Banking and Finance UK watchdog fines Barclays $55m over fees paid to Qatari entities Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it would fine Barclays £50 million ($55 million) for its failure to disclose fees paid to Qatari entities during its financial crisis-era fundraising. The fine dates back to the height of the 2008-2009 crisis, when Barclays scrambled to raise funds from overseas investors including Qatar in order to avoid […] October 23, 2022
Retail Winter World Cup may be nightmare for British stores The winter World Cup has added a new level of uncertainty to the Christmas trading outlook of Britain’s supermarkets: How do you persuade cash-strapped shoppers to buy yule logs and luxury biscuits at the same time as beer and pizza? Running between November 20 and December 18, the soccer tournament in Qatar falls directly in […] October 20, 2022
Tourism Qatar Airways cuts flights to free up space for World Cup traffic Qatar Airways has withdrawn flights from 18 destinations to make space at Hamad International Airport for airlines carrying fans to next month’s soccer World Cup, the company’s CEO said on Tuesday. Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker said the priority now was to accommodate the hundreds of flights that will be landing in the […] October 19, 2022
Business of Sport FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar win bid to stage 2023 Asian Cup Qatar has won the bid to host the 18th edition of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, state-owned Qatar News Agency reported. Qatar is the reigning AFC Asian Cup champion and will be hosting the tournament for the third time after staging the 1988 and 2011 editions. The Gulf nation’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup […] October 18, 2022
Business of Sport Qatar upgrades land border to handle 4,000 football fans per hour World Cup fans arriving at the Abu Samra crossing in private vehicles or on buses must have an entry permit from the Hayya portal October 17, 2022
Business of Sport Qatar may change dismantling plans for World Cup stadiums With plans to bid to host more major events, such as the Olympics, Qatar may alter its plans to dismantle its stadiums after the World Cup, the Qatar Tribune reported, citing Mohamed Nabeel Al Atwaan, FM director, Stadium 974 Operations at the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. The dismantling of Stadium 974 (previously called […] October 17, 2022
Tourism Qatar Airways to hire 10,000 staff amid World Cup preparations Qatar Airways is boosting its workforce by 10,000 to handle an influx of passengers flying into Doha for the soccer World Cup and in line with a broader post-pandemic expansion, the airline told Reuters. The Doha-based carrier is in the midst of a recruitment drive which will lift its total workforce to more than 55,000 […] October 14, 2022
Energy Qatar and Russia discuss Ukraine conflict’s impact on oil markets Qatar’s Emir and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Ukraine crisis and its impact on energy markets during a meeting on the sidelines of a summit in Kazakhstan on Thursday, the emir’s office said. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Putin also discussed the conflict’s impact on food security as well as the situation in […] October 14, 2022
Exclusive Real Estate Rents for Qatar tenants soar ahead of World Cup Tenants in Qatar are losing out in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup as rents soar by nearly a third, with landlords able to secure longer-term leases at higher rates due to a lack of supply in the market. “Residential rents have risen around 30 percent year-on-year,” said Adam Stewart, the recently appointed head […] October 11, 2022
Banking and Finance Qatar National Bank’s Q3 profit up 14% on higher interest income Qatar National Bank (QNB), the Gulf’s largest lender by assets, said on Monday its third-quarter net profit was up nearly 14 percent as net interest income jumped nearly a third. Net profit attributable to QNB’s equity holders in the three months to the end of September was QR 3.97 billion ($1.09 billion) from QR 3.48 […] October 11, 2022
Analysis Aviation Flight bookings soar as Gulf benefits from Qatar 2022 fever Flight bookings to Qatar from the UAE and 31 countries competing in the FIFA World Cup are currently 10 times the volume of pre-pandemic levels, according to new data. The latest analysis by UK-based ForwardKeys shows that the UAE will perform most strongly during the Qatar 2022 World Cup period in November and December, where […] October 11, 2022
Economy Qatar population rises 13.2% in World Cup hiring surge Qatar’s population has surged by 13.2 percent in a year, official data shows, as the tiny Gulf state recruits thousands of overseas workers ahead of hosting the World Cup in November and December. The wealthy gas producer’s population stood at 2.94 million after some 370,000 additional people moved to Qatar in the 12 months to […] October 10, 2022
World Cup 2022 Qatar to intensify labour inspections during World Cup Qatar will intensify labour inspections during the soccer World Cup including extra health and safety checks to protect workers from exploitation, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) said on Wednesday. Rights groups and labour unions have warned that hospitality, transport and security workers are especially vulnerable during the month-long tournament, the first held in a […] October 6, 2022
Transport Qatar gives new electric buses demo run before World Cup Qatar’s public transport provider Mowasalat (Karwa) added 90 new electric buses to its fleet this month. There are also plans to make all Karwa taxis around Doha fully electric as part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions to meet Qatar’s Vision 2030 goals. Working in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Qatar Rail, […] October 5, 2022
French cities to ban Qatar World Cup fan zones Several major French cities including Lille, Strasbourg and Bordeaux said they will not organise fan zones or put up giant outdoor screens to show Qatar World Cup soccer matches in protest against ecological and humanitarian issues. Leftist and ecologist mayors in those cities said the loss of immigrant workers’ lives during construction of the stadia […] October 4, 2022
Energy Jet fuel pipeline opens as Dubai gears up for World Cup flights ENOC's 16.2km pipeline is delivering fuel to Al Maktoum International Airport, which will be a hub for World Cup match-day flights to Qatar October 3, 2022
Tourism International visitors spent $14.3bn in Qatar last year International visitors to Qatar spent QR52.1 billion ($14.31 billion) in 2021, accounting for almost 14.5 percent of the country’s exports last year, according to World Travel & Tourism Council figures reported in the Gulf Times. Leisure spending reached QR44.73 billion, 75 percent of the total spending in 2021. The travel and tourism sector contributed QR67.6 […] October 3, 2022
Banking and Finance Qatar buys 9.1% of Germany’s largest power producer Germany’s largest power producer RWE AG said on Saturday it had agreed to buy Con Edison Inc’s Clean Energy Businesses subsidiary for $6.8 billion, doubling down on the world’s second-biggest renewables market. The deal will be partly funded via a $2.43 billion convertible bond issued to a unit of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) through which […] October 2, 2022
Tech Qatar issues licence to Elon Musk’s satellite broadband firm Qatar’s telecom watchdog Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has issued an individual licence to Starlink Satellite Qatar, state-owned QNA reported. The licence authorises US-based Starlink’s Qatar unit to provide satellite broadband Internet services to individuals and enterprises via the low-earth orbit satellite constellation of SpaceX. Starlink will provide direct-to-consumer satellite Internet and premium services, targeting businesses […] September 29, 2022
Analysis Aviation Gulf carriers set to benefit from ‘reordering’ of aviation industry Gulf carriers are likely to strike up new partnerships with foreign airlines as the war in Ukraine and the lingering impact of the coronavirus pandemic threatens to reorder the global aviation scene. The reshaping of the airline industry as a result of pandemic-induced change is opening up new, and more competitive avenues for global airlines […] September 28, 2022
