December’s news that oil and gas prices were descending below their recent historic low inched up the pressure on the government budget. With many major new infrastructure projects rolling out or in the pipeline, too, alongside the ordinary demands of state, the hunt for alternative sources of financing is on in earnest.
In recent years, Qatar has placed an increasing emphasis on the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the state’s overall development plans.
Given present jitters around the Gulf – as investors, businesses and governments face the prospect of sustained oil and gas price softening – international ratings agency S&P’s recent reaffirmation of Qatar’s high investment grades came as a welcome vote of confidence for many in Doha.
With the assets of the world’s growing number of Islamic banks now standing at around $1.8 trillion, Qatar’s sharia-compliant lenders have rapidly become key players in a major global industry.
Foreign participation in the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) is set to rise on the back of technical reforms that have been implemented in the wake of the exchange’s upgrade to emerging market status.
A decision to defer extending a comprehensive state health insurance scheme to the expatriate community in Qatar means that private insurance companies will be able to tap into the segment for at least another 18 months.
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