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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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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Qatar Tax Law English Translation dated 1 January 2010;

Qatar may launch its planned single financial regulator this year, the head of the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) said on Monday.

The Gulf country first unveiled the plan for a joint market watchdog in 2007 to cope with its growing financial and banking sectors, and to attract foreign investment as it competes with regional rivals such as Dubai.

The International Monetary Fund has revised downwards its economic projections for the United Arab Emirates, forecasting flat growth this year as Dubai’s moribund real estate market and debt restructuring drag on continuing growth in the oil-rich capital of Abu Dhabi.
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Commercial Bank of Qatar reported a 33 percent rise in fourth quarter net profit, despite taking a 170 million riyal hit related to a corporate default, which the lender intends to recover.

Qatar’s third-largest bank by market value posted a net profit of 186 million riyals in the fourth quarter from 140 million riyals in the same period in 2008.

Qatar’s Barwa Bank will purchase The First Investor, a Doha-based investment firm, in an all-stock deal.

Barwa Bank said the deal, which already has the approval of Qatar’s central bank, would see the lender acquire the share capital of The First Investor in exchange for Barwa stock.

Qatar Airways plans to sell shares in an initial public offering in five years’ time, Al Arabiya Television reports Monday, citing the carrier’s Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker.

Qatar Airways is waiting for the right time to sell shares and “that would be possible after three consecutive years of profit gains,” Al Baker told Al Arabiya.

Qatar National Bank has denied signing a deal to finance the development of Iran’s Esfandiar oilfield, Reuters has reported. Iran said on Saturday QNB would invest 400 million euros ($581.4m) to finance the development of the field, Oil Ministry website SHANA reported, quoting a senior official. ‘The bank is not aware of such a development, nor it is considering such an investment,’ the bank said in a statement.

Gulf banks are expected to ease a tight lending noose they formed in late 2008 and through 2009 as they appear to be treading into a better year in terms of economic growth and domestic demand, according to analysts.
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