QATAR - Economy
Minister, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Bio
His Excellency Mr Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari joined Qatar National Bank (QNB) in 1988. He became QNB Group Chief Executive Officer in July 2013, prior to this he was the Executive General Manger and Group Chief Business Officer of QNB. He is also Chairman of MasterCard Middle East and North Africa Advisory Board, Chairman of QNB Capital (the investment banking and advisory arm of QNB Group), and Chairman of QNB Privee Suisse in Switzerland, as well as Vice Chairman of Qatar Exchange. He has a MSc in Management Information Systems from the Seattle Pacific University, and a Bachelor’s in Mathematics and Computer Science from Eastern Washington University.
He has also attended a number of executive programmes at Wharton School of Business, London Business School, Cambridge University and Duke University. As the Minister of Commerce and Industry has overall responsibility for all Commerce and Industry issues, including the implementation of economic policies aimed at promoting sustainable development in line with the National Development Strategy 2017-2022 and reaching Qatar National Vision 2030.
Qatar has undertaken several measures to improve its ranking in terms of ease of doing business by reducing the number of procedures and time required to start a business, introducing a one-stop shop to streamline foreign investment applications, providing greater support for international investors throughout all stages of their applications and offering consumer credit scores to banks, financial institutions, and borrowers. Qatar has also abolished the paid-in minimum capital requirement for limited liability companies and exempted invested foreign capital from income tax for up to 10 years, for specific investment projects. These measures have resulted in improved rankings when it comes to the Starting a Business or Access to Credit Information indicators. Furthermore, Qatar has issued new laws and introduced amendments to existing legislation to attract and encourage domestic and foreign investments. These include amendments to the Investment Free Zones Law and a draft law regulation for the Investment of Non-Qatari Capital in Economic Activity, which allows up to 100% foreign investment in all economic and trade activities. At present, Qatar is in the process of drafting a public and private partnership law to pave the way for the launch of several investment projects.
Ensuring the continuous flow of goods and commodities to Qatar has always been one of the government’s priorities. We had plans, strategies, and projects that were formulated several years ago to overcome any regional or global economic crises and ensure the flow of goods, services, and food products to all citizens and residents without any interruptions. After the illegal blockade was imposed on Qatar in June 2017, Qatar utilized its world-class facilities such as Hamad Port and Hamad International Airport, and its hi-tech logistics capability, to mobilize existing regional agreements with Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia. Qatar has undertaken several investment projects to cement public-private partnerships. Within the framework of these projects, the state has launched an initiative to establish four aquaculture projects. The government has issued licenses to establish four greenhouse agricultural projects to produce 80,000 tons of fresh vegetables and fruits each year, at a production rate of 20,000 tons per year for each project. Qatar has also completed the first phase of a program aimed at maintaining a strategic stock of food supplies and feed, whereby the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has built a stockpile to cover the strategic needs of the state.
Qatar has introduced an array initiatives and projects designed to foster a competitive and investment-friendly business environment and bolster the country’s infrastructure, human capital, and international relations. For example, to increase the size and share of exports of non-hydrocarbon goods and services, Qatar has developed a high-standard end-to-end supply chain that enhances Qatar’s export competitiveness and cultivates its market positioning regionally and globally. We are also developing a public-private partnership framework, including the law, governance mechanisms, and implementation tools. In a short time, all will be in place to open a new chapter for private project finance initiatives in Qatar. These initiatives have resulted in the nation achieving advanced positions in the latest Global Competitiveness Index. Globally, Qatar ranks first in terms of low inflation rates, sixth in terms of the effect of taxes on competition, eighth in terms of venture capital availability, and ninth in terms of financing SMEs, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2018.
Qatar is a country with a prime strategic location, excellent transport connectivity, and a favorable business environment that offers opportunities and incentives across a variety of economic sectors. We all know that the world’s trade focal point is moving east, from Europe to Asia. Qatar is ideally situated to enable investors to capture the opportunities arising from this significant change. We are located at the heart of the Europe, Asia, and Africa triangle. We are capitalizing on this strategic location by developing a superior logistics infrastructure and assets. These include a world-class airport which will soon achieve a passenger capacity of 50 million people. The nation’s flag carrier, Qatar Airways, serves more than 150 destinations. Furthermore, the newly-opened Hamad Port, a USD7.4-billion project, will be able to accommodate up to 7.5 million containers in the future, with the potential for further expansion. The port currently accounts for 27% of regional trade in the Middle East. Due to its massive mineral reserves, Qatar is the world’s largest LNG exporter and has the largest gas-to-liquid facility in the world. In terms of downstream products, we have an extremely competitive petrochemicals industry and we are the world’s largest exporter of helium, and fourth largest producer of urea. With all this in mind, the nation’s outlook will remain positive, driven by a competitive business environment that will be further bolstered by far-reaching reforms and the government’s infrastructure investment push in preparation for the FIFA 2022 World Cup. We expect to achieve the same growth rate in 2019. Thanks to Qatar’s ability to reroute its trade, we expect to have a trade surplus and low inflation rate in 2019. Qatar’s foreign trade increased by 16% by the end of 2017 to reach USD103 billion compared with USD89 billion in 2016, while exports increased by 18% to USD67 billion in 2017 compared to USD57 billion in 2016. This resulted in a trade surplus of 49.9% in 2017, rising from USD25.18 billion in 2016 to USD37.75 billion in 2017. I would like to invite local and international entrepreneurs and investors to invest in Qatar and grow with us.
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QATAR - Energy & Mining
Interview
VICE PRESIDENT – NORTHERN REGION (QATAR, IRAQ, KUWAIT, AND JORDAN), EMERSON AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS