The Middle East

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) was upgraded to emerging market status in the summer of 2014 and its 18.36% gain for the year ensured the QSE’s performance was the fastest-growing exchange in the region that year. Recent regulatory reforms should ensure the QSE can successfully capitalise on its new status and attract increased foreign investment. In May 2014 the ceiling for foreign ownership...

An increasingly competitive banking environment has encouraged lenders to seek out revenues in previously underserved sectors. Personal lending, for example, has become more important to the sector: in 2010 it accounted for 19.3% of aggregate bank lending, but by 2013 the segment’s share had grown to 23.6% of the credit mix. Meanwhile, lenders have begun to adopt SME-friendly measures such as...

Qatar’s healthy trade surpluses, expanding international investment portfolio, and growing bilateral relations in Asia and Europe have driven the state’s trade and investment growth in recent years. Amendments to the Investment Law of 2000 in 2004, 2009 and 2014 have opened up investment opportunities by enabling foreigners to participate in financial services, hold stakes of 49% in listed...

The Qatari economy boasts a decade-long track record of extremely strong expansion, with the state’s GDP per capita having risen to become one of the highest in the world. While Qatar is the world’s highest exporter of liquefied natural gas, and the country’s income remains largely dependent on hydrocarbons activity, Qatar has, in recent times, pursued a vigorous plan of economic...

Qatar’s rapid economic growth over the past decade has thrust the country of 2.22m onto the world stage, and it is now one of the world’s richest on a per capita level. While Qatar’s huge natural gas resources represent the driving force behind its fast-growing economy, the country’s long-term development plan, Qatar National Vision 2030, envisions a diversification away from hydrocarbons in...