Qatar Daily News

Although the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Arab countries declined in 2009 as a fallout of the global financial crisis, Qatar witnessed a rise in FDI inflow last year.

The FDI inflow into Qatar was to the tune of $8.7bn, up from $6.7bn in the previous year, media reports suggest.

Qatar, which is the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world, was second only to Saudi Arabia, which is the largest Arab economy, in terms of FDI inflow in 2009. The inflow into the Saudi economy was to the extent of a staggering $35.5bn.

However, the difference between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, whose fast-expanding petrochemical sector remains the main FDI puller, was that the FDI inflow (into Saudi Arabia) declined from $38.2bn in 2008 to $35.5bn the following year. In the case of Qatar, the inflow rose in 2009 as compared to 2008.
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The pace and scale of coastal construction in the GCC has been rapid in the past five years and despite the recent economic slowdown, there are still significant areas of growth with mega projects in construction and new tenders being announced.

Marine & Coastal Engineering Middle East will bring together key stakeholders from a diverse range of cutting edge marine projects, representing a unique opportunity to benchmark the region’s leading marine developments. The event set to open tomorrow, and continues between 20 – 23 June, 2010 at Millennium Hotel, Doha, Qatar

The meet would discuss the need for adopting a holistic and sustainable approach to waterfront developments. The experts would also discuss the effects of coastal and marine construction on ecosystem in the Middle East.

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Ministry of Labour has warned all construction companies to abide by the summer outdoor work ban that comes into force on Tuesday.

Any firm which fails to comply with the rule, which outside work between 11.30am and 3pm, until August 31, could see their worksite closed for a month, the Peninsula reports.
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Wealth funds of gas-rich Qatar are likely to make further global real estate investments as prices in countries such as Germany decline, Jones Lang LaSalle said in a report today.

The funds “are likely to be emerging as the new powerhouse in terms of global real estate capital flows in 2010,” Fadi Moussalli, regional director at Jones Lang LaSalle MENA said in the e-mailed report.

“Cash-rich and with a strong appetite for splashy overseas assets, Qatari vehicles have lately outshined their counterparts from the region and are projected to carry on with their rapid expansion across the real estate world,” Moussalli said.

The International Monetary Fund expects the Qatari economy to grow 18.5 percent this year, far above estimates for the rest of the Gulf Arab region. Harrods Ltd., owner of the London luxury department store, was sold to Qatar Holding LLC by Mohamed Al-Fayed last month. The price was 1.5 billion pounds ($2.2 billion), said two people familiar with the transaction.
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According to Times Online England: Saudi Arabia gives Israel clear skies to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to stand down its air defences to enable Israeli jets to make a bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear facilities, The Times can reveal.

In the week that the UN Security Council imposed a new round of sanctions on Tehran, defence sources in the Gulf say that Riyadh has agreed to allow Israel to use a narrow corridor of its airspace in the north of the country to shorten the distance for a bombing run on Iran.

To ensure the Israeli bombers pass unmolested, Riyadh has carried out tests to make certain its own jets are not scrambled and missile defence systems not activated. Once the Israelis are through, the kingdom’s air defences will return to full alert.

“The Saudis have given their permission for the Israelis to pass over and they will look the other way,” said a US defence source in the area. “They have already done tests to make sure their own jets aren’t scrambled and no one gets shot down. This has all been done with the agreement of the [US] State Department.”
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Qatar was ranked the most peaceful country in the GCC in the fourth edition of the Global Peace Index.

The emirate moved up two positions from last year’s report to 15th overall out of 149 countries. It was ranked No 1 out of 18 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Oman was second in the region and 23rd overall. Kuwait (39th), the UAE (44th), Bahrain (70th) and Saudi Arabia (107th) rounded out the rankings of GCC countries.

The Qatari government and state-owned companies plan to spend as much as $100 billion on infrastructure projects within the next four years, Finance Minister Yousef Hussain Kamal said today.

“The main projects are roads, sewage treatment, water treatment, and infrastructure like ports and airports,” he told reporters in Istanbul at a Turkish-Arab economic conference
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The 40km causway linking gas exporter Qatar to the island kingdom of Bahrain was set to play a key role in improving infrastructure connections between members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), but has been beset by problems.

“The project has seen many, many problems (and there were) also the political tensions,” a source close to the project told Reuters, adding “the team has been significantly decreased.”
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Qatar has put itself solidly behind fellow Arab states that have decided to take Israel to the International Court of Justice for killing nine activists in a raid on Gaza-bound aid ships on Monday, and said it would meet all the expenses to be incurred on the legal proceedings.

Qatar has also said it would fund a worldwide media campaign to expose Israel, its blockade of the Gaza Strip and the aggression it has been perpetrating in the territory.

The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, told local Arabic dailies that Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani, has assured the League of the country’s moral and financial support on the above issues.
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The Israeli government is holding official contacts with its Irish counterpart in a bid to convince the Rachel Corrie aid ship to unload its shipment of relief material to Gaza Strip in the Israeli-controlled port of Ashdod.

The Hebrew radio said on Thursday that Israel was trying to convince the Irish government and the captain of the Ship to divert its destination to Ashdod to avoid another attack at sea similar to the one against the Freedom Flotilla on Monday that ended with the killing and wounding of many solidarity activists on board at the hands of the attacking Israeli commandos.
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