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Over the course of 2018 Qatar’s banking industry demonstrated its resilience in the face of an economic blockade placed upon the country by a number of governments. Credit ratings agencies Moody’s and Fitch both upgraded Qatar’s sovereign credit ratings outlook to stable in the summer of 2018, recognising the improving macroeconomic scenario and the largely successful resolution of the challenges associated with the economic embargo. This action was accompanied by a number of individual bank upgrades, and in October 2018 Moody’s upgraded the entire banking sector from negative to stable, noting that banking sector profitability will remain stable with strong capital buffers. This chapter contains interviews with Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani, Governor, Qatar Central Bank; Abdul Hakeen Mostafawi, CEO, HSBC Qatar; and Raghavan Seetharaman, CEO, Doha Bank.

Rising oil prices and effective policy-making have played a significant role in returning Qatar to a healthy trade surplus. A swift response by a range of government ministries has secured new routes to global markets. In March 2018 Hamad Port, which officially opened in 2017, celebrated the handling of 1m twen¬ty-foot equivalent units ahead of schedule. Foreign investment also continues to rise on a year-on-year basis. Legislators are overhaul¬ing laws and regulations in order to maintain this positive trend, a process that promises to open the economy to further global capital. This chapter includes interviews with Ahmad Al Sayed, Minister of State; and Chairman, Qatar Free Zones Authority; and Fahad Rashid Al Kaabi, CEO, Manateq.

Qatar’s relatively small population and status as the world’s biggest gas exporter have helped it to become the richest country globally in terms of GDP per capita. In recent years, however, it has faced strong economic headwinds. The oil price decline beginning in the second half of 2014 led to the country’s first budget deficit in 2016, prompting the government to cut costs and reinvigorate its long-standing policy of economic diversification. As oil prices stabilised and hydrocar¬bons revenues began to rise once again, the nation was faced with another challenge: the governments of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplo¬matic relations with Qatar in June 2017 and announced an economic blockade of the country. This chapter includes interviews with Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Commerce and Industry; Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman, Qatar Chamber; Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, CEO, Qatar Development Bank; and Omar Al Ansari, Secretary-General, Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Council.

The state of Qatar, a peninsula located in the Arabian Gulf, is known for being one of the world’s foremost exporters of natural gas. Its economy has grown from being one that is dependent mainly on pearling – that is, the harvesting of pearls from molluscs – to one that is driven by the production and export of hydrocarbons and other resources. Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030) was published by the General Secretariat for Development Planning in October 2008. QNV 2030 is organised around four pillars – human, social, environmental and economic – and targets the development of several sectors and the provision of a high standard of living by the year 2030. This chapter contains an interview with Mubarak bin Abdullah Al Sulaiti, Chairman, Al Sulaiti Law Firm.

Qatar has one of the highest GDP per capita in the world. The retail sector has, therefore, benefitted considerably from high levels of disposable income, coupled with a large expat population. Furthermore, retail centres have established themselves as the primary choice for not only shopping but also leisure and entertainment. The country has subsequently seen a significant expansion in retail space since 2000. However, population growth is now stabilising, leading to concerns about oversup-ply over the longer term. Nevertheless, despite these challenges, demand and consumer confidence in the retail sector remains buoyant, and new hypermarkets continue to open across the country.

Qatar’s health care sector has emerged as the highest-ranked system in the MENA region, according to the Legatum Prosperity Index 2018. The past 10 years have seen particularly quick improvement with Qatar rising from 27th place in 2008 to fifth in 2018 out of 148 countries in terms of its health care. This has been attributed to increased investment in new facilities, services and technologies to meet the demands of the growing population. To further its progress, Qatar has launched the second phase of its ambitious National Health Strategy. The plan will focus on preventive health care in hopes of addressing the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Meanwhile, ongoing efforts to develop the private care sector have seen Qatar loosen regulations of foreign investment. This chapter contains an interview with Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health.