The Middle East

A rapidly expanding population and a steady supply of hydrocarbons and infrastructure projects have allowed Qatar’s banking sector to maintain the double digit growth it has achieved over recent years. However, while the project pipeline remains full, the increasingly competitive banking environment has encouraged the nation’s lenders to seek...

It is easy to discern the fresh momentum in the drive to boost the private sector and, more particularly, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Qatar. A number of recent developments indicate the government’s determination to create a more balanced economy for the hydrocarbons-rich state: the appointment in January 2015 of the minister...

Although total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Qatar declined in 2013, foreign investment is thriving in Qatari industry, representing over half of all investment in the sector in 2014. As construction activity ramps up in the state, FDI in the industrial sector is expected to expand further on the back of planned industrial zones,...

With oil prices bouncing along the bottom of the charts, and most forecasts suggesting they are likely to stay well submerged for some time, Qatar’s infrastructure project pipeline may now be coming on-stream at a lessthan-opportune time, although the state’s solid economic fundamentals and rapid non-oil growth will help mitigate the worst of...