Economy TotalEnergies to invest $1.5bn in Qatar’s gas expansion project France’s TotalEnergies will invest nearly $1.5 billion in Qatar’s North Field South (NFS) gas expansion project, Qatar News Agency reported. State-owned QatarEnergy has selected TotalEnergies as the first international partner in the North Field South (NFS) expansion project. TotalEnergies will hold a 9.375 percent stake in the project out of a total 25 percent interest […] September 25, 2022
Aviation Qatar Airways says not increasing flight prices due to World Cup Qatar Airways is not taking advantage of the FIFA World Cup 2022 to increase flight ticket prices and has capped the price of shuttle flights from GCC states, Reuters reported, citing group chief executive Akbar Al Baker. However, ticket prices will remain high due to lack of capacity as airline manufacturers face challenges delivering aircraft […] September 22, 2022
Tourism Qatar to suspend visit visas during World Cup 2022 Qatar will suspend entry of all visitors from November 1, 2022, allowing only Hayya cardholders during the World Cup, the state-owned Qatar News agency reported, citing a Ministry of Interior official. Visit visas will resume from December 23, 2022, said the ministry’s director of public relations Abdullah Khalifa Al Muftah. The FIFA World Cup Qatar […] September 22, 2022
Exclusive Aviation Private jets face backlog during World Cup Qatar authorities are putting restrictions in place to manage the expected surge in demand for landing slots from private jets flying to Doha for the World Cup. Operators have warned that wealthy football fans will need to be flexible with their plans, especially around the later stages of the tournament which takes place from November […] September 19, 2022
Energy ‘We cannot replace Russian gas’, says Qatar Emir Russian gas is essential to the global market and Qatar does not have the capacity to replace supplies to Europe with liquefied natural gas, the Gulf state’s Emir has said. The European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on Russian oil imports in March in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, pledging to wean itself off Russian […] September 15, 2022
Banking & Finance Qatar wealth fund buys stake in Turkey’s Eurasia Tunnel The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has bought a stake in the Eurasia Tunnel company in Istanbul from the South Korean partner in the venture, SK Group, a statement by the Turkish Competition Board showed on Tuesday. The competition board decision, taken on September 8 and posted on its website on Monday evening, showed that QIA […] September 14, 2022
Construction Building permits up 43% from last year in Qatar Qatar recorded a 43 percent year-on-year increase in the number of building permits issued by various municipalities in August 2022, reaching 784 licenses, the state-owned Qatar News Agency reported, citing the Planning and Statistics Authority. New building permits (residential and non-residential) accounted for 43 percent, or 337 licenses, of the total building permits issued last […] September 12, 2022
Exclusive World Cup 2022 Qatar 2022 will change views of Arab world, says football legend Former England and Liverpool footballer John Barnes believes the World Cup in Qatar will help change the perception of Middle Eastern countries and dismantle negative narratives in the West. The tournament, which is held every four years, is set to take place in Qatar between November 21 and December 18. It is the first World […] September 10, 2022
Tourism Airbus confirms cancellation of remaining Qatar A350 orders Airbus on Thursday confirmed it had revoked all remaining A350 orders from Qatar Airways, raising the stakes in a safety and contractual dispute with the Gulf carrier. “Airbus confirms that it has removed 19 Qatar Airways A350s from the backlog,” a spokesperson said. Qatar Airways had no immediate comment. The rare order cancellation, confirming a […] September 9, 2022
World Cup 2022 Qatar’s airspace deal to boost global aviation ambitions Qatar is gearing up to establish its own airspace in a move that is key to the country’s ambitions to becoming a global aviation hub. The Qatari Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) has signed a pact with representatives of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, with the activation of operations of the new Doha flight information […] September 8, 2022
Tourism Qatar’s green own goal as World Cup fans set to jet in from Dubai The Middle East’s first ever soccer World Cup promises boom time for Dubai hotels this November, with thousands of fans expected to descend on the Gulf city due to limited accommodation in neighbouring host nation Qatar. But the environmental costs of transporting those visitors nearly 400 kilometre (249 miles) for match days, overwhelmingly by plane, […] September 8, 2022
Banking & Finance Qatar gold reserves at record high after July price dip Qatar was the world’s largest buyer of gold in July, pushing its reserves to record a high, as central banks around the world took advantage of lower prices and the precious metal’s reputation as a safe haven during turbulent economic times. The World Gold Council (WGC) described central bank demand for gold in July as […] September 7, 2022
Banking & Finance Qatar tells local banks to stop currency swap deals abroad Qatar’s central bank has told banks in the Gulf state not to exchange its currency with entities outside the country without prior permission, five sources told Reuters, in a move bankers say aims at ending the riyal’s divergence against the dollar. The Qatari riyal, officially fixed at 3.64 to the dollar since 2001, has in […] September 7, 2022
Tech Qatar’s Ooredoo plans to sell Myanmar unit to Singapore firm Qatari telecommunications company Ooredoo plans to sell its Myanmar operations to Singapore-headquartered technology firm The One Matrix Ventures (TOMV), according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. Ooredoo is the last majority foreign-owned telecoms company in Myanmar since a rush to exit after last year’s military coup. Norway’s Telenor withdrew from the country […] September 6, 2022
Banking & Finance Credit Suisse expands in Qatar, despite global move to cut jobs Credit Suisse will expand in Qatar via a partnership with the Gulf country’s Investment Promotion Agency (IPA Qatar), the Swiss bank said on Monday. It will create up to 100 jobs there over the next few years across its wealth management, investment banking and asset management divisions and through the launch of a technology and […] September 6, 2022
Business of Sport Qatar to allow beer at World Cup three hours before kick-off Qatar will permit ticketed fans to buy alcoholic beer at World Cup soccer matches starting three hours before kickoff and for one hour after the final whistle, but not during the match, a source with knowledge of plans for the tournament said. Budweiser, a major World Cup sponsor with exclusive rights to sell beer at […] September 4, 2022
Energy Qatar to build world’s largest ‘blue’ ammonia plant QatarEnergy will build the world’s largest “blue” ammonia plant, which is expected to come online in the first quarter of 2026 and to produce 1.2 million tonnes per year, chief executive and state minister for energy Saad Al-Kaabi said on Wednesday. The cost of the Ammonia-7 project is approximately 3.86 billion rials ($1.06 billion), according […] September 1, 2022
Banking & Finance Qatar Central Bank issues first licence for digital payments Qatar Central Bank has issued the first digital payment services licence to Ooredoo Money and iPay by Vodafone Qatar, the bank said in a tweet. This is an initial step to including all companies providing digital payment services under the central bank’s supervision. Last week, the bank launched the mobile payment service Google Pay, reiterating […] August 31, 2022
Business of Sport Qatar sends on Beckham amid questions over World Cup legacy Qatar Tourism has launched a marketing campaign starring David Beckham as it counts down to the start of the FIFA World Cup in November. The former England captain – who is reportedly being paid £150 million ($174 million) over 10 years to promote Qatar – is advertising holidays in the country as tourism chiefs seek […] August 31, 2022
New deals aim to enhance UK-Qatar trade and investments The UK has enhanced its relationship with Qatar, its third largest Gulf trading partner, with the announcement of two new agreements to boost trade and investment. UK trade minister Ranil Jayawardena met Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani in London last week to agree the partnerships at the third UK-Qatar […] August 30, 2022
