 matches have two routes: FIFA's ticket lottery, where prices start at 40 riyals ($10.99) for Qatar residents or 250 riyals for international supporters, or one of the official hospitality packages, which begin at $950. June 21, 2022
Tourism Airlines upbeat on recovery but labour shortages may hurt growth Global airlines battered by COVID-19 seem confident of narrowing their losses but still face challenges such as labour shortages at airports which could restrict post-crisis growth, industry executives at a summit in Doha said. Recent flight delays and cancellations have been widely blamed on a lack of staff as an increasing number of people desert […] June 21, 2022
Tourism Airbus in talks with Qatar Airways ahead of $1bn legal battle Airbus is in discussions with Qatar Airways to try to resolve a bitter legal and safety dispute over the A350 passenger jet, the planemaker’s chief executive said on Sunday. “There’s progress in the sense that we are communicating; we are working with each other,” Guillaume Faury told Reuters on the sidelines of an airlines meeting […] June 20, 2022
Tourism Qatar Airways posts first annual profit since 2017 Qatar Airways today posted its first annual profit since 2017 following years of losses blamed on a regional political dispute and the pandemic. The airline, which only operates international flights, said it made a profit of 5.6 billion riyal ($1.5 billion) in the year to March 31, compared to a year ago loss of 14.8 […] June 16, 2022
Tourism Qatar to pitch up 1,000 ‘Bedouin tents’ for World Cup fans Qatar plans to pitch 1,000 “Bedouin style” tents in the desert for World Cup soccer fans, organisers said on Tuesday, as the state hopes to attract 1.2 million visitors, nearly half of its population, for the 28-day tournament in November and December. Tents will spring up on the stark desert landscapes surrounding Doha, to offer […] June 15, 2022
Tourism EU regulator dismisses Qatar Airways Airbus paint safety claims Europe’s top aviation safety regulator said on Tuesday he had seen no evidence that paint or surface erosion on A350 jets, which are at the centre of a legal dispute between Airbus and Qatar Airways, represented a safety issue. The two companies are at loggerheads over the airworthiness of Europe’s newest long-haul jet after damage […] June 15, 2022
Aviation World Cup, Russians and business travel help airlines rebound Middle Eastern airlines reported a 265 percent year-on-year increase in demand in April, according to the latest monthly data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Industry analysts also reported that while demand in the region is still operating at around two-thirds what it was pre-pandemic, the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Russian tourists […] June 10, 2022
World Cup 2022 Businesses vying to get on the teamsheet Regional and international businesses are jostling to win work in the final months before the World Cup June 9, 2022
World Cup 2022 Qatar is an open goal for property investors Rents are rising and real estate is flooding the market, but measures are being taken to curb oversupply after the World Cup final June 9, 2022
Insight Business of Sport Qatar 2022: A smart investment or a $200bn folly? Doha is banking on long-term economic gains from the World Cup to offset the negative attention it has received since it won the hosting rights When Qatar won the right to stage the 2022 FIFA World Cup in 2010 it shocked much of the footballing world. By beating Australia, South Korea, Japan and the US, the […] June 9, 2022
Banking & Finance Julius Baer hires Doha Bank exec to lead Qatar expansion Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer has hired the former head of private banking at Doha Bank, Slim Bouker, to lead an expansion in Doha, where it plans to open an advisory office at the Qatar Financial Centre, it said on Tuesday. Julius Baer will open its Doha office once regulatory approvals are complete and Bouker […] June 8, 2022
Business of Sport Can Lionel Messi’s left foot fire Saudi into the tourism big league? In the region's latest multimillion-dollar wager on football, Riyadh is hoping the player's global appeal will attract tourists June 4, 2022
Tourism Qatar Airways ready to see $1bn Airbus dispute through to trial Qatar Airways is ready to see its legal dispute with Airbus over flaws with the protective skin of A350 wide-body jets through to trial, the Gulf carrier said on Tuesday. Qatar Airways is suing the European planemaker in a UK court for $1 billion in damages after grounding about two dozen of its A350s experiencing […] June 1, 2022
Business of Sport FIFA: ‘We have not lied about Qatar emissions’ FIFA has rejected a report that claims Qatar 2022 will rely on “flimsy” offsets to meet its pledge to host the first carbon-neutral World Cup. The report, compiled by climate advocacy group Carbon Market Watch, alleges that Qatar, the world’s largest producer of natural gas, is omitting some greenhouse gas emissions from its calculations and […] May 31, 2022
Tourism Qatar Airways and Airbus set for $1bn court battle in London Airbus and Qatar Airways are heading towards a three-month summer trial next year after a UK judge granted the airline a relatively quick timetable while dismissing its procedural claims in a bitter safety and contractual dispute. The judge told a division of London’s High Court there was “public interest” in the outcome of the dispute, […] May 27, 2022
Tourism Gulf airlines to operate over 180 daily Doha flights for World Cup Qatar Airways said today fellow Gulf Arab airlines would operate more than 180 daily shuttle flights to Qatar during this year’s soccer World Cup, allowing fans to fly in from nearby cities and easing accommodation pressure in Doha. Akbar al-Baker, Qatar Airways CEO, told a news conference that United Arab Emirates airline flydubai, Oman Air, […] May 26, 2022
Analysis Qatar promise may trigger deluge of Gulf investments in UK More Gulf sovereign wealth funds could make huge investments in the United Kingdom following a £10 billion commitment from Qatar. On Tuesday the UK and Qatar signed a new Strategic Investment Partnership which will see the emir state invest billions over the next five years in key sectors of the UK economy including fintech, zero […] May 26, 2022
Qatar pledges £10bn investment in key UK sectors The UK and Qatar have signed a new Strategic Investment Partnership which will see Qatar invest up to £10 billion over the next five years in key sectors of the UK economy including fintech, zero emissions vehicles, life sciences and cyber security. Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, welcomed the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim […] May 25, 2022
Banking & Finance Qatar sovereign wealth fund can’t exit Russia The Qatar Investment Authority cannot exit the Russian market and is waiting to assess its position there because of the Ukraine crisis, one of the sovereign wealth fund’s chief investment officers said yesterday. Moscow placed restrictions on foreign investors trading Russian assets in March, saying it wanted to ensure decisions to exit were considered and […] May 25, 2022
Business of Sport Some still can’t accept Qatar hosting World Cup, says emir Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, has told Davos the Middle East has suffered discrimination for decades, in a speech addressing critics of the emirate hosting the World Cup. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the emir said there were still those who were unable to “accept the idea that an […] May 24, 2022
Energy Qatar to invest $5bn in Spanish projects, Emir says Qatar’s $300 billion sovereign wealth fund plans to invest $5 billion in Spanish projects, the Gulf state’s ruler said late on Tuesday at a dinner held in his honour in Madrid. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday that Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani told an audience at a dinner held in King […] May 19, 2022
