Qatar Daily News

Qatar Islamic Bank SAQ, the country’s biggest Islamic lender, sold a five percent stake to Qatar Investment Authority, the Persian Gulf country’s sovereign wealth, as part of a plan to boost bank capital.

Qatar Investment Authority paid 956 million riyals ($263 million) for the stake, Qatar Islamic Bank said in a statement posted on the Doha bourse Web site today.

Qatar Airways has taken delivery of two Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft and two Airbus A320s, raising its fleet size up to 76.
One of the two newly-delivered Boeing 777-200LRs will be used to boost frequency on the recently-launched non-stop Doha-Melbourne route from the current three-flights-a-week to daily beginning January 1, while the second Boeing 777-200LR has been deployed on flights to the Far East.

Qatar has released the second tranche of funds – worth about QR2bn ($549m) – into the banking sector in the latest effort to help banks recover from the impact of the global financial crisis.

The funds will appear in the balance sheets of the listed banks for the current year.

The announcement was made by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Yousef Hussein Kamal on Wednesday, The Peninsula reported on Thursday, citing Qatar News Agency.

He said that the state sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), will pick a further five percent stake in all the listed banks in return for the investment.
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Qatar will remain one of the fastest growing economies in the world in 2010, as continued heavy investment in the hydrocarbon sector drives higher oil and gas output levels, a new report has predicted.

Research firm Business Monitor International said it sees see real gross domestic product growth averaging 7.5 percent from 2009-2013, with the most rapid expansion occurring in 2010 and 2011, when growth of 13.3 percent and 9.1 percent is predicted.
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The Qatari Institution for Child and Woman Protection is tasked with the role of providing effective protection to women and children. An interview with Farida Al-Obaidly, General Director of the organisation.

What are the major objectives of the Qatari Institution for Child and Woman Protection?

The institution aims at the follwoing:

1 Assistance in the provision of accommodation for target groups and to provide integrated care for them.

2 Shielding target groups from corrupt practices in the family and society.
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With more than 80 events revealed so far, Qatar is all set for a year long carnival marking Doha as the Capital of Arab Culture 2010. Apart from a celebration of the culture and traditions of Qatar, Arab world and Islam, the year 2010 will witness a cultural jamboree of different countries like Syria, India, Morocco among the others, showing how Qatar has become a home to thousands of people from round the world.
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Arab exports of natural gas have increased by more than 50% over the past four years with the majority of the increase coming from Qatar, according to official data.

The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), in its 2009 statistical report, said the Arab region’s total gas exports rose by 54.4% to 161.9 billion cu m in 2008 from 104.8 billion cu m in 2004.

Arab gas reserves stood at 53.7 trillion cu m at yearend 2008, according to the OAPEC report, which said that Qatar has nearly half the Arab gas potential, with more than 25 trillion cu m.

The OAPEC report said Algeria remained the leading Arab gas exporter in 2008, with its exports of 59.4 billion cu m accounting for more than a third of the total Arab gas sales.
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Rent increases will be contained in 2010, according to a decree issued on Wednesday, which says that rent can only rise if it is at least a quarter below market values.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, in his capacity as the Ruler of Dubai, issued the decree to set the formula to be used for the rent index.

Shaikh Mohammed first introduced the system in January 2009 with the base that a property’s rent must be at least a quarter below similar properties before it can be increased. It is used in conjunction with an index of the Real Estate Regulatory Agency or RERA.
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Bahrain’s Gulf Finance House (GFH) said on Wednesday it had taken a provision of $300 million over its exposure to a Dubai development project.

“Gulf Finance House … will take a $ 300 million (non-cash) charge against its proprietary Dubailand position and correspondingly reduce the liabilities on its balance sheet by $290 million,” the company said in a statement.

“GFH has no remaining material exposure to Dubai.”
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As a continuation of the promotions launched to celebrate the two years mark of Blackberry service in Qatar, Qtel with the Blackberry Gemini offer a few weeks ago, brings to the market a new and innovative package for the Blackberry Bold 9000.

The new offer is designed to fuel BlackBerry enthusiasm nationwide and integrates with Qtel’s commitment to double the range of supported high-end Smartphone devices.

Customers who apply for Qtel’s Blackberry Internet Service and sign-up through the Shahry service will be able to purchase a Blackberry Bold 9000 for just QR 1,999, a major saving on the standard retail price of QAR 2,375.
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