Will Qatar be reclassified as an 'Emerging Market'?

It is interesting to read the current discussion regarding the announcement  next month from index provider MSCI, who will announce whether Qatar’s stock exchange will make the crucial leap from ‘frontier’ to ‘emerging’.

One of the reasons for optimism offered by BMI’s analysts is Qatar’s political stability in a tough neighbourhood, the Middle East & North Africa (MENA). Qatar came out as the most stable in the Economist’s February ‘Show-Thrower’s index’ and is widely touted as a less risky way for investors to get exposure in the region.
BMI, in common with some other analysts, expects Qatar to be the fastest growing economy in the world again this year. Tom Tuite Dalton, analyst at Oriel Securities (brokers for Qatar Investment Fund) adds that Qatar’s diversified economy stands out in ‘today’s harsh, debt-ridden global economic environment’ and should be largely unaffected by all but the most dramatic and sustained fall in the oil price.  City Wire's article today gives further comment.

As we noted previously, Qatar is experiencing a boom post the 2022 World Cup Bid win (and we are not going to comment on recent accusation regarding that bid, being confident that all was fully above board, and the decision a brave one).

The next ten years are going to be extremely interesting for Qatar and we are confident that whatever the decision next month, more investment will flow into and out of Qatar, with more large and SME companies being launched here.

Islam and Business

Islam permeates most aspects of life in Qatar.

Some considerations when planning business visits are:

· On Fridays, the Islamic Sabbath (weekend is Friday & Saturday), the community gathers for prayers at noon. Offices and many shops are closed on Fridays. For this reason, Friday is an excellent day to drive and explore as traffic is reduced.
· The religeous festival of Ramadan occupies the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the dates vary each year (according to the moon). During this month many Muslims fast during daylight hours spending time on reflection and purification.
· Ramadan and its ending, or breaking of the fast (Id al-Fitr, a three-day holiday) impact strongly on business activities. If visiting during Ramadan, be aware that there may be limited time for business meetings.

Arab Customs

A number of expressions punctuate conversation in Qatar and the most common is the term Insh'allah ('if God wills'), which underlines a strong belief that the course of events cannot be controlled by the individual. While that's undeniably true, the term Bukra Insh'allah ('tomorrow, God willing') conveys the sense that, 'We will do things as soon as possible but God will determine when that may be'.

Because Arabs don't like to say no, it takes time to determine which individuals use these terms as a 'figure of speech' and which use it to excuse their own inefficiency...

Customs that are common throughout the Islamic world are well known. Some of these are not unique to the Arab environment, but are standard behaviours in a range of international situations.

· Use your right hand, particularly for eating. If unsure, put your left hand in your pocket or behind your back. Never point.
· Avoid postures where you may show the soles of your feet - which may be considered an insult.
· Avoid any display of anger or impatience - unless whilst driving, where you'll struggle to compete with Arabs who excell in agressive driving.
· Maintain eye contact with your host. Rapid shifts in eye contact may be construed as a lack of trust.
· Handshakes may often be a clasp. Do not offer to shake hands with an Arab woman, unless she offers her hand to you. Even then, only a gentle touch is appropriate.

When offered snacks, always accept, even if you do not consume it all. Displays of chocolates may be found in offices. You may not be the first to wonder if the Arabic culture of generosity is reinforcing their growing obesity problem.

· The offer of tea or coffee is a feature of Arab meetings and a mark of hospitality and should not be refused. The cups are small and when you have enough, a polite 'wiggle' of your cup signifies to the server that you have had sufficient.

- Arabic Coffee looks and tastes rather like tea with herbs/spices, often used to refresh the palate.
- Turkish Coffee, in a similarly small cup is commonly served in hotels and restaurants.
- Tea may be extremely sweet and made with condensed milk.

· Learn the art of polite small talk, which will open most meetings, particularly introductory sessions. Talking about family and children always goes down well.
· Learn to relax and not exhibit signs of tension, which may transmit uncertainty.
· Assume a calm demeanour, avoid brash conversation and maintain a body posture that is non-aggressive - unless you are driving when you will notice changes, in your body posture (cringing to avoid pending collision) and vocabulary, which becomes exceedingly colourful.

Hotel Boom in Doha

Living and working in Doha, we can't fail to notice the number of new hotels opening and under construction. 

Talking to the GM of one of the many 5 Star Hotels in Doha recently, I was told that a total of 45 new hotels were scheduled to open, half of these in 2011!


The obvious driver for this boom is the 2022 World Cup, driving not just hotel construction, but permanent accommodation and infrastructure projects.  Construction Week Online states that in Doha needs about 80,000 hotel rooms will be required for the 1.4million visitors expected to descend on Doha during the four-week  event.

The article goes on to state that:
"an estimated 800 towers (of more than 20 storeys) of residential apartments, commercial premises, hotel accommodation and mixed-use structures are planned for completion in Doha over the next ten years to provide the necessary high-density accommodation and commercial real estate, principally in the West Bay area"

Coral Hotel

Last week 2 of our group were invited to look around the newly opened Coral Hotel - Dubai travelers will already be familiar with this chain.  Now in Doha, we were impressed with the friendliness of the staff and with the light, airy interiors.  The hotel has some top class conference facilities, and on the evening we were there we saw a suite prepared for a local Qatari Wedding, looking quite magnificent.  I think one attraction will be the 'ladies only' floor with lounge and hairdressers as well as bedrooms.  Still in soft opening phase, the hotel is nevertheless very busy.  For further details contact Mohamad Awad on +974 4424 0000

Date for the Diary - June 19 - 22


If you are interested in the construction boom, you may want to go along to 'Tall Buildings Middle East' at the Oryx Rotana in Qatar from 19  to 22 June.

20% GDP Growth Forecast

As most of the world struggles to reach a single digit growth figure in GDP (the UK announcing a stagnant figure of 0.5%) Qatar is expected to register an impressive 20% growth, making it the largest growth figure in the world. (For a graphic representation of Qatar's growth since 2003 see here )

Living and working in Qatar as we do, we cannot fail to see evidence of growth all around us.  The new business centres going up, hotels, new towns like Lusail, The Pearl and the Musherib developments, not to mention improvements in infrastructure with new roads, a rail network and metro, all speak of a country which is confident of it's future and intent on leaving a lasting legacy to future generations.

We live in a culturally diverse community - some companies speak of having over 54 different nationalities represented in their workforce!  Each week we read of new trade delegations to Qatar from Europe, Asia, America and Qatar is shaping up to be the key location in the Middle East for Trade Fairs and Conferences, especially when the new National Convention Centre opens later this year.

Targeted Sectors for growth include:

• Construction
• Energy & Environment
• Transport Infrastructure
• Education & Training
• Financial & Professional Services

There are also opportunities in other sectors including Security, ICT, Healthcare, Creative & Media and Sport and Leisure.

If you are a company thinking of exploring opportunities in Qatar, contact us by email: info@3438mail.com and we will be happy to talk about our experiences and give you further information.