The successful hosting of the Fifa World Cup boosted Qatar's economy to grow by eight per cent on an annual basis in the fourth quarter of last year, S&P Global Market Intelligence said in its latest report.
The Arab country’s gross domestic product jumped to 179.99 billion Qatari riyals ($49.44 billion) at constant prices in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with 166.68 billion riyals in the same period in 2021, Qatar’s Planning and Statistics Authority said in its preliminary estimates released on Tuesday.
“[The growth] is in line with our expectations and propped up by strong services sector activity amid the Fifa World Cup hosting,” Jamil Naayem, principal economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said on Wednesday.
Robust fourth quarter economic activity lifted Qatar’s real GDP growth to close to 4.8 per cent in 2022, “a level unseen since the middle of the last decade”, the report said.
Qatar's hosting of the $220 billion grand sporting event spurred tourism, with retail and hospitality also benefiting.
The overall attendance at World Cup matches was 3.4 million, the Qatar News Agency reported.
Following the strong growth last year, S&P Global Market Intelligence predicts Qatar's economic expansion to slow down this year due to “weaker global demand, tighter financing conditions and unfavourable base effects due to the World Cup hosting”.
Qatar’s real GDP will expand 2.7 per cent this year and 3.4 per cent in 2024, according to its forecast.
“We continue to expect slower real GDP expansion throughout 2023 as weaker global demand, higher domestic interest rates, and less favourable Q4 base effects weigh on real GDP growth performances.”
Given the long-standing currency peg to the US dollar, the Qatar Central Bank is raising its key policy rates since March last year, in line with its US counterpart, the US Federal Reserve.
With "at least one more" interest rate increase expected by the Fed, "we therefore likely have not seen the last interest rate hike from the Qatari central bank during this tightening cycle", the report said.
Lower global commodity prices, receding global supply chain disruption concerns and higher borrowing costs will help reduce inflationary pressures in Qatar, it added.
Average annual inflation in Qatar is expected to decline to 3.8 per cent this year from a high of 5 per cent last year, before dropping further to 3.1 per cent in 2024.
“We expect moderating global energy prices to lead to lower, albeit still healthy fiscal surpluses/GDP closer to mid-single digits in 2023–2024 (10 per cent in 2022)," S&P Global Market Intelligence said.
“Enhanced foreign currency earnings generation and comfortable fiscal surpluses will allow the government to reimburse part of its foreign currency debt stock, thus leading to even more moderate sovereign debt-to-GDP ratios in the near term."
Last month, Qatar was ranked fourth in a list of top 25 emerging market globally in Kearney’s 2023 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index.
The successful hosting of the World Cup last year boosted investors’ interest in Qatar, the report said.
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh135,000
Engine 1.6L turbo
Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode
Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
|
1.
|
United States
|
|
2.
|
China
|
|
3.
|
UAE
|
|
4.
|
Japan
|
|
5
|
Norway
|
|
6.
|
Canada
|
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
|
8.
|
Australia
|
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
