Tourism Qatar relaunches World Cup visa platform for tourism Qatar has relaunched the visa platform it used to welcome 1.4 million football fans during last year’s Fifa World Cup with a broader tourism remit, as it seeks to attract over six million visitors a year by 2030. The new-look Hayya platform will become the single portal for all tourist and business visas to the […] April 17, 2023
Sustainability Qatar cut emissions by 9,000 tonnes at World Cup Qatar cut carbon emissions by approximately 9,000 tons by powering temporary facilities at FIFA World Cup stadiums and precincts directly from the national grid instead of using diesel generators. The move involved seven of the eight Qatar 2022 stadiums and was overseen by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), Fifa and Qatar General […] April 17, 2023
Energy QatarEnergy raises June crude price on high demand State-owned QatarEnergy set the term price for cargoes of Al Shaheen oil loading in June at a higher level than for May, indicating stronger demand for crude for the summer amid tightening supply after producers agreed to cut output. Qatar set the price for June cargoes at a premium of about $2.37 a barrel above […] April 14, 2023
Economy Qatar and Bahrain to resume diplomatic ties Bahrain and Qatar have agreed to resume diplomatic relations following a meeting between leading officials in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Both state-run news agencies for the Gulf countries announced the news following a second meeting of the Bahraini-Qatari follow-up committee, held at the headquarters of the GCC General Secretariat. “It was decided to resume diplomatic […] April 13, 2023
Energy Sinopec takes 5% stake in Qatar’s $29bn LNG project China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) will acquire part of the $28.8 billion North Field East (NFE) expansion project, said state-owned QatarEnergy, The state-run Chinese company will take a five percent stake in the equivalent of one North Field East LNG train with a capacity of eight million tonnes per year, Qatar’s oil major said in a […] April 13, 2023
Aviation Qatar Airways CEO calls for aviation fuel overhaul The boss of Qatar Airways has called for an overhaul of the sustainable aviation fuel market. The airline is buying sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as it seeks to reduce the environmental impact of air travel. However CEO Akbar Al Baker has labelled the fuel “exorbitantly expensive” and says it is only available in low volumes […] April 11, 2023
Banking and Finance Qatar National Bank’s Q1 2023 profit up 7% to $1.1bn Qatar National Bank (QNB), the largest lender by assets in the GCC, said that its first-quarter 2023 profit rose seven percent year-on-year on growth across a range of revenue sources despite turbulence in global markets. Net profit for the three months ended March 31, 2023, climbed to QAR3.9 billion ($1.1 billion), up from QAR3.6 billion […] April 11, 2023
Economy World Cup boosts Qatar’s GDP growth to seven-year high A surge in economic activity in the last quarter of 2022 lifted Qatar’s annual GDP growth to 4.8 percent – a level of growth unseen since the middle of the last decade, according to new data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The Gulf state’s real GDP grew by a robust 8 percent year on year […] April 6, 2023
Energy QatarEnergy enters Mauritania offshore exploration with Shell State-owned QatarEnergy has entered into an agreement with British oil and gas company Shell to acquire a 40 percent working interest in the C-10 block located offshore Mauritania. British oil and gas company Shell will hold a 50 percent interest, while national oil company Société Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures (SMH) will hold the remaining 10 percent. […] April 3, 2023
Logistics Qatar in race to run operations at three airports in Pakistan Pakistan on Thursday kicked off outsourcing of operations and land assets at three major airports to be run through a public private partnership (PPP), a finance ministry statement said, a move to generate foreign exchange reserves for its ailing economy. The government has been in talks with Qatar to jointly run terminals at Islamabad, Karachi […] March 31, 2023
Energy QatarEnergy buys stakes from Exxon in Canadian offshore blocks State-owned QatarEnergy has signed an agreement with US-based ExxonMobil to buy stakes in two Canadian offshore exploration blocks. The farm-in agreement, signed on Wednesday, gives QatarEnergy a 28 percent interest in licence EL 1167, with ExxonMobil Canada holding 50 percent and Cenovus Energy 22 percent. In addition, QatarEnergy will hold 40 percent of licence EL […] March 30, 2023
Markets Qatar set to launch derivatives exchange after new rules issued Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) will move ahead with the plans to establish a derivatives exchange and central clearing counterparty after the country’s financial regulator issued a new regulatory framework for listed derivatives. The Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) issued the derivatives markets and exchanges rules (DMEX) 2023 after a three-month consultation with investors and […] March 28, 2023
Business of Sport Qatari sheikh files second bid in tussle for Manchester United Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has submitted an improved bid to buy Manchester United FC. The Qatari businessman made his first offer for the Premier League club in February, when his spokesperson said the bid was completely debt free. Qatari bid for Manchester United ‘acid test of post-Brexit Britain’ Middle East continues to dominate […] March 27, 2023
Tourism Qatar tourists surge 347% in first two months of 2023 Qatar received nearly 730,000 visitors in January and February this year, a year-on-year increase of 347 percent. January saw 340,000 international visitors, up 295 percent year-on-year, while February reported 389,000 visitors, a 406 percent year-on-year rise, Qatar Tourism said in a statement. Except for the months of the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022, February marked […] March 27, 2023
Exclusive Aviation VistaJet continues to fly high from Qatar World Cup Private jet operator VistaJet has seen enduring business benefits from the Qatar World Cup, staged at the end of 2022. It witnessed a 146 percent year-on-year increase in its Qatar flights in 2022, driven by a 561 percent rise in December compared to the same month in 2021. Demand at the Dubai-based company has continued […] March 24, 2023
Banking and Finance SNB plans growth despite Credit Suisse losses Saudi National Bank has said its growth strategy will not be impacted by the UBS takeover of beleaguered rival Credit Suisse, despite analysts predicting “heavy losses” for Gulf backers. SNB is joined by Qatar Investment Authority and Saudi Arabian conglomerate Olayan Group, who all have varying levels of interest in the 167-year-old Swiss bank. Rohit […] March 20, 2023
60 seconds with... Lifestyle Alison Milton, Ambassador of Ireland to the UAE Alison Milton has been the Ambassador of Ireland to the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait since August. Before then she worked as the British-Irish director, in Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs. What does your company do? I work for the Embassy of Ireland in Abu Dhabi covering the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar. I also have responsibility […] March 17, 2023
Tourism New UK tourist visa set to boost GCC trade corridor Visitors from Qatar will be the first to benefit from the new UK tourist visa scheme, ahead of a worldwide expansion of the scheme throughout 2024. Qatari visitors will be the first to be able to apply for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) in October. The rest of the GCC and Jordan can apply for […] March 16, 2023
Energy QatarEnergy begins construction of $8.5bn polymers plant in US State-owned QatarEnergy and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company have broken ground on the $8.5 billion Golden Triangle polymers plant in Orange County, Texas, US. Located about 180 km east of Houston, the plant will include an ethylene cracker unit with a capacity of 2.08 million tons per annum and two high-density polyethylene units with a combined […] March 10, 2023
Aviation Airbus reinstates Qatar Airways’ order for 73 A350 aircraft European planemaker Airbus has reinstated orders for 73 aircraft from Qatar Airways after revoking them during a dispute over damage to the surface of grounded A350s. Airbus and Qatar Airways settled the dispute at the end of January, averting a rare and potentially damaging UK court trial in the jet sector. Speaking in Berlin, Qatar […] March 8, 2023
