Qatar is an appealing market for retailers and mall operators, in particular, the relatively underdeveloped food-retailing segment. The retail sector generated QR32.2 billion (US$8.84 billion) in 2010, the last year for which figures were available, up 8.3 percent from 2009, according to international press reports. Qatar currently has the highest consumer confidence in the Middle [...]

  Undertaking a large-scale expansion of its chemicals industry, Qatar is aiming to increase the value of hydrocarbon related exports. Production of chemicals and petrochemicals will more than double by 2020, reaching 23 million tonnes per year (tpy), up from 9.3 million tonnes at present, the nation’s minister of energy and industry, Mohamed bin Saleh [...]

Qatar’s tourism sector will be one of the big winners of the 2022 World Cup, with an accelerated building programme of hotels, hospitality facilities and entertainment centres aimed at making sure fans will enjoy their stay, though care has to be taken to ensure that once the World Cup is over, visitors keep coming through [...]

Qatar’s economy is set to post near record growth again in 2011, after leading the world in 2010, though there are some concerns that this rapid expansion could lead to overheating. Meanwhile, Doha will be keeping a wary eye on the economic health of its major trading partners. By Matt Ghazarian The Qatari economy expanded [...]

Having established itself as the world’s leading supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Qatar is now looking to bring a new processing facility online to support a projected jump in the local industrial activity. By Matt Ghazarian Over the past decade, Qatar has invested heavily in increasing its gas extraction and processing capacity, with output [...]

While many economies worldwide are still sluggish or face another recession, Qatar is expected to see 21 percent real growth in 2011, with the country’s core sectors performing strongly.Qatar was the world’s fastest-growing economy between 2006 and 2010, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.7 percent, according to a recent report by Doha-based [...]

Qatar was recently named the wealthiest nation in the world in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. However, with many of the oil and gas related projects nearing fruition, focus is turning to manufacturing and other non-hydrocarbons businesses and the role they will play in the local economy. By Matt Ghazarian In mid-June [...]

On April 3, 2011, Qatar officially launched the National Health Strategy (NHS) 2011-16, the government’s plan to upgrade and improve the country’s healthcare sector. Based on principles originally outlined in National Vision 2030, Qatar’s long-term development programme, the NHS has the potential to bring about substantial changes to the sector. By Gregg Harris In addition [...]

Qatar’s tourism sector will be one of the big winners of the 2022 World Cup, with an accelerated building programme of hotels, hospitality facilities and entertainment centres aimed at making sure fans will enjoy their stay, though care has to be taken to ensure that once the World Cups is over, visitors keep coming through [...]