Country Report Qatar December 2008

Outlook for 2009-10

• The emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, will continue to focus on foreign policy challenges and opportunities to boost Qatar's prestige through its mediation efforts. Domestic political reform will not be a priority.
• Qatar will maintain an independent foreign policy, but it will broadly align itself with the rest of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) with regard to relations with Iran.
• Qatar will continue to pursue its economic diversification strategy, although the bulk of foreign investment over the outlook period will be directed into the oil and gas sectors.
• Real GDP growth will average 17.3% in 2009-10, as substantial new liquefied natural gas and petrochemicals projects come on stream, although nominal GDP growth will be more sluggish owing to falls in oil and gas prices.
• We estimate that average annual inflation will have reached 14.9% in 2008, and forecast that it will ease to 11.1% in 2009 and to 8.9% in 2010, as global commodity prices fall substantially and new housing stock becomes available.
• The current account will remain in surplus throughout the outlook period, despite strong import growth and lower energy prices, owing largely to increasing gas export volumes.

Monthly review

• The British prime minister, Gordon Brown, visited Qatar in November to consolidate bilateral links, looking to Qatar for gas and financing. A bilateral ministerial trade and investment forum was established during the visit.
• Sheikh Hamad has insisted that Qatar's huge sovereign reserves and surging gas revenue mean that investment projects in Qatar will not be held back by the fall in energy prices and the global credit crunch.
• Qatar Petroleum has signed an exploration and production-sharing agreement with Wintershall Holdings of Germany covering Block 4, one of seven unexplored offshore blocks.
• A Danish company, Maersk, has announced that its project to boost oil production at the giant Al Shaheen field by 200,000 barrels/day is almost half finished.
• Dolphin Energy has started supplying 200m cu ft/day of Qatari gas to Oman through pipelines running under the sea and across the UAE.
• Three of the largest Qatari banksCommercialbank, Doha Bank and International Islamic Bankare taking up the Qatar Investment Authority's offer to buy up to 20% of their equity in order to boost their balance sheets.

Source: Country Report

This report covers the following industry codes:
SIC Code: 49;15;60
NAICS Code: 22;23;52