qatar - upper reach · london’s new emblem by emporis skyscraper awards. the tower’s...

This is an independent publication by Upper Reach

atar regularly makes headlines around the world with its purchases of iconic real estate such as London landmarks and luxury hotel properties in Europe or its plans to develop

major residential and business properties in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

It’s not all about real estate, though. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, along with other Qatari entities, have also channelled billions of pounds into stakes in a wide range of busi-nesses and industries in the United Kingdom and beyond, making the country a reliable and strategic partner for economic growth and investment on a truly global scale.

With holdings estimated at more than $304 billion (£199 billion), the QIA is one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds and though its pockets are indeed deep, some wonder whether the spending spree will continue with the plunge in petroleum prices, which most experts say are not going to bounce back anytime soon.

But Qatari officials say not to worry. “Qatar is keen to continue as a strong and active partner in the field of international investment,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce told a recent economic conference in New York City, praising the country’s diversification of its global investment portfolio for helping to protect the national economy from the fallout from low oil prices.

According to QIA’s executives, the fund’s investments are long-term and strategic, intended to create value for many generations to come, and are not subject to short-term performance measures or tactical portfolio optimisation.

“Our objective is to achieve a superior and sustainable rate to return within levels of risk defined by the Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment and QIA’s Board of Directors with all our investments undergoing a rigorous legal and compliance process,” they say.

When weighing a potential investment, fund direc-tors consider whether it is a prudent balance of risk and

return and ensure that the investment will be made for purely economic and financial objectives. Environmental considerations are also taken into account.

International finance chiefs admire QIA’s investment style, dexterity and small size. The fund has only around 40 employees, compared with other Gulf region sover-eign wealth funds which each boast hundreds of staff.

These days, QIA’s strategy is focused on diversi-fication, both in the sectors in which it operates and where they are located, That’s to say, Qatar is looking beyond its traditional interest in property and its heavy presence in Europe.

Reflecting this new approach was the announcement by fund officials in September 2015 of plans to invest $35 billion in the United States over the next five years as part of its diversification efforts.

In a statement, QIA said it would open an office in New York City in order to “better access new and existing investment partners” which it said would be in several sectors of the economy and help create new jobs for US workers. This follows the fund’s agreement last year to join up with other investors to buy the business travel division of American Express for $900 million.

“With world economies, markets and currencies often moving in different cycles and rhythms, the importance of a globally-diversified investment portfolio is central to QIA,” the statement said, adding “diversification is a key objective established by QIA’s strategic review.”

In 2014, the sovereign wealth fund said it would link up with CITIC Group of China in a $10 billion joint venture

in a move away from European real estate and retail, and announced it would expand its presence in Beijing and New Delhi with another $20 billion earmarked for further outlays in Asia.

However, the fund stressed that it remained com-mitted to its holding in the Middle East and Europe where the UK has long been one of its preferred investment destinations.

Aside from UK property acquisitions, the Qataris also have significant investments in such British institutions as Barclays, Sainsbury’s, Harrods and Heathrow Airport, and early last year Qatar Airways snapped up a 10 per cent stake in International Airlines Group (IAG). the parent company of British Airways, worth around £1 billion.

The purchase made the emirate’s flag carrier the single biggest shareholder in the group which along with BA includes Spain’s Iberia Airlines, Aer Lingus of Ireland and the low-cost airline, Vueling.

In a statement, the new investor said its move was meant to “enhance operations and strengthen existing commercial ties initiated through code share agreements with IAG, as well as its membership in Oneworld (the global airline alliance).”

The alliance brings together 15 major air carriers and some 30 smaller airlines designed to facilitate air travel for their passengers by easing the purchase of inter-carrier tickets, offering quicker, hassle-free transfers and provid-ing a large network for global travel.

In announcing the deal, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said that IAG represented “an excellent op-

portunity to further develop our westwards strategy” as the carrier seeks to increase its presence in Europe and the Americas.

And more Qatari investment in Britain may be on its way. During a state visit last year by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Prime Minister David Cameron asked him to think about channelling more of its petroleum-generated wealth towards badly needed transport infrastructure in the UK.

“The Prime Minister encouraged the Emir to consider more opportunities across the country, particularly the government’s plan to establish a Northern Power-house by connecting our great Northern cities and the development of high-speed rail,” a statement from 10 Downing Street said.

British officials are keen to see a fast rail system linking Leeds and Manchester, along with a £43 billion scheme to develop high-speed rail links to London.

Despite the £30 billion of investment in Britain, Qatar and the UK’s economic relationship is not a one-way street.

In a bid to strengthen business coming the other way, 2014 saw the Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman Yarrow travel to the emirate to open the new British Chamber of Commerce in the capital Doha.

The office provides support for developing small- and medium-sized enterprises starting out in the emirate where officials argue it is a great time for these businesses as the economy continues to grow at an impressive rate.

It will also help further boost existing trade between the two countries which increased in 2013 by 40 per cent.

Both London and Doha see the relationship as a special one, demonstrated by the regular bilateral meet-ings between senior officials with the most recent held in October 2014.

“It has been a privilege to co-host the second dialogue in London with Qatar, with whom the UK has enjoyed a close partnership for many years. These meetings are instrumental in maintaining an open and productive dialogue,” Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood said.

“We have agreed to strengthen our cultural exchanges, cooperation on security issues, and engagement around investment,” he added, ensuring that the exceptional relationship will continue for many years to come.

QATARA strategic partner for global growth

With its huge sovereign wealth fund and role as one of the larg-est foreign investors globally, the little Gulf nation has made a big name for itself in recent years. However, beyond the headlines of big money buy-outs, Qatar is far from focused on solely lining its own pockets. Instead the country has become a trustworthy partner for attaining growth worldwide, and particularly in the UK.

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visits PM David Cameron at Number 10 (October 2014) Photo by Arron Hoare/Crown Copyright. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

PROJECT TEAM: Senior Country Director, Sophia Shepodd; Country Editors, Ara Roberts and Miguel Caso; Project Coordinator Fabiana Rodriguez; Regional Director, Jonathan Bossaer

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THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016

Q


In 2000, London-based entrepreneur Irvine Sellar flew to Berlin to meet with Italian architect Renzo Piano. They had lunch. Sellar was looking for designs for a new tall building to replace Southwark Towers adjacent to the busy London Bridge station. He had big dreams.

Renzo Piano listened to Sellar talk and then picked up his menu. Piano had a great deal of contempt for conventional tall buildings. He considered the move-ment from the rail lines, and proximity to the river. It reminded him of Canaletto’s paintings of London’s traditional spires and ship masts. He flipped over the menu and started sketching on the back. What he drew were the outlines of the future Shard – a towering spire-like structure rising from the Thames.

Owing to the challenges posed by a lengthy planning process, a high-profile public inquiry and the pullout of investors following the global financial crash, it would take nine years before construction would begin on the new centrepiece for the London Bridge Quarter devel-

opment, with Qatari investors ensuring the continuation of The Shard when they invested in the project during the 2008 recession.

Mr. Piano went on to design it using sophisticated glazing and 11,000 panes of angled glass that reflect the sunlight and sky so the building would change in appear-ance according to the weather and seasons.

Finally completed in 2012, the 95-storey skyscraper in Southwark is today ― at 310 metres ― the tallest build-ing in the European Union and it has been recognised as London’s new emblem by Emporis Skyscraper Awards. The tower’s observation deck, the View from the Shard, was opened to the public on February 1st, 2013. “The Shard is Europe’s first vertical city, home now to over 30 international businesses. The tower is recognised around the world. It has become a beacon for modern London and a catalyst for regeneration of the London Bridge area,” says Michael Baker, CEO of Real Estate Management (REM), which provides asset-management and develop-ment services for the London skyscraper, in addition to other high-profile Qatari investments in the city.

Mr Baker says the idea of a “vertical city” was the vision from day one. “From the outset, the vision was to create an architecturally striking vertical city incor-porating retail, offices, hotel, apartments, restaurants and ´The View from The Shard’. The idea was to build a diverse vibrant community and provide multiple areas within which the public could experience the building and its magnificent views. And all of this astride one of London’s major transport hubs.”

In late 2007, the gathering uncertainty in the global financial markets sparked concerns about The Shard’s realisation, but Mr Baker says its future was secured when Qatari investors came on board as a partner in 2008. Workers used pioneering engineering methods, such as top-down construction, a first for the UK. It went up, or down, fast. Over one 36-hour period, employing 700 lorry-loads (one every three minutes), building teams poured 5,400 cubic metres of concrete.

The Shard was designed with energy efficiency in mind. It is fitted with a combined heat and power plant that operates on natural gas from the National Grid. Fuel is efficiently converted to electricity and heat is recovered from the engine to provide hot water for the building. The tower’s architects and structural engineers followed post 9/11 guidelines for the design of tall buildings and The Shard’s plans were among the first in the UK to be updated following the subsequent publication of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology report. The Shard is designed to with-stand significant stress. Its post-tensioned concrete and composite floors, load-bearing pillars and tapering shape giving it a sway tolerance of 400 millimetres.

All the hard work and planning came to end as the building was completed in 2012. Mr Baker says today, The Shard “is a living, dynamic building, full of energy, which has remained true to the original vision of a verti-cal city.” In addition to the tower’s private residences, The Shard’s tenants now include three restaurants, London’s only high-rise hotel, the Shangri-La; law firms, investment firms, tech companies, Al Jazeera’s broadcast studio, energy companies, consultancies and one of the world’s top business schools.

And then there are the visitors. Mr Baker says the building’s “outstanding architecture” drew a million visitors to the viewing platform in its first year, and that up to 6,000 people a day visit its restaurants and bars. The incredible design is also why, says the CEO, tens of thousands are expected to visit the luxurious Shangri-La, why its office occupants are reporting substantial uplift in new business since moving in, and “why Londoners, especially, embrace this magnificent building.”

The Shard’s proximity to London Bridge Station, which itself is being transformed into a 21st-century transport hub through which will flow a steady stream of 75 million people a year, provides easy access to the tower. Next door is The Shard’s stunning sister building, the News Building, also designed by Renzo Piano and

headquarters of News UK, The Times, HarperCollins, Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. It is estimated that the two towers will be occupied by a combined 12,500 people, adding a new vibrancy to the London Bridge Quarter.

This is what Mr Baker calls the “Shard Effect”. “The success of the investment long term will be linked as much to The Shard effect on the local area as to the building itself. The Shard has been the catalyst for a much wider period of investment in London Bridge. There are more offices attracting successful, interest-ing businesses. These bring in an engaged workforce and this drives a boom in shops, restaurants and leisure in the area. Over time this can only enhance the initial investment.”

Though an appetite for high profile buildings is always likely to exist, Mr Baker says the smart inves-tor must consequently look beyond the building itself to the surrounding area. “What is always interesting to me is the degree to which focus always lands on the building itself, or on London as a whole – when the really interesting story happens at local level, the impact that investment has on neighbourhoods and communities and how this in turn increases the value of an anchor building.”

The Shard: How a “Vertical City” became Britain’s most striking landmark Completed in 2012, The Shard – a 95-storey skyscraper in London Bridge – is now recognised as the capital’s new emblem and as a symbol of Qatar’s growing commitment to a better Britain

“The Shard is Europe’s first vertical city, home now to over 30 international businesses. The tower is recognised around the world. It has become a beacon for modern London and a catalyst for regeneration of the London Bridge area.”

Michael Baker, CEO of Real Estate Management (REM)

The 95-storey skyscraper in Southwark is today - at 310 metres - the tallest building in the European Union and it has been recognised as London’s new emblem by Emporis Skyscraper Awards.

02

This is an independent publication by Upper Reach 03

Under its strategy to raise its research expenditure to 2.8 per cent of its national budget (approxi-mately £1.1 billion), Qatar is currently investing

to build a skills base for a future knowledge economy. That is, an economy driven by innovation and entrepre-neurialism, and one that is significantly less dependent on its hydrocarbon reserves.

However, facing this drive are also a number of obstacles. Research and innovation efforts are often held back by a small population, as well as a lack of local capacity and administrative support. According to a UK Foreign & Commonwealth report, to surmount this Qatar has focused on delivering larger “step-change projects through international institutional partnerships and through the strategic use of a well funded interna-tional research fund.”

Indeed, the Qatar National Research Fund’s (QNRF) National Priorities Research Programme is seen as a model of best practice for the region. In 2014, $130 million was disbursed on 162 grants focusing on the country’s research priorities: energy and environment, ICT, health, and social science and humanities. In fact, several of these grants were awarded to UK-Qatar col-laborations, involving 42 British institutions.

On the domestic front meanwhile, research is being advanced by institutions such as the Qatar Foundation (QF) and Qatar University. QF, for example, is helping to develop the research capacity of Hamad bin Khalifa University. It is also behind the establishment of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) and the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH). Through both its annual forum, which last year took place on 3rd-5th November in Doha, and a range of ongoing programmes, WISE promotes innovation and aims to build the future of education through collaboration. WISH, on the other hand, is dedicated to capturing and disseminating the best evidence-based ideas and practices in the health industry, and held its second ever summit at the Qatar National Convention Centre in February 2015.

Showing characteristically big ambition for such a small country, it is clear that Qatar not only aspires to become a regional leader in research and development, but a global one too. Going forward, the country looks to continue to nurture a vibrant culture of innovation – a culture that has already begun to flourish and open the door to new organisations who want to facilitate fresh new ideas.

“Qatar is on an economic journey, moving away from a reliance on oil and gas towards a sustainable, knowledge-based economy,” explains Aysha Al Mudahka, CEO of the Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC), the country’s newest and largest mixed use incubator.

“If this vision is to become reality, then Qatar must support a strong and diversified private sector, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs providing the engine room for growth. We are in an exciting time as there are several initiatives encouraging entrepreneurship in Qatar. This is where QBIC comes in, as we support the economic pillar of the Qatar Na-tional Vision 2030 through our programmes designed to develop the next companies in Qatar to reach a value of QAR 100 million (£18 million).”

QBIC – a concept cofounded by the Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and the Social Development Centre – is well on its way to achieving this goal through its flagship Lean-Startup programme, which runs multiple times throughout the year. Having received hundreds of applications in the first wave of the programme, LeanStartup has already graduated 22 entrepreneurs, with QBIC recently announc-ing support for 15 innovative, local LeanStartup projects.

“The LeanStartup programme turns innovative ideas into start-up businesses and our LeanScaleup programme turns existing young businesses into scalable companies,” explains Ms Al Mudahka. “Our first priority is to empower entrepreneurs to start and grow companies in Qatar, but this isn’t done in isolation. QBIC partners with international organisations to exchange knowledge and bring their experience and international best business practices into Qatar. We also encourage our entrepreneurs to go abroad and look at international elements to their business.

“QBIC is the first company in Qatar that is actually investing in start-ups…but we don’t do it alone. We have the support of QDB and the Social Development Centre, and QBIC in turn supports these organisations.”

With the government’s vision of achieving a more diversified economy central to Qatar’s great innovation push, QBIC really couldn’t hope to call on better expertise than those available at parent company Qatar Develop-ment Bank (QDB). Established in 1997 as a 100 per cent government-owned developmental organisation, QDB’s traditional aim has been to develop investments within local industries, thereby accelerating growth and economic diversification in Qatar through support for the local pri-

vate sector. Between 1997 and 2005, the bank expanded its portfolio, diversifying from its industrial base to include support and guidance for a range of non-industrial sectors identified as key to the development of Qatar, including education, health, tourism, livestock, fisheries, agriculture, and value adding services.

“Fast forward to 2014, a year marked by exceptional performance and institutional growth for Qatar Develop-ment Bank, and product and service innovation, invest-ment in the customer experience, and continuing to enlist strong partners remain tenets of the bank’s success,” says QDB CEO, Abdulaziz Bin Nasser Al-Khalifa.

Aside from its decision to set up QBIC, the CEO adds that QDB, “now more than ever”, is offering support for national innovation.

“We offer Qatari SMEs and entrepreneurs a one-stop-shop for products and services, supporting their growth each step of the way. Growing a vibrant, prosperous and competitive private sector in Qatar begins with their suc-cess,” he says. “As an institution we lived this philosophy

in 2014, doubling down on our commitment to enhancing the journey of Qatari SMEs and entrepreneurs. In 2014, 262 SMEs benefitted from QDB’s advisory services, with 200 individual counselling sessions held. We launched landmark strategic initiatives, conducted more market studies and hosted more workshops and trainings for Qatari industries than we ever did in previous years.”

Although there’s a great deal of work to be done toward achieving the Vision 2030 goal of a diversified, knowledge-based economy, as well as becoming a global leader in the fields of research and innovation, through the work of the Qatar Foundation, QDB and its QBIC offshoot, the country is undoubtedly on the right track

“For us in Qatar the National Vision 2030 is a guiding path that we all aspire to achieve,” says Mr Al-Khalifa. “It is ultimately about creating value, creating jobs and improving the lives of our friends, families and neigh-bours. I am proud of the progress we have made so far while the torch of light is showing us the way ahead.”

With slowing growth and tightened finances in recent years, many advanced economies have had to pare back public spending on education.

At the same time, while emerging and developing coun-tries have seen significant progress in providing access to education, significant obstacles remain, especially in the Middle East and Africa. But there are a number of bright spots. Over the past several decades, Qatar has developed a modern educational system that provides world-class knowledge and training to students from across the globe.

Today, Qatar ranks near the top in the Middle East in terms of children’s access to education, as well as the quality of its secondary and postsecondary institutions. It boasts one of the highest percentages of children attending primary school, one of the lowest dropout rates, at around 2 per cent, and one of the region’s highest literacy rates, at 96 per cent, according to data from the United Nations Edu-cational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Not surprisingly, accounting for differences in socioeco-nomic backgrounds, Qatari students outperform their peers

in the region in the globally-recognised Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) exams.

“In the Gulf, the creation of modern public education was strongly tied to the discovery of oil and the consequent rise in oil revenues,” explains Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad, former president of Qatar University (QU). “Tremendous wealth in countries with small national populations pre-sented a unique opportunity to invest in creating education systems with exceptional opportunities and prospects accessible to a very wide sector of the national popula-tion. In the 60s and 70s modern public education systems expanded to catch up with the economic growth brought about by the oil wealth. Since then k-12 (primary and secondary education) as well as higher education have been transformed into modern and comprehensive system adopting international best practices and engendering ambitious development agendas.”

Many countries in the Middle East are not as fortunate. Last year, surging conflict and political upheaval across the Middle East and North Africa prevented more than 13 million children from going to school, according to a report from The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). With this in mind, it becomes even more imperative for stable countries in the region to provide leadership and to invest heavily in education. “Education is the backbone of human development,” continues Ms Misnad. “The development of a high quality educational system is vital to fostering

responsible citizenship and effective societal engagement and therefore critical to achieving the National Vision. The country’s vision is to build an educational system that rivals some of the best systems in the world.

“At QU we have used international accreditation and other benchmarking tools from some of the world’s most prestigious academic accreditation bodies as a platform for developing our programmes in line with those best practices. Most of our programmes and colleges are now accredited by academic accreditation organisations. In addition to working on the quality and competitiveness of our own programmes, we have also been contributing to the development of the k-12 system through the Col-lege of Education. Our oldest college has been a long-standing partner with relevant government organisations in providing quality teachers’ education to support the k-12 reforms in the country.”

This sustained investment and focus on education has also translated into expanding higher education opportuni-ties. Student enrolment at Qatar University is projected to double in just eight years, from 10,000 in 2012 to 20,000 in 2020. “The education scene in Qatar is very dynamic, with numerous opportunities and challenges,” Mr Misnad says. “The opportunities arising from such rapid growth include the opportunity to offer new programmes, broaden the impact that education has on society and foster a rich and diverse community of innovators.”

Another example of the success that Qatar has achieved is Education City, a unique campus just outside of Doha. Opened in 2001 by the non-profit group, Qatar Foundation, it covers 150.7 million square feet and houses educational institutions including branches of some of the world’s lead-ing players, including Virginia Commonwealth University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Texas A&M University, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University and Northwestern University.

“We are very interested in bringing students and faculty from the main campus to Doha,” says Mark H. Weichold, Dean of Texas A&M University. “We started classes in the fall of 2003, and a few years later, in 2006-2007, we began to focus our efforts on contributing to Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030. I believe the presence of not just Texas A&M, but also all of the branch campuses here have already contributed a great deal in moving towards a knowledge-based economy.”

As such, Qatari’s government has made the participation of international universities in Education City a central part of its vision for transforming the country. “Changing from a hydrocarbon-based economy to a knowledge-based one is not something that is going to happen overnight,” Mr Weichold explains. “Considerable infrastructure has to be put in place, and by that we are talking about the human infrastructure. We are making great strides [and] I believe that the country is moving in the right direction to achieve the goals and aspirations of the QNV.”

Education key to knowledge economy

Innovation and entrepreneurial development at heart of diversification drive

Qatar is investing heavily in educa-tion in an effort to transform from a hydrocarbon-based economy into a knowledge-based one

Increased investment in research capacity and SMEs is seeing the country establish itself as a leader in innovation as well as spearheading its goal of economic diversification

“If this vision is to become reality, then Qatar must support a strong and diversified private sector, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs providing the engine room for growth.”

Aysha Al Mudahka, CEO, Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC)

“We offer Qatari SMEs a one-stop-shop for products and services, supporting their growth each step of the way. A vibrant, prosperous and competitive private sector in Qatar begins with their success.”Abdulaziz Bin Nasser Al-Khalifa.CEO, Qatar Development Bank


A drive through Qatar’s booming capital city of Doha or a stroll through one of its glittering shopping malls reveals a plethora of store

names and product brands from around the world familiar to any Westerner.

At the same time, foreign companies involved in less consumer-oriented goods and services sectors such as oil and gas, construction, consulting, health care and many others are also present in the emirate and for good reason.

Qatar boasts one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, a very investment-friendly government and billions of dollars in earnings from the petroleum sector, all helping to fuel the influx with experts agree-ing that now is the time for foreign enterprises to set up shop in this stable, and rapidly modernising, nation.

Over the past decade, the Qatari authorities have made regular amendments to the country’s Invest-ment Law with each further opening up invest-ment opportunities for foreigners but at the same time protecting local companies and nurturingdomestic industrialisation.

Other pro-FDI (foreign direct investment) measures include full repatriation of profits, a flat 10 per cent corporate tax on locally-sourced profits, no income tax on expatriate salaries and an increase on the limit of foreign ownership of shares on the Qatar Stock Exchange to 49 per cent.

“Our leadership is making all efforts to make Qatar an attractive destination for local and regional businesses”, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani told a recent conference, describing the emirate as “a magnet for investment which has taken a number of steps to facilitate doing business to ensure efficient perfor-mance and fair competition based on transparency.”

The Qatar Stock Exchange, which is currently home to 43 companies across a range of sectors including banking, industry, real estate and telecoms, plays a particularly big part in promoting the country as such, explains its CEO Rashid Almansoori.

“We provide information on our leading companies and give investors the opportunity to benefit from their continued growth,” he says. “We are in constant contact with privately held and family companies, as well as government-owned entities, advising them of the advantages of being listed on the exchange, and encouraging them to be part of our community. We are also very active in supporting investor rela-tions initiatives and events, and spend considerable time and resources to provide education to the local investor community.”

Mr Almansoori adds that the recent upgrade of Qatar from “frontier” to “emerging market” by MSCI and Standard & Poor’s, as well as the government’s deci-sion to lift foreign ownership restrictions for shares listed on the stock exchange has already had a positive effect on country’s business climate.

“The present Qatar Stock Exchange is part of a national vision aimed at establishing Qatar as a world-class, internationally recognised market,” he says. “The recent announcement by the government to allow for an increase in foreign ownership limits from 25 per cent to 49 per cent is a testament to that commitment. Qatar has also benefitted from the market upgrade, leading to an inflow of foreign capital, evidenced by a significant increase in trading volumes.”

Going forward, Mr Almansoori affirms that the exchange will carry out “ambitious and aggressive” plans to introduce new products and technologies to meet the growing demands of both the domestic and increasingly international investor community.

Equally as engaged in Qatar’s business investment and equally as optimistic is Quantum Global Solutions. Quantum is a consultancy active in contractual and commercial services, forensic planning, commercial claims, dispute resolution and others in a range of sectors covering the local economy.

Issa Al Mannai, who sadly passed away in Janu-ary 2016, was the local Gulf partner who established Quantum Global Solutions in 2007 and served as the Chairman overseeing the company’s growth. With an illustrious career spanning over 40 years, Issa held a variety of prestigious positions within both public and private sectors. His national pride twinned with his immense international understanding and experience gave him a unique perspective of Qatar’s position and future. His colleagues, friends and family continue to build on his legacy of Quantum Global Solutions, and the strong foundations which he leaves behind.

Speaking about the development of Qatari laws last year, the late Mr Al Mannai, mused: “The most impor-tant thing I see unfolding at the moment is the law that allows international companies to have joint ventures and ownership of companies of up to 49 per cent.”

Health care, he argued, is potentially very lucra-tive. “Recently the government implemented new health coverage policies which mean that any Qatari is insured by the government to be treated in any pri-vate clinic and the treatments include plastic surgery, dentistry and so forth. And with new hospitals going up, specialised technical construction companies are benefitting. Financial services are also attractive, as is the education sector.”

The late chairman also stressed the importance that foreign investors, firms or individuals looking to break into the Qatari market should engage with a local partner in a joint venture with the right vision and that British involvement would be particularly welcome.

“Even though we have improved our legal system to allow international companies to operate in Qatar, nevertheless there could be further improvements and this is where we need British expertise,” he said. “The needs and demands of a growing economy like ours are constantly changing and we invite you to explore the new opportunities with us.”

Among those new opportunities are three new Special Economic Zones scheduled to open over the next several years and lure foreign investors, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and high-tech firms.

“We need to establish main anchors for the interna-tional companies that can add value to our market,” explains Fahad Rashid Al Kaabi, the CEO of Manateq, which was created by the government to develop and manage the zones.

First on the schedule is the Ras Bufontas Zone to be operated as a warehousing and logistics centre next to Hamad International Airport with an opening date of March 2017 and focusing on air freight technology.

The four-square-kilometre site is being built as a joint venture by Spain’s Sacyr construction com-pany and the Qatar-based firm, UrbaCon Trading and Contracting.

Two larger Special Economic Zones, the 38-square-kilometre Al Karana near the country’s border with Saudi Arabia targeting machinery, building materials and manufacturing, and the 33-square-kilometre Um Alhoul site close to the port of Hamad with a focus on light manufacturing, are expected to open in 2018 and 2019.

“These economic zones are not meant to create job opportunities as that would require a further influx of foreign labour and they are not meant to compete with economic zones in other countries in the region,” the CEO says.

“Rather, their purpose is to establish clusters in high-technology industries using clean energy sources and sustainable business practices which will serve our investment plans and enable us to compete in the international market.”

Mr Al-Kaabi maintains that it is vital for Qatar to develop joint ventures with high-tech firms and that most of them be small or family-owned businesses.

“These outfits need to feel comfortable because they do not know enough about Qatar. But if we bring them here and give them the information they need, the know-how and the financing come together and it’s a win-win situation for everyone.”

Law amendments and new economic zones open door to greater foreign investmentThe recent decision to raise the foreign ownership limit for shares on the Qatar Stock Exchange, as well as the establishment of new economic zones, is indicative of the country’s determination to become a world class business destination

“Opportunities are dynamic with the development of our laws. The most important thing I see unfolding at the moment is the law that allows international companies to have joint ventures and ownership of companies of up to 49%”Issa Al Mannai, Chairman of Quantum Middle East

04


atar, as you’ve probably heard – or likely seen if you’ve happened to cast an eye over Lon-don’s ever-rising skyline recently – has been rather busy buying up significant chunks of

the UK capital’s prime real estate. What has consistently grabbed the headlines, and

perhaps raised a few eyebrows, is the sheer scale of the oil-rich nation’s investments in London’s prop-erty market, and no less so, the rate by which it has been acquiring some of its most famous landmarks.

Take Canary Wharf, for example. Last year, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Invest-ment Authority (QIA), purchased the well-known business district in Tower Hamlets for a cool £2.6 billion. It was a move that landed Qatar its first City property, the so-called ‘Walkie Talkie’ building, and placed a cherry on top of a spending spree that began back in 2008.

Since then, starting with the acquisition of the Chelsea Barracks, Qatar has bought ownership – either in full or in part – of London Park Lane Ho-tel, Number One Hyde Park, the Olympic Village, Harrods, the US Embassy, 1, 2 and 3 Cornwall Terrace, Grosvenor Waterside and the London Stock Exchange. An impressive portfolio to say the least – and that goes without even mentioning The Shard, the construction of which Qatar was also responsible.

However, behind the sensational tabloid head-lines – such as the ones telling us how London is

being “sold off” to Qatar – lies quite a different story. It’s a rather more untold account of how the Gulf country’s huge foreign investment has helped support Britain’s economic recovery since the global financial crash of 2008 (the year Qatar started pursuing its interests in London), as well as contributed to local communities in the city through many of its regeneration projects.

Indeed, besides injecting a huge amount of capital over a number of years into an often stuttering UK economy, Qatar’s calculated forays into London real estate have not just been profit making exercises de-signed to bolster the country’s wealth fund, but also create developments intended to holistically nurture the growth of local communities and provide long-term sustainable economic opportunities.

This, at least, is the ethos carried forward by Qatari Diar – the real estate arm responsible for much of Qatar’s property investment in the UK. Established in 2005, Qatari Diar has since become one of the world’s most trusted and respected real estate companies thanks to its commitment to quality, local community, partnership and hallmark sustain-ability. Having acquired land in some of London’s most well known locations, it is fair to say that Qatari Diar’s entire portfolio of projects in the capital have a particular focus on “legacy”.

For instance, the East Village project carried out by QDD; a joint venture between Qatari Diar, Delancey,

and Triathlon Homes on the site of the former 2012 Olympic Games Athletes’ Village, is described by Qatari Diar as the “first leading legacy neighbour-hood in London”. Voted ‘Best New Place to Live’ at the London Planning Awards and the Mayor’s Award for Planning Excellence 2014, East Village aims to bring together the vibrancy of city living with unri-valled outdoor space (over 10 hectares), outstanding transport connections, a school, a health centre and over 30 local shops, cafes and restaurants.

Home to more than 6,000 people, 2,818 homes are set in 67 acres of breathtaking parkland, with more than 25 acres of mature parklands, new parks and open space. Approximately 1,850 more homes are to be delivered over the next ten years within five development plots.

The company’s development at the historic site of Chelsea Barracks follows a similar sustainable pattern. Work started on the development project in Belgravia in 2014 and is designed to pay tribute to London’s architectural heritage. Comprising a col-lection of apartments, penthouses and townhouses built within 12.8 acres of traditional garden squares, according to Qatari Diari, the project will “redefine luxury living in the heart of London, celebrate British heritage and craftsmanship, whilst creating a legacy for the future generations to come.”

Qatari Diar’s emphasis on endowment, then, is not just a handy marketing tool thought up around

a boardroom table, but seemingly a serious com-mitment to the future of London’s communities. Look at any of the property developer’s projects around the city, be it Grovesnor Waterside (also in Chelsea), Southbank Place in Canary Wharf, or the Chancery Building in Mayfair – they all follow the same trend.

Of course, adding value to the local community is not Qatari Diar’s only priority. Being part of a sovereign wealth fund means its raison d’être is to generate wealth, so seeing a return on investment (ROI) also tops the agenda. Apart from being the global financial capital, London also has one of the most liquid and transparent real estate markets in the world. It’s no wonder that Qatari Diar has chosen the city for so many of its property ventures.

London offers two crucial aspects that many other cities cannot: stability and potential. With this, the combination of secure legal titles, long leases and planning frameworks have the ability to secure income investments that provide a constant stream of opportunities which are highly attractive to global investors.

Evidently, Qatari Diar – with its long term-ap-proach and sustainable approach to investment – has been in prime position to take advantage of what Britain’s capital city has to offer. In return, London – it has to be said – stands to benefit enormously from Qatari Diar’s investments too.

Real estate investments leave “legacy” for LondonQatar’s notable ventures into the London property market are not only transforming the city’s skyline, but creating developments intended to nurture the growth of local communities and provide long-term sustainable economic opportunities

W ith the growth and subsequent rise in prices in the UK market, the attention of Qatari Investment Authority (QIA)

and its real estate company Qatari Diar has also now turned to the United States. QIA which has roughly $256 billion worth of global assets under manage-ment opened a New York office last year, announcing plans to invest $35 billion in the US over the next five years. It was a clear move to diversify from its real estate strongholds in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. QIA’s Chief Executive Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Thani said that New York was the perfect location to “help strengthen our existing relationships and promote new partnerships as we continue to expand geographically, diversify our assets and seek long-term growth.”

In October 2015, just a little over a month since the opening of its New York office, QIA purchased a 44 per cent stake in the $8 billion Manhattan West real estate project, a mixed-use development in the heart of New York just to the west of Pennsylvania Station. In an area formerly occupied by railroad yards, the Manhattan West redevelopment on the Hudson will extend the midtown business district. Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Thani said the project was a further demonstration of QIA’s long-term confidence in the US market.

Qatari Diar already has an ongoing project in the US capital. CityCenterDC was the property firm’s first significant investment in the United States, and has since become the unequivocal centrepiece of Washington’s core downtown area. The unique, pedestrian-friendly development is located on a 4.5-block parcel that features a mix of office space, 674 residential units, condominiums and retail space, as well as a public park and plaza.

The development, designed by British archi-tectural firm Foster + Partners, is a model of responsible, environmentally sensitive, multi-use development. The project earned LEED® Neigh-bourhood Development’s gold certification in rec-

ognition of its efficient consumption of water and energy, and minimal environmental impact. From building techniques and construction materials, to infrastructure, high-performance technologies, and efficiencies, all elements of the development were meticulously planned in order to minimise CityCenterDC’s disruption.

While Central London and America’s major cities remain a focus, Qatari Diar has also expanded its investments in Asia and Africa. In fact, it now has projects unfolding in 29 countries around the world. One project under development is the Sea Pearl in Atakoy, Turkey. It is a mixed-use residential-led waterfront project comprised of eight residential towers (with a total of 1,480 units), a five-star ho-tel tower with 95 serviced apartments and a retail podium. All of the units boast sea views, which will make it the only development of its kind in Istanbul. The Sea Pearl will also feature 100,000 square metres of green area with baroque gardens, a marina, an international airport and shopping malls.

In Malaysia, Qatari Diar is developing a mixed-use commercial hub adjacent to the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, comprised of a 56-sto-rey hotel and 77-storey office tower, as well as

another coastal development in the northeast, the Chendering project, a 207-room, beachfront resort overlooking the South China Sea that will be oper-ated by Mövenpick Hotel and Resorts.

Of the five projects that Qatari Diar currently has underway in Africa, three are in Egypt. Its New Giza project will in fact be the largest integrated upscale development in the country. Spanning over 1,500 acres, 87 per cent of which will be green area, New Giza encompasses a total of 10 new neighbourhoods with hotel facilities, offices, restaurants, cinemas, art galleries, a music hall, exclusive retail areas and an 18-hole golf course.

The Nile Corniche project in the heart of the city will be comprised of three towers, one of which will be tallest building in Egypt. The third project, City Gate, is a self-sustained community of upscale villas and apartments in New Cairo, 30 kilometres south of the capital.

With additional projects in Tunisia and Morocco, and yet more in the pipeline around the world, Qatari Diar’s global property portfolio – one which looks to build real estate that improves quality of life and contributes to communities internation-ally – is set to continue growing.

Qatar’s international property portfolio expands across the globeThe country is expanding its im-pressive property portfolio with investments in the US, as well as tapping into the emerging African and Asian markets

The Shell Centre, overlooking the Thames, which is being redeveloped by Qatari Diar The CityCenterDC development in Washington D.C.

Q


When fans from around the globe arrive in Qatar in 2022 for the biggest sport ex-travaganza in the world, they will find the

country more than ready to host the FIFA World Cup thanks to the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on preparing this tiny Gulf nation for the big event.

Much of that money, more than $200 billion (£130 billion), is being invested in infrastructure development alone and especially transport and guest facilities including new rail lines, a brand new international airport and port, state-of-the-art highways, new hotels, and so much more.

And the fans, officials and players participating in this World Cup will also appreciate that Qatar – at 11,437 square kilometres, or about the size of Yorkshire – is very compact, meaning there will be none of the travelling over hundreds of miles between stadiums as in past host nations like Brazil or the United States.

“That goes a long way as to why we were suc-cessful [in our bid],” says Nasser Al Khater, the Executive Director for Communications and Mar-keting at Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy. “I think that we brought a different mentality and mind-set that was something people recognised, especially if you look at the compact nature of Qatar. In past tournaments it would take two or even three hour flights to travel from one city to the other. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, you won’t have to take any flights to see a match once you are in Qatar. Because of this compact layout, the fans and activities are all going to be located in close proximity so it will surely create a more exciting atmosphere.”

But Qatar’s transformation is not just about foot-ball. It is part and parcel of the Qatari government’s ambitious Vision 2030 – a development plan that has set the long-term goal of creating a sustainable and advanced country with a high standard of liv-ing that will benefit all socially and economically.

Along with transport infrastructure, the plan calls for overhauling the hydrocarbon-rich nation’s

electricity and water generation systems, as well as housing, health and education - with the funds coming from the government as well as local and international lenders.

Qatari officials have ensured both FIFA and the fans that the current drop in world petroleum prices will have no effect on the country’s spending in preparation for the kick-off at the opening match.

“We reiterate our commitment to investment in infrastructure, health, and education in accordance with the directions of his highness the Emir and in line with our national vision and the commitment to hold the World Cup finals in 2022,” Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani told a recent financial conference.

Aviation hits new heightsOne key element in all of this is the role of Qatar Airways, the country’s national carrier which has become one of the world’s most respected airlines thanks to the geographical location of its base in Doha, route schedules, extensive network, and excellent service for all its passengers aboard the newest planes in the industry.

“The Qatar National Vision 2030 was launched to serve as a clear roadmap for Qatar’s future, with an aim to propel Qatar forwards by balancing ac-complishments achieved through economic growth with human and natural resources,” says CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker. “Infrastructure plays a pivotal role in this goal and through such insight and forward planning Qatar has already seen the accomplishment of key projects such as our new global airline hub and home, Hamad International Airport.”

A flagship national project, Hamad International Airport is one of the most ambitious global airport projects ever undertaken, built upon 60% reclaimed land from the Arabian Gulf. Having taken 10 years and $16 billion to build, the airport finally opened in April 2014. With state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities all housed within one space, as well as optimised operational flow, the airport sets a new global standard for passengers.

Replacing the old Doha International Airport, it has a shopping emporium with 70 retail outlets, 30 cafes and restaurants, a spa, two hotels, squash courts, and a public mosque. Everything is contained in one sprawling, shiny terminal, and the expressive architecture and contemporary design mirrors both Qatar’s progressive growth and the nation’s rich cultural heritage.

As the landmark home for Qatar Airways, the terminal can accommodate 30 million passengers annually and has 41 unrestricted contact gates. When

all stages of the airport are completed by 2020, an-nual passengers are expected to rise to 53 million, with various developments ongoing to enlarge the passenger terminal including the addition of new check-in counters, lounges, restaurants and board-ing gates, as well as building a connection to the new Doha Metro.

“The airport was built to support the continuing growth of Qatar Airways, which now flies to more than 140 destinations worldwide, befitting the vision of Qatar’s future and making Doha a global hub for business and leisure travel and establishing aviation as a key pillar of the economy,” says Mr Al Baker.

As well as one the most modern airports on earth, the carrier also operates one of the youngest fleets in the sky, which includes the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Airbus 380, and as the global launch customer, the Airbus A350 XWB.

“With the introduction of the A380 and A350, 2014 truly was the ‘Year of the Fleet’ for Qatar Air-ways,” explains Mr Al Baker. “These aircraft offer passengers a far superior cabin environment than ever before, and one which reduces the symptoms of jet lag and fatigue associated with long-haul travel. Having one of the world’s youngest fleets, inclusive of the latest generation aircraft, also leads to lower emissions and contributes to Qatar Airways’ environmental commitment and responsibility.”

The Qatar Airways CEO adds that the company’s focus on expansion is not only of its fleet and route network (there are currently six daily services from Doha to Heathrow, as well as recently increased routes to Manchester and Edinburgh) but also through carefully planned acquisitions, with the airline having acquired 9.99 per cent of IAG, the parent company of its fellow One-World partner, British Airways, in January 2015.

With the significant increase in visitors that the Hamad International Airport, as well as Qatar Air-way’s operational expansion, will bring to Qatar, there are certain spillover effects being created for other companies involved in the country’s transport, infrastructure, tourism and logistics sectors.

For instance, visitors to Qatar can now opt for a unique experience by booking a breathtaking aerial tour of Qatar’s urban, desert, and seaside vistas with Samana, a division of Gulf Helicopters Company (GHC), which CEO Mohammed Al Mohannadi describes as, “the largest helicopter company in the whole Middle East and the largest in growth worldwide.”

“We have just started transporting tourists and Qatar Airways’ expansion has brought more pas-sengers to Qatar,” he explains. “We encourage seeing Qatar from the air, not just from the ground.”

Incorporated in the United Kingdom in 1970, GHC began to service the oil industry three years later. Along with offshore and onshore petroleum sector support operations, the company also pro-vides seismic, logistic, photo, VIP transport and emergency medical services, or EMS.

“EMS is a very risky business because we have to take off and land in areas which are not well controlled like the street or the desert, for example,” the CEO explains. “The helicopter industry is not well-known to the public. This has been our most serious challenge. We have to work really hard with the media and the police to educate them about the role of helicopters, of EMS, and the benefits it brings to the society.

“People think our purpose is to transport criti-cal patients to the hospital. This is a wrong idea. Our aim is to bring the hospital to the place of the incident so the doctors or paramedics can stabilise the patient before we move to hospital. This is part of our social commitment to Qatar.”

As well as from its home base, GHC also cur-rently operates in the United Kingdom, Germany, Yemen, Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia, and Libya, with plans to further expand to Europe and perhaps South America. Having been established 45 years ago thanks to a small investment of £1,000, today the company is worth over £235 million.

Further to having just origins in Britain, Mr Al Mohannadi says that the company is increasingly

With around £130 billion slated to be spent on infrastructure projects over the next few years, such de-velopments are not only to help prepare the country host the world’s biggest sporting event, but they are also part of Vision 2030 – Qatar’s long-term development plan that brings together four pil-lars of economic, social, human and environmental progress

Infrastructure and transport developments drive Qatar towards 2030 goal

“The Qatar National Vision 2030 was launched to serve as a clear roadmap for Qatar’s future. Infrastructure plays a pivotal role in this goal and through insight and forward planning Qatar, has already seen the accomplishment of key projects such as our new global airline hub and home, Hamad International Airport.”Akbar Al Baker,CEO of Qatar Airways

“Development is not possible by only focusing on one sector; to develop the whole country and the economy you must be able to develop industry and the education needed to support it. Sheikh Al-Thani is very forward looking and has the vision required to ensure the four pillars of the Vision 2030 are effective.”Ali Ibrahim Al Malki,Director General of Qatar Aeronautical College

06


involved in further opportunities there. “For the past several years, we have been working with a small aviation manufacturing company in the UK which needs investment and we are working very closely with a company there that develops Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or drones.

“And we are working with another entity in the UK in modifying helicopter engines to use natural gas instead of jet fuel which will benefit Qatar as a big natural gas producer.”

As well as taking advantage of opportunities presented abroad, GHC is also preparing for the lucrative openings that the FIFA World Cup will bring in a few years time. “Regarding 2022, we have already started investing in helicopters,” says Mr Al Mohannadi. “As we operate without competi-tion in Qatar, we have to give something back to the country. We have a social programme, the EMS and also the developments for tourists. We are working very closely with the team of 2022, as one of the requirements from FIFA is to have EMS services set aside for the tournament.”

Education key to four pillar planAs GHC has shown, investment in a country’s infrastructure does not only mean improvements in transport and logistics for citizens and tourists alike, but also in terms of knock-on benefits for industries such as the health sector, and as far as the Qatar Aeronautical College (QAC) is con-cerned, education.

Vital to the nation’s air transport sector and the country as a whole, QAC is the leading pro-vider in the Gulf region for aviation training, offering full-time, approved courses for pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, air traffic con-trollers, meteorologists, airport management and flight dispatchers.

“Our two-year college diploma is well recognised by the airline industry, the aviation industry, and all the air forces in this region,” says Director General Ali Ibrahim Al Malki.

“When our engineers graduate they get a Euro-pean Aviation Safety Agency diploma so they can work in any European aviation institution. And they can carry on their studies at a US or UK university for a higher degree.”

In the UK, for example, the college’s diploma is accepted as a foundation degree and the students can go to university for nine months and receive their bachelor degree in a fast track system.

“In the near future, there is going to be a global shortage of aviation professionals due to the grow-ing demand for their services, so in our case this specialised training plays a very crucial role,” the director gerneral explains. “The aviation industry needs to have individuals with broader vision, individuals who have a degree, or a recognised vo-cational diploma that allows them to continue their education into a recognised degree programme.”

Like other Gulf States, Qatar is keen to educate its young people for jobs, which have largely been held by expatriates, and the Qatar Aeronautical College is a major player in this effort.

“Most of the development in Qatar has depended on people coming from outside, they helped and supported us to move forward in our careers and we do appreciate that,” Mr Al Malki notes.

“However, you need your own people to grow and so you have to train them. We Qataris need to be able to support ourselves. But for the time being because of such rapid growth, we need both expats and local talent.”

In order for Qatar to reach its full potential, the gen-eral director argues that all sectors must be developed and praises the country’s leadership in this regard.

“Development is not possible by only focusing on one sector; to develop the whole country and the economy you must be able to develop industry and the education needed to support it.

“His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani is very forward looking and has the vision required to ensure the four pillars of the Vision 2030 are effective.”

Legacy for the future One key governmental organisation tasked with bringing these four pillars – economic, social, human and environmental – together, not only by 2030, but also in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, is the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy. As Qatar invests billions of dollars in its infrastructure projects – including the construc-tion of upto nine new stadiums – in the run up to the competition, the specific role of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy is to ensure that all preparations for the World Cup align with Qatar’s others development goals.

Its expanded brief includes guaranteeing the timely delivery of infrastructure and competition and non-competition venues, integrating Qatari culture into all hosting plans, providing the best pos-sible image of the Middle East when the event takes place, and adopting high environmental standards for all projects for a carbon neutral tournament.

These days, “legacy”, or what the facilities will be used for after a mega-event like a World Cup or Olympic Games, is an important part of planning and Nasser Al Khater, the Committee’s executive director for communications and mar-keting, stresses that input from local residents has been vital.

“We are not only building stadiums. We want to make sure that the stadiums form part of the community which is why they are situated within a precinct that is compatible with the community that surrounds it,” he explains.

“One of our main tasks is to speak to the people of the communities to see what some of their as-pirations are, what they would like to see as part of the development of their communities and how the Committee can achieve those goals.”

Along with transport infrastructure, Vision 2030 calls for overhauling the hydrocarbon-rich nation’s electricity and water generation systems, as well as housing, health and education with the funds coming from the government as well as local and international lenders.

“Regarding the World Cup 2022, we have already started investing in helicopters. One of the requirements from FIFA is to have emergency medical services (EMS) set aside for the tournament.”

Mohammed Al MohannadiCEO of Gulf Helicopters Company

07

The Hamad International Airport. Photo by Samrah Shahid, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 As well as one the most modern airports, Qatar Airways also operates one of the youngest fleets in the sky

Hamad InternatIonal aIrport • $16 billion to build• Opened in April 2014• 30 million passengers annually• 53 million passengers by 2020

new port project

• $7.4 billion megaproject• World’slargestgreenfieldport• Economic zone built alongside• Completion in 2020

new stadIums

• 9 new stadiums, 3 renovated• Venues divided amongst 7 cities• Completed by World Cup 2022• Estimated cost: $16 billion

doHa metro

• $36 billion rail network• First lines open in 2019• Second phase by 2016• Connected to new light rail & long distance lines

new Hotels

• 41 new top hotels• 11,600 new rooms• Cost of $5.7 billion• Ready for World Cup 2022

lusaIl cIty• $45bn new city• Population of 450 thousand• New residential and commercial areas• To be completed by 2020

$200 billion of Infrastructure Projects


As a destination for logistics investment, how is Qatar standing forth as a leader in international transport? To what extent do you think it has a strong advantage over other emerging countries in this area?Qatar has already started building state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure. Great examples are Hamad Interna-tional Airport, Hamad Port, the new rail and metro projects, the industrial area and new economic zones. This will definitely strengthen our position as a shipping company with diversified services, and will contribute to the bigger goal of making Qatar a regional logistics hub.

The government has a clear and innovative vision for the country with Qatar’s National Vision 2030 strategy, and this means that Nakilat has responsibility to be part of this vision and help it become a reality. Thus, we have started diversifying our offering, including a wide range of services. We are able to offer shipbuilding and ship repair, which is a new industry for Qatar, and one which will definitely improve the country’s creation of a strong and solid marine environment.

Qatar has very ambitious plans to become a centre of excellence for ship building, marine services and LNG (liquified natural gas) shipping. What’s your opinion on the developments of Al Ruwais Port and New Port, and what impact they will have on Nakilat in the near future?I see this as a positive development, because we comple-ment each other in terms of services. Our aim is to pro-vide services within the Nakilat capability to all ports, economic free zones, and the industrial or commercial ports. They say “competition is healthy”, so we have to be competitive. We don’t take for granted that business will come our way. We have to go and reach out for that

business, and make sure that we deliver the value and quality that our customer expects. In terms of your strategy, how has it evolved in terms of growth or international expansion?We initially started on the basis of serving the Qatari market. Then a few years ago that strategy changed, because every-body’s growing and developing. We didn’t want to stay in the background; we wanted to be at the forefront in terms of size and investment, and also in terms of the quality of our operations. That’s why we started looking at opportunities outside Qatar; to see how we could bring more value to our shareholders. I always tell my team to “examine and explore everything that floats”. That is basically our strategy, going from liquid natural gas (LNG) ships, floating production stor-age and offloading (FPSO) and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), whatever is out there we take it seriously into consideration, and if it makes business sense for us we will pursue it.

Nakilat can bring a lot of value to the table; we are a financially strong company with good liquidity. When we started taking over the operation of the ships, one of the things that we focused on is the quality rather than the quantity. We could have simply added to our fleet in a short period of time and grown drastically, but that was not our objective. My challenge to the team has always been to deliver quality to our customers. Qatar’s commitment to on-time delivery of its cargo, safety and reliability is well known, and one of our main objectives is maintaining and building on this to strengthen our position in the market, because shipping is a very strong part of the value chain.

The ME-GI project (technology that dispenses with the need for power derating and reduces carbon dioxide emissions) was launched in 2014 and has received a lot of international press coverage. What does a project such as ME-GI mean for Qatar’s future legacy?ME-GI is a pioneering project. We know that the world is watching because it will bring a lot of value once it dem-onstrates its success. It will definitely have a drastic impact on the legacy of Qatar. It also shows our commitment for environmental sustainability and our capability to bring suc-cess to a project of that magnitude to the shipping industry. It’s a first for Nakilat as a company and a first for Qatar. We know there is a lot of interest in the industry as a result.

When talking about your plans and strategies in the future, you mentioned that you want to expand in-ternationally. Are there certain projects or certain technologies that you’re working on, or markets that you’re looking to expanding into?We don’t have a specific market or destination that we target, there are a number of projects around the world that we are looking at and examining. In terms of technology, we know that there will be a number of regulations coming in the future, and we always want to be ahead of the game, that’s why we intend to be a leader in the industry. We want to be the benchmark. It’s easily said, but we know that it takes a lot of effort and energy.

Engineering companies are projected to have 2.74 mil-lion job openings between 2010 and 2020, from which the majority will need engineering skills. How can engineers from both the UK and Qatar benefit from the lucrative opportunities for investment in their human resources?We are based in Qatar, but we are an international company. If you walk through our corridor, before you reach the end you will probably find no less than five different nationali-ties. Our employees come from very different parts of the world. The same applies to our crew on board our ships. We have a number of ships operated under Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), and we also have a number of British marine cadets that start with the company at marine academy level until they graduate, and then they start on board the ships. That’s another objec-tive for the company to acquire talent and expertise from different parts of the world to help the company go forward.

You’re also a powerboat-racing star, winning a world championship for Qatar in 2006. What is your aspiration for bringing the success you had in the racing arena to Nakilat’s growth in the future?For me, giving up is not an option. Yes, we will go through challenges like any other company, but the important thing is not to get distracted by those challenges, and focus on your goal. Our goal is to grow internationally, to bring more value to our shareholders, to build on our capability, and to be the leaders in the industry. I have no doubt in my mind that we will reach there and do everything to stay there as well.

Nothing last forever, but in the case of Qatar, a few things not lasting forever might turn out to be all for the best in this small country with

huge reserves of petroleum and natural gas that have already made it the world’s wealthiest sovereign state (in terms of per capita GDP).

Discounting the unforeseeable, analysts say GDP looks set to double to a jaw-dropping total of $400 bil-lion by 2022, the year the country is set to host the FIFA World Cup with great expense and fanfare. Although global economic slowdown has driven hydrocarbon prices down on reduced demand, the people of Qatar seem content to wait out the slump – not that they are hurting from it, not for now, at any rate.

But even 25,244 million barrels of proven petroleum reserves and 24,531 million m3 in natural gas reserves will begin to run out towards the middle of the coming decade, at current consumption rates. Qatar’s rulers and decision makers are making sure that sustainability figures prominently in their long-term plans, on the assumption that a cyclical upturn in world markets will, in fact, occur next year.

Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada thinks it will. He said in October that he is convinced oil prices “bottomed out” in 2015 and will begin to revive as pent-up demand kickstarts the economy and global output strengthens. The minister’s cautiously optimistic view is one that is shared by Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, a former energy minister himself and chairman of the non-profit Foundation for Energy & Sustainable Develop-ment that bears his name, which advises the government and other institutions on energy-related issues.

“I am not worried,” says Mr Al Attiyah. “Today, Qatar produces five million barrels of oil equivalents a day, excluding petrochemicals, and exports to 95 countries. We are not only exporting energy, we are also exporting finished products. For example, fertilisers. We are one of the main world producers. You will see in Qatar people trying to develop other sectors such as finance, airlines, services, airports, business and shipping. We are very active in diver-sification. Moreover, Qatar is the education capital of the entire Middle East. We are hosting some of the world’s best universities.”

One reason why Qatar has been relatively un-scathed by the slump in world oil prices is a well-timed and decisive shift in its export strategy away from petroleum in favour of liquefied natural gas (LNG) – a fairly recent technological breakthrough in which the gas is refrigerated to ultra-low tempera-tures. At a given point, it condenses into a liquid that can be stored and transported in containers, rather than pipelines, which are expensive to build and vulnerable to sabotage or political spite.

Since 2006, Qatar has been the world’s number one producer of LNG, dominating almost a third of the total market. Much of that output is destined for the growth-hungry countries of Asia, particularly in India and China, which are geographically well situated and equipped to receive ships from the Gulf.

Helping to meet that demand is a primary concern of Alistair Routledge, President and General Manager of ExxonMobil Qatar. He credits the former emir and his then (1990s) energy minister with having

Strategically located at the centre of the thriving Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Qa-tar’s maritime shipping industry has undergone

tremendous transformational changes and has begun to take off. Back in 2010, the government launched an ambitious six-stage plan to develop a completely new and modern port on the coast near the capital of Doha.

With a combined population of over 47 million and annual economic output topping $1.6 trillion (£1 tril-lion), the six GCC countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,

comprise a powerful block of open and integrated economies at a vital crossroads of the global economy, between Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. In terms of global trade, in particular maritime shipping, the Middle East offers lucrative opportunities for com-panies that are able to take advantage of the region’s emergence as a global logistics hub. In 2014, Qatar, UAE, Oman, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait ranked highest out of 45 emerging markets countries in the key category of “market compatibility,” highlighted by an ease of doing business.

Nakilat’s strategy supports“strong and solid” marine industry

$7.5 billion Doha port to cement position as global trade and logistics hub

LNG leads the way as oil prices slump

In an exclusive interview with Upper Reach, Abdullah Al Sulaiti, the managing director of the world’s leading LNG shipping firm, Nakilat, discusses Qatar’s role as a global shipping centre and the company’s diversification strategy

While the fall in oil prices have hit oil dependent countries hard, Qatar’s economy has come out relatively unscathed thanks to its (not so secret) weapon – liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Set for completion by 2020, the new Doha port will propel the ship-ping sector forward, double GDP, and consolidate the country’s emergence as the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas

“The government has a clear vision for the country with Qatar’s National Vision 2030 strategy, and this means that Nakilat has responsibility to be part of this vision and help it become a reality. Thus, we have started diversifying our offering including a wide range of services.”Abdullah Al Sulaiti,Managing Director, Nakilat


the foresight to insist on the potential of a geologically complicated undersea gas field and to encourage Exxon Mobil to look closely at the possibility of develop-ing the technology that would make its development worthwhile. The emir got it right.

“The North Field is the largest non-associated gas field in the world, but it was a stranded resource,” says Mr Routledge. “The amount of gas produced from it today is close to triple the consumption of the entire UK market. It is a staggering field and there has been a massive, unparalleled industrial development at Ras Laffan Industrial City, with 14 LNG trains, two flow-ing gas trains and the largest LNG shipping fleet in the world. It is a truly an incredible energy development.”

ExxonMobil got in on the ground floor of Qatar’s LNG bonanza thanks to its long-term strategic interest in the country, says Mr Routledge. “We were able to bring in new technology, making processes more ef-ficient so Qatar could compete globally. The rest came by following through on our commitments. When we set a start-up date, we will achieve it and do so within budget, without compromising safety. That way, we gain credibility and the government trusts us to be their strong partner, to bring the technology and expertise and to make things happen.”

French oil giant Total and the state holding company Qatar Petroleum share a history that next year will be

entering its ninth mutually beneficial decade. “This is unique,” says Total’s managing director, Guillaume Chalmin. “And I think it is fair to say that Qatar is really in the DNA of the group because we built part of our history in this country. Of course, when you have been present for such a long time, it helps create roots and build trust.”

That sort of cordial, deep-seated familiarity that evolves over time has taken that relationship beyond the oil fields and drilling platforms and into the common spaces of Qatari society. “We consider it our duty to help in preparing the next generation of Qatar’s leaders,” says Mr Chalmin. “Back in 2010 we partnered with the presti-gious French business school HEC to create an Executive MBA, which is working out very well. In the framework of the Total International Scholarship Program, we offer young professionals the possibility of spending a year at the French school just to strengthen their education. After that, they come back to Qatar to work.”

Another company that has taken on the task of contrib-uting to Qatar’s future by educating the more promising among its up-and-coming is Maersk Oil, and it, too, has every reason to be pleased with the results. “There’s a very healthy working atmosphere here,” says Sheikh Faisal Al Thani, Maersk’s deputy managing director. “We have training programmes, we have leadership programmes, and we have a Qatari talent pool. So, for any Qatari interested in becoming a leader, it’s definitely good environment to work in.”

Mearsk operates Qatar’s largest offshore oilfield, Al Shaheen, in partnership with Qatar Petroleum. After a slow start in 1994, it has been gushing out some 300,000 barrels per day. That works out to 1.5 billion barrels over 23 years but Sheikh Al Thani understands that environmental impact is just as important, having seen his colleagues cut the “flaring” unwanted gas by 90 per cent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent.

“We now have a unique and unrivalled understanding of this complex field,” Sheikh Al Thani notes with pride. “We are the Al Shaheen specialists! It covers 2,214km2 and has stacked reservoirs in thin layers. When consider-ing almost every aspect affecting production and recov-ery, Al Shaheen is at or near the most challenging end of the range. But we have plans drawn up for delivering value from it for years and years to come.”

As the region has emerged as an increasingly vital point in global shipping and trade, Doha has set itself apart from other logistical hubs such as Dubai by investing heavily in efficient modern infrastructure. Qatar’s maritime ports are undergoing significant expansion. National project spending is expected to top $100 billion across infra-structure, real estate and other energy and non-energy sectors over the next decade, according to research from the Investment Bank of Qatar.

The new port project alone accounts for $7.5 billion of that spending. Originally targeted for completion in 2030, organisers have sped up the timeline and provided the resources to cut 10 years off of the construction timeline, completing all six phases of the project within the next five years.

“By 2016 a state-of-the-art world class port will be completed,” says Sheikh Ali bin Jassim al Thani, Chair-man of Milaha Qatar Navigation, one of the region’s largest maritime and shipping logistics companies. “Qatar is offering what other GCC nations cannot provide simply because they lack the resources to do so. The new port will provide clients with readily available gas and electricity, customisable warehouses and distribution centres, multi-purpose warehouses, third party logistics (3PL), a modern and high-tech data centre, an enormous container yard, and a transport service shop. Furthermore, they will also have refrigeration services, chilled services and dry areas for those products needing to avoid humidity.”

With the initial phase completed in 2016, the New Port will comprise three terminals with an eventual combined annual capacity in excess of six million containers. The project will not only cater to the expected growth in con-tainer traffic, but also accommodate general cargo traffic, vehicle imports, livestock imports, bulk grain imports, offshore support vessels, coast guard vessels, and a marine support unit. Follow-up projects include high-value and sophisticated manufacturing facilities for the fabrication and maintenance of offshore and land-based petrochemi-cal structures, as well as for the construction, repair and maintenance of high-value small, medium and large ships. The port plan envisages a hub for repair, conversion and construction of all types of crafts, including tugs and work boats, military vessels and high-value small ships such as yachts, up to the largest vessels in the world.

All of this comes in addition to the state-of-the-art ship-yard that has already been built by Nakilat – Qatar’s state owned shipping company which operates and manages

vessels as well as provides shipping and marine-related services. The Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard in the Port of Ras Laffan was inaugurated in 2010, marking a milestone not just for Nakilat, but for the whole maritime industry in the country.

“It is a $2.8 billion state-of-the-art facility for ship building and repair, and the international community has given it a strong appraisal in terms of innovation and quality,” explains Nakilat’s managing director, Abdullah Al Sulaiti. “Now we have the capability in Qatar to build a wide range of vessels, either industrial or commercial, and when I say ‘commercial’ I mean high end luxury yachts. In fact, we are currently constructing two 72 metre luxury yachts; the first one will be delivered at the end of next year. It is a big moment for Qatar’s very young ship building industry and to see such capability available in the country in such a short period of time makes me very proud of what is being achieved.”

With the world-class shipyard already operational at the Port of Ras Laffan combined with the planned develop-ments in Doha, Mr Al Thani says that when all projects are completed, other regional shipping and logistics players won’t be able to contend with Qatar.

“Dubai, for instance, will not be able to compete with this level of service in providing such a facility. Qatar is rising up that marine shipping pipeline. We will continue to be a strong player and in the long term we will surpass them [regional competitors].”

The Doha port project comes at a time of heavy invest-ment and a major push for progress in Qatar. “In the next five years, it is estimated that Qatar could spend over $200 billion on infrastructure projects alone,” says Mr Al Thani. “The billions of dollars that are to be invested will in fact benefit Milaha’s overall operations. From Saudi to Oman to the UAE we will have a faster movement of goods for our clients. For instance, it takes two weeks to ship a product from Doha to Jeddah however with rail that will only take 24 hours. That is quite substantial and we will be able to move much more product in a lot less time.”

Mr Al Sulaiti agrees that the wider infrastructure invest-ment, such as Hamad International Airport and the new rail and metro projects will also significantly strengthen Nakilat’s position as a shipping company and contribute to the overall goal of making Qatar a regional logistics hub.

Not only that, investment projects are also forecast to have a significant impact on Qatar’s bottom line. “Our GDP is expected to double by 2025,” Mr Al Thani ex-

plains. “Additionally, many British German and French companies are operating in Qatar because of our policies towards taxation and they are looking to avoid paying the large taxes imposed by their governments. They come to Qatar to enjoy this preferred business environment. In the future I do believe there will be pressure from their governments to minimise this but in the meantime Qatar will continue to be a haven for many investors around the world.”

Hoping to attract yet further foreign investment, the government has planned a special economic zone adja-cent to the new port in Doha. The Qatar Economic Zone 3 (QEZ3), will be a self-contained development with industrial and residential facilities and forming a critical link in the country’s strategic economic objectives. The QEZ3 will also serve as a shipping and trade gateway into Qatar and provide an economic hub around the Port for manufacturing, logistics and trade across a number of in-dustrial sectors, creating import as well as export synergy.

What’s more, the Doha port project dovetails with Qatar’s emergence as the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG). In less than 20 years, Qatar has transformed itself into the world’s leading supplier of LNG, supplying about a third of all global trade, while Nakilat has become the world’s largest LNG shipping company.

With the world’s largest fleet of LNG container ships, and the world’s most advanced LNG facilities, with the ability to produce and process larger quantities of gas than any competitors, Qatar enjoys a massive competitive advantage in the sector. IHS estimates that it costs about $2 per million British thermal units, a standard natural gas measure, to produce and liquefy gas in Qatar. That compares with $8 to $12 for planned projects in the United States, East Africa and Australia. The low cost structure allows Qatar to be more nimble and make money even in the current weak environment, when prices are low, according to a report last year in The New York Times. Qatargas and RasGas, Qatar’s two LNG exporting companies, have 14 advanced facilities in the country.

“Qatar realised that we have the technology and that it isn’t as sophisticated as it originally seemed,” explains Mr Al Thani. “We are one of the founders of Nakilat with a 30% stake in the company originally. Now they are one of the biggest LNG companies in the world and we are behind it as well as Qatar Petroleum.”

“Qatar is offering what other GCC nations cannot provide simply because they lack the resources to do so. The new port will provide clients with readily available gas and electricity, customisable warehouses and distribution centres, multi-purpose warehouses, third party logistics (3PL), a modern and high-tech data centre, an enormous container yard, and a transport service shop.”Sheikh Ali bin Jassim al Thani, Charman of Milaha Qatar Navigation

“The North Field is the largest non-associated gas field in the world. The amount of gas produced from it today is close to triple the consumption of the entire U.K. market. It is a staggering field... an incredible energy development.”

Alistair Routledge, President & General Manager,ExxonMobil Qatar


A city is far more than the sum of its architec-tural components, no matter how visually stunning those showpiece buildings may

be. That much is certainly true of Doha, capital of Qatar, the country with the highest per capita income on the planet. Rich or poor, people still must go out and about to work and play and learn and observe – activities that require movement. In this former pearl fishing Gulf backwater that now controls the world’s third-largest natural gas reserves, a major effort is underway to see a completely modern public transportation network up and running by the year 2030.

“We believe there is a tremendous economic benefit in having a public transport system in Qatar and throughout the region. There is a tremendous social impact and many gains and benefits to be had,” says Abdulla Abdulaziz T. Al-Subaie, Managing Director of Qatar Rail (QR) the entity created to supervise the design, construction and commissioning of an integrated network of urban metro lines, light rail and long-haul passenger and freight trains.

The aim is to facilitate movement between the urban heart of Doha, its fast expanding suburbs and distant cities, and between Qatar itself and other member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). To forward-looking decision makers like Mr Al-Subaie, enhancing regional connectivity is essen-tial to a secure and sustainable future for his country.

“Trade between GCC countries is expected to grow by 5 to 6 per cent on a yearly basis. The existence of a regional rail network will help not only Qatar but also the entire region take greater advantage of this connectivity by integrating our infrastructure assets. For example, by having rail, I would consider Qatar as not having just one port— it would be like having six or seven. Connecting to this major infrastructure you have the option to move goods to or from the port of Kuwait or the Dubai free zone.”

Five long-distance lines (one for passengers only, one for freight and three mixed traffic routes) are to be constructed in stages, with the first con-voys scheduled to enter service in 2019. When completed, the network will cover 486 kilometres (km), linking population centres and industrial zones in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman as well as connecting cities in the north and west of Qatar to Doha. With high-speed passenger trains clocking up to 270km per hour, the ease of travel is certain to stimulate regional commerce and QR expects to have no problem in meeting its target of 24,000 passenger trips per day by 2031.

The project’s light rail/rapid transit component is centred on Lusail, the spectacular urban devel-opment under construction on an artificial island located a few kilometres to the north of Doha. By name at least, Lusail will be familiar to sports fans as the site of the huge new covered stadium being

built to host the opening ceremony and closing match of the 2022 World Cup soccer champion-ships. This is where fierce sunlight beating down on canopied terraces and parking shelters will be transformed into energy that powers an innova-tive climate control system meant to keep some 80,000 football fans cool and cosy and maintain temperature on the open-air pitch at 26º Celsius.

Lusail is where QR planners will have laid down four lines of trolley track covering nearly 40kms. On those tracks, the latest generation of “no catenary” streetcars will make 37 stops as they wind through the custom-built city planned for a population of 200,000. All lines converge at the dual-use metro and tram stations at Kegftaifya and Lusail Central, putting the capital’s attractions within convenient, car-free reach of the 200,000 people expected to settle in the new city. At an average speed of 29 km per hour, trams need less than two minutes to advance from one stop to the next along itineraries mapped out so as to provide maximum access to the residential districts.

It is worth noting that the people in charge of all this are taking all the time they need to get the job done right, and without pressure from above to make sure it gets done in time for the World Cup opener. Mr Al-Subai says, “Of course, our main purpose is to serve the economy and contribute to the country’s development, but we haven’t forgot-ten we are hosting the World Cup in 2022 and how this public transport could be used as an integral part and support for the event, and any other big events the country could host in the future.”

So the proper context for assessing an under-taking of this scale is not the 2022 World Cup, but Qatar’s National Vision 2030, a master plan for transitioning to a knowledge-based society in which the expertise in people’s heads contributes

as much to growing and diversifying the economy as do the hydrocarbons in the ground.

“Its goals can be achieved only by diversifying the economic base,” notes Mr Al-Subaie. “Invest-ments ensure that the nation develops a world-class infrastructure backbone. Transportation is one such area, along with power, water, healthcare, educa-tion and information technology.”

The most talked-about component of that world-class infrastructure lies buried 20 meters under the surface of the earth where the Doha Metro is right on schedule for completion of its first phase by late 2019. Around half of its 113 km length of subterranean tunnels have already been hollowed out, advancing at a rate of 14-21m per day. To make it happen, QR imported 21 ultra-powerful tunnelling machines from Germany and put them to work all at the same time, thereby earning an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for

When fully completed by 2030, the new metro network in Doha will link up with five long-distance lines as well as a light-rail system, facilitating not only better trans-port, but also increasing trade between the region by up to 6 per cent on a yearly basis

Right on track: New integrated rail system begins to take shape

12

According to the official view of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Qatar is leading the Arab world in efforts to bridge the digital

divide, and is firmly placed in the rising star category for countries making the most of technology.

Indeed, Qatar earned the highest ranking in the Arab world for the Networked Readiness Index in the WEF’s Global Information Technology Report 2015, ranking 27th out of 143 developed and developing na-tions. Qatar is also placed among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of Internet users, households having access to a computer, and Internet connections.

Making this possible is a strong government strat-egy. It scores a staggering third worldwide out of 148 countries for government vision of ICT, having identified the sector as a key industry to diversify the local economy and boost productivity. Behind this vision is the Ministry of Information and Com-munications Technology, or ictQATAR, which was set up in 2013 in recognition of the significant role of ICT in building a modern state with a robust knowledge-based economy.

The country’s first-ever Minister of ICT, explains how this astonishing technological progress all came together: “A decade ago, Qatar’s leaders realised that the future belonged to those countries that could har-ness the power of ICT for social and economic good,” says Dr Hessa Al Jaber, who is only the third Qatari woman to assume a ministerial position in the state. “They envisioned Qatar as an advanced society capable of sustaining its own development and providing a

high standard of living for future generations. Toward that end, in 2004, the Supreme Council of Information and Communications Technology was formed as the nation’s ICT policy and regulatory body and as its ICT champion. In 2013, the Council was elevated to a cabinet-level Ministry in recognition of the critical importance of ICT to the nation’s future.”

Today, under the government’s current National ICT Plan 2015, ictQATAR is responsible for a wide-ranging mandate that includes: overseeing and developing the information and communications technology sector to make it more vibrant, advanced, and secure to sup-port a diversified economy; introducing ICT plans, policies, programs, projects and initiatives to foster a competitive environment that is conducive to invest-ments; developing and enhancing infrastructure; and driving innovation as a change agent for human, social, economic and environmental progress.

“Our strategy has focused on several core priori-ties,” further explains Dr Al Jaber. “[One of which is] strengthening the ICT sector and increasing its contribution to Qatar’s GDP.”

Unsurprisingly, the country’s ICT sector is already seeing the benefits. According to a report from market research company Research and Markets, the industry is on track for annual growth of 10 per cent to reach $6.8 billion by 2016.

“We are making great progress,” says Dr Al Jaber, whose appointment as ICT minister saw her named as one of the 500 most powerful Arabs in the world by Arabian Business magazine recently. “Our 2015 Na-

Forward-thinking policies catapult country as regional ICT leaderThe National ICT Plan 2015 has led to remarkable gains for the country’s ICT sector, highlighted by huge investment from industry giants Vodafone

“Trade between GCC countries is expected to grow by 5 to 6% on a yearly basis. The existence of a regional rail network will help not only Qatar but also the entire region take greater advantage of this connectivity by integrating our infrastructure assets.”Abdulla Abdulaziz T. Al-Subaie, Managing Director of Qatar Rail


the “Largest Number of Tunnel Boring Machines Operating Simultaneously in a Single Project.” Mr Al-Subaie sees that distinction as more than merely anecdotal.

“Since we embarked on this journey, we’ve committed ourselves, our resources, our partners and our technologies to delivering world-class projects with speed and efficiency. This recognition by Guinness World Records is a hard-earned and well-deserved testament to the collective power of our teams, our partners and our stakeholders, who never lost sight of what is needed to deliver our ambitious plans. This certificate is only a chapter in our story. I am confident Qatar Rail will be seeing more record-setting achievements in the future.”

As the new lines become operational, QR will be tasked with day to day management of the system that connects 37 different stations in the Qatar’s capital – a city that is home to an estimated 90% of Qatar’s 1.9 million inhabitants. Accordingly, the need for a public transport system is a matter involving more than just the convenience it can offer citizens, as Mr Al-Subaie points out.

“Of course, if you share transport, then it means that less energy per distance travelled will be used and that will also be reflected in the CO2 emissions. The Doha Metro will save 2 million km of travel by car per day. The rail projects are expected to bring a 258,000 ton reduction in CO2 per year. We are anticipating that by 2030 we will avoid 107,000 tons of carbon emissions because some 19 per cent of journeys will be made by public transport.

“Another benefit is the safety aspect, especially on the roads. The number of visitors travelling in the Arabian Gulf region will be impacted, because the containers carried on a single freight train will make around 400 or 500 trucks superfluous. With so many heavy trucks keeping off the road, safety will improve and there will be less need for maintenance.”

The key aspect to QR’s can-do-it approach is integration, Mr Al-Subaie emphasises. “All our trains can work on different lines, and they have the same technology and control centre. Other cities have expanded over time, so they build one line, and then after 10 years they build another, only by then the technology has changed! This affects training, operations and maintenance of the entire

network, so you need to have a large human capital base, people with knowledge of each specific area. In our case, we can gain on the economic scale, especially regarding operations and maintenance, where we have four lines with the same technol-ogy and concept.”

In September 2014, Mr Al-Subaie and his col-leagues hosted a workshop on safety and security issues, coordinating with the UK trade office and British Embassy. The following month, a delega-tion from QR and Qatar’s civil defence directorate held a series of meetings with authorities of the Berlin metro, in which they were briefed on the latest in techniques and protocols for countering situations such as fires or panic-driven stampedes.

“We created a workshop here in Qatar over several days, and invited all the key specialised players from the UK: the transport police, the fire department, emergency services and also the NHS. We shared plenty of information, and they gave us a lot of details about what they are doing and how we can prepare for emergencies.”

As for the challenges he is facing, Mr Al-Subaie thinks for a bit before answering. “Probably the low level of perception of the benefits of public transportation,” he says at last, but adds that at-titudes are changing, albeit slowly. In that respect, he expects that potential users will be reminded

of the public transport option by the “architectur-ally branded” metro stations being built along the four Doha lines to designs by the Dutch group UNStudio. Variations on common elements or adaptive motifs help maintain the perception of a common identity uniting the 35 facilities and sends a message to the public that here is where the future begins.

“We simply cannot afford to move ahead with the current development model,” Mr Al-Subaie concludes. “We can’t build more and more roads, since we have limited country space and limited city boundaries. We cannot just build roads and parking lots everywhere—we have to change the way people move.”

13

“We believe there is a tremendous economic benefit in having a public transport system in Qatar and throughout the region. There is a tremendous social impact and many gains and benefits to be had.” Abdulla Abdulaziz T. Al-Subaie, Managing Director of Qatar Rail

An artist’s impression of what the new Doha Metro will look like when completed

tional ICT Plan called for doubling the ICT workforce to 40,000; achieving ubiquitous high-speed broadband access for households and individuals; achieving mass ICT and Internet adoption by all segments of society; and achieving wide accessibility and effectiveness of all key government services. By the end of 2015, we will have achieved all of these and more except for doubling the ICT workforce.”

Owing to the increasing private investment that the sector is experiencing as a result of the government’s forward thinking strategy, such targets will surely con-tinue to be exceeded. Vodafone, for instance, announced in November 2015 that it is set to invest $179 million as part of the operator’s ongoing drive to modernise its network. Since January 2015, Vodafone has been up-grading its network sites, installing 200 new outdoor and indoor sites, offering 300 per cent more data capacity, 300 per cent more 4G coverage, and 30 per cent more 3G coverage. The company has given special attention to increasing capacity in the most populated areas in Qatar, with Wakra and Shahaniya the most recent areas to benefit from the modernisation.

CEO of Vodafone Qatar, Kyle Whitehill, affirms: “We are committed to offering people in Qatar the best

from one of the largest telecommunication companies in the world, Vodafone Group Plc. We are committed to continually investing in Qatar’s ICT sector, which will play a key role in realising this great nation’s ambition.”

According to Mr Whitehall, Vodafone has already played a “key role in changing the telecom landscape in Qatar and in bringing much needed competition.” He continues: “[We came to] Qatar to bring not only competition but also innovation.” The CEO alludes to the fact that the Vodafone’s decision to localise to the extent that no other international firm has done – creating Vodafone Qatar – as well as become the first and only international firm to list on the Qatar Stock Exchange, clearly demonstrates its commitment to the country and the huge potential of its ICT sector.

This is a decision that is certainly now playing divi-dends. “Factually, 12 months ago our stock price was nine Qatari Riyals per share, valuing it at less than $2 billion, and today it is 19 Riyals, and the value is at $4.5 billion,” explains Mr Whitehall. “A recent Gulf Business report on the top 100 GCC companies features Vodafone Qatar as third overall in GCC in terms of year-to-date (YTD) performance, and 58th in market capital. That is an extraordinary change in the valuation of the company.”

Having seen the success that Vodafone Qatar – a joint venture between the British company and local shareholders – has achieved in such a short space of time in Qatar, other British investors too will surely be casting an interested eye at other prospects presented by the country’s rapidly growing ICT market, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises.

“There are new opportunities for UK businesses to expand into the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region in general, and in Qatar specifically,” assures Dr Al Jaber. “The Ministry has recently announced the establishment of a Digital Cluster to be housed in Abu Fintas in Doha, with the express purpose of attracting local and foreign small and medium-sized enterprises. These enterprises will develop integrated solutions by harnessing the power of big data analytics, Internet of Things and other new technologies that will offer rapid and crucial solutions to sectors such as health, education, transportation, renewable energy and banking. So there is a great deal of opportunity for foreign investment – and we are in discussions now about allow-ing 100 per cent foreign ownership of these businesses.”

“A decade ago, Qatar’s leaders realised that the future belonged to those countries that could harness the power of ICT for social and economic good. They envisioned Qatar as an advanced society capable of sustaining its own development and providing a high standard of living for future generations.”Dr Hessa Al Jaber,Minister of ICT

The most talked-about component of the world-class infrastructure lies buried 20 metres under the surface of the earth where the Doha Metro is right on schedule for completion of its first phase by late 2019. Around half its 113 km length of subterranean tunnels has already been hollowed out, advancing at a rate of 14-21m per day.


L ike any country in the world, Qatar has a proud sporting tradition stretching back centuries and based on the deep-rooted tra-

ditional pursuits of the region, such as racing and falconry. However, in recent years the Gulf nation has set itself apart from the crowd by positioning itself at the forefront of global sports event hosting, culminating in a successful bid to stage the World Cup in 2022.

Even before the historic moment in 2010 when FIFA president Sepp Blatter plucked the name Qatar out of an envelope in Zurich, making the country the first in the Arab world to be awarded the tournament, Qatar had already been active in building a sporting legacy for generations to come. The first major in-ternational tournament to be hosted by the nation of just over two million inhabitants was the 1988 AFC Asian Cup, a competition Qatar would go on to stage a second time in 2011.

But it was really the 2006 Asian Games that put Qatar firmly on the global sporting map. Another first for the region, the Doha Games featured 46 disciplines across 38 sports and was notable as being the first occasion that all 45 members of the Olympic Council of Asia were represented, while also becoming the first Asian Games to be televised in Europe. Qatar’s bid for the 2022 World Cup was based on the idea of regional and global integration and the 2006 Asian Games served as an excellent dress rehearsal. As Mr Blatter noted when Qatar was awarded the World Cup, the country’s stellar showing in 2006 left no room for doubt that it could successfully put on the biggest sporting event in the world.

Meanwhile, resolving to build on the success of the 2006 Asian Games at a grassroots level, Qatar soon after implemented a four-year plan drawn up by the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC). Given an initial span of 2008-2012, the strategy aimed to bring the sports sector under the umbrella of the government’s overarching Vision 2030 by focusing on six areas of development: providing sports and leisure facilities, promotion and publicity, sports education, developing athletes to compete internationally, sports manage-ment, and hosting international events.

The success of the initiative in turn led to the on-going Sports Sector Strategy (SSS) 2011-2016. The primary goal of the SSS is to translate massive invest-ment in infrastructure into participation in sports at all levels. For instance, football pitches and running tracks have been constructed at an Olympic rate across the country, in addition to leisure centres, swimming pools, gymnasiums, and several youth centres.

On the event front, aside from winning with its bid to host the World Cup in 2022, Qatar has also been able to build on the interest generated by the 2006 Asian Games, successfully applying to hold the inaugural Diamond League athletics meeting and also welcom-

ing the Indoor World Championships to the country in 2010. Qatar has subsequently been chosen to stage the 2019 IAAF World Championships and also last year held the International Paralympic Committee World Championships in Doha.

Other annual events on the Qatari sporting calendar include an ATP World Tour tennis tournament, the

Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix, the Qatar Masters, a PGA European Tour tournament, and the season-finale WTA Tour Tennis Championships. Between March 2015 and March 2016 alone, Qatar hosted 89 dif-ferent sports events.

As Qatar’s schedule has grown, so has its com-mitment to providing state of the art facilities and infrastructure. The Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex and the Aspire Zone Foundation are two of the most striking examples of Qatar’s huge investment over the past decade, which has seen over £1.8 billion pumped into the country’s sports sector.

The Aspire Zone, founded in 2003 in the Al-Waab district of Doha, is a 250-hectare development featur-ing the 50,000-seater Khalifa International Stadium, the Aspire Dome, a multi-purpose indoor sports facility with 13 arenas, and the Hamad Aquatic Centre, which hosted the 2014 FINA Short Course World Champion-ships. In 2014, the Aspire Zone announced plans to double its capacity.

“The Aspire Zone Foundation [AZF] has contrib-uted heavily to attracting more visitors to the country and creating a real interest in visiting Doha as the new world sports capital,” says Khalid Abdullah Al Sulaiteen, former CEO of the Aspire Zone Founda-tion. “One of the live indicators for the role of AZF is the number of visitors recorded in 2014, which exceeded 650,000. Meanwhile, Aspire Zone has become the preferred destination for the most famous and popular teams for their winter training camps. These elite clubs have millions of fans and followers around the world. Manchester United with close to 65 million followers on social media, and Bayern Munich with more than 26 million are examples for how much traffic their presence in Aspire is creat-ing around the world, especially in that they kept re-choosing AZF year after year.”

In addition to hosting top-level global sporting events, the Aspire Zone Foundation also works to train future sports stars through the Aspire Academy, whose global ambassadors include Lionel Messi, Pelé, and double Olympic gold medal-winning middle distance runner Hicham El Guerrouj.

“The Aspire Academy is a unique centre that com-bines the development of sporting talent using the latest technologies, focusing on sports science on one side and while also guaranteeing a high-standard education for athletes to enable them to face different life challenges,” says Mr Al Sulaiteen.

Among the academy’s graduates is Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim, a bronze medallist at the 2012 Olympics and world indoor champion in 2014, and squash player Abdullah Al-Tamimi. Qatar’s

With a long and proud sporting heritage, Qatar is today further positioning itself as one of the world’s premiere sports destina-tions. Building on the interest gen-erated when it hosted the Asian Games in 2006, the country has gone onto establish itself as a bona fide ‘Land of Sport’, high-lighted by the fact that it is playing host to dozens of top-class events every year.

Land of Sport: Qatar positions itself as world-class sports destination

“The Aspire Zone Foundation [AZF] has contributed heavily to attracting more visitors to the country and creating a real interest in visiting Doha as the new world sports capital. One of the indicators is the number of visitors recorded in 2014, which exceeded 650,000.”Khalid Abdullah al Sulaiteen,Former CEO of Aspire Zone Foundation

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Rafael Nadal at the Qatar Open, Doha. Photo by Marco Zanferrari (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Upper Reach: With the highest growth in the region, Qatar is reaching the highest point of its economy and developing rapidly. In your opinion, what is the recipe for success here in Qatar?Ghazi Al Mannai, founder and CEO of Cellini Tailors :I believe Qatar is succeeding because of our exceptional leadership. The Emir’s vision is to develop a country like no other in the Gulf, a country where economic excellence stands alongside a strong cultural identity. Qatar is now a country where the right support and facilities are provided to those who wish to establish or develop their business and this will ensure we can achieve the aspirations of our National Vision 2030.

SMEs in the Middle East are expected to benefit the most from foreign direct investment flowing into the region. Where do you see room for growth in terms of increasing the sector’s potential? Starting any business in Qatar is a great opportunity. Since

starting my business I have seen the market change, I now get calls from all over the world everyday asking me to go into business with them or bring their products to Doha. I am in the fashion business and that is my passion, but I have been approached with opportunities in the steel industry or infrastructure projects. This is a new and growing market and therefore the possibilities are endless.

The retail sector, along with the health sector, is the fastest growing in the market. What and where are the opportunities for investors and developers in the retail market in Qatar? You can look at the opportunity in two lights. The first is that the extensive development of malls and retail units currently underway poses enormous opportunity for those involved in design or architecture, and secondly many companies want to be part of this exciting development and trade products in Qatar. This expansion is creating a healthy sector because now that the nation has its quota of

“Starting any business in Qatar is a great opportunity”Upper Reach talks to Ghazi Al Mannai, founder of Al Shoura Trading and Services Company and its flagship brand Cellini, about the opportunities for Qatar’s flourishing luxury sector


under-19s won the Asian Football Confederation Championships for the first time in 2014 – with a team made up entirely of players from the Aspire Academy.

In something of a coup, former Spain and Barce-lona World Cup-winning midfielder Xavi Hernández joined Qatar Stars League side Al-Saad in July 2015 and announced he would also be working with the Aspire Academy, which he described as a “magnificent” facility.

The Aspire Zone’s affiliated sports medical centre, Aspetar, is also one of the most renowned in the world. Accredited by both FIFA and the GCC Health Council, the national teams of Algeria, Ivory Coast, and Bosnia and Herzegovina selected Aspetar as their medical sponsors during the 2014 World Cup.

More than $160 billion has been set aside for World Cup 2022 investment and the Aspire Zone Founda-tion has been an active participant in testing out the much-vaunted cooling technology to be deployed for both players and fans during the tournament, assum-ing it eventually gets the green light to go ahead in the summer months. Qatar put on cooled fan zones during the Brazil World Cup and the one staged at the Aspire Zone (at a test event in 2014) was used to try out the cooling systems that will be rolled out at train-ing complexes and stadiums for the 2022 World Cup.

But while football is the nation’s favourite adopted sport, traditional pastimes remain strong in Qatar and none more so than horse racing. The Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC), led by general manager Nasser Sherida Al Kaabi, is the organisation charged with taking Qatari racing, and its famous Arabian horses, onto the international stage. QREC is already heavily involved in the British racing scene, sponsor-ing events at Lockinge and Goodwood and also enjoy-ing success at racing’s greatest event, Royal Ascot.

“Horse racing for us is one of our heritages and we love to be associated with horses, and I think horse racing is actually a sport that everybody in the world should enjoy and get acquainted with. This has been a historical event for many centuries, more than 200

years, and being associated with this sport is something that cannot be compared to anything else in the world,” says Mr Al Kaabi, whose organisation has worldwide sponsorship deals with Longines, Exxon Mobil, and Total, the former of which partners Qatar at the annual Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, Europe’s most prestigious flat race. The last two Prix de l’Arc de Triomphes have been won by Thierry Jarnet, riding for Al Shaqab Racing, Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani’s stables. The Sheikh was the leading owner winner at last year’s Royal Ascot, which Mr Al Kaabi notes is a further statement of Qatar’s intent to establish itself at the “top level in all sports.”

“Winning Royal Ascot is an experience that cannot be matched to anything else. For us, as we see it, we are the newcomers in Britain and France, especially in horse racing. I think it sends a big message, that we want to be there and we want to prove to the world that we can be the best,” he states. “As Arabs, we had horses before petrol, before anything, and I think they played a major role in our lifestyle and I think all the Qataris have some kind of

strong emotion towards horses. Our strategy and image now is to make Qatar a major destination for horserac-ing events in the world. We have good horses, we have the best field in the world, and we have the best jockey in Frankie Dettori [Sheikh Al-Thani’s retained rider].”

Qatar also enjoys a love affair with a more recent racing form, MotoGP. In 2004, the Losail Interna-tional Circuit was launched and has hosted the world championship curtain-raiser Qatar Grand Prix annually since then. However, Qatar has never been shy about standing out from the crowd at international sporting events and raised a few eyebrows when the decision was taken to stage the race at night, a move that was not without its technical considerations as Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiya, president of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation explains.

“Sometimes, you need to take risks and face chal-lenges to really take a project on. Technology can set new standards. It was a big risk, we could have lost our investment if we weren’t able make it work, and there were so many challenges. The course has

corners and it’s very critical to set up lights around the corners to avoid shadows. We need to avoid shadows because the rider is different than a car driver. The car is always moving in a certain way on the circuit, but the bike has angles. So if the rider sees his shadow, he might think it’s an opponent. TV coverage is also a problem, if there’s a reflection of the lights because of the cameras position, that would be an issue. It’s really a big challenge to check all these requirements. When we succeeded in 2007, we spent around $15-20 million with the additional costs of the lights. It was a big risk for me, but when we succeeded and we man-aged to shift from daylight to night rides we became internationally recognised because we were the first circuit in the world to do this.”

Such innovations have made Qatar a byword for sporting excellence and in overcoming the problems the country faces in hosting global events due to its climate. As such, Qatar is one of the frontrunners to be awarded a Formula 1 Grand Prix, something Mr Al-Attiya foresees “in 2016 or 2017.”

“Qatar will have a chance,” he adds. “We already meet all the criteria. It’s coming soon and we will manage to gain the trust of the Formula One family. We are really the strongest country that is a contender.”

“When we managed to shift from daylight to night rides we became internationally recognised because we were the first circuit in the world to do this. Qatar will have a chance (of being awarded a Grand Prix). We already meet all the criteria and we will try to gain the trust of the Formula One family.”Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiya, President, Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation

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“Horse racing for us is one of our heritages. It has been a historical event here for many centuries, more than 200 years, and being associated with this sport is something that cannot be compared to anything else. Our strategy and image now is to make Qatar a major destination for horseracing events in the world.”Nasser Sherida Al Kaabi, General Manager, Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club

Annual events on the Qatari sporting calendar include an ATP World Tour tennis tournament, the Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix, the Qatar Masters, a PGA European Tour tournament, and the season-finale WTA Tour Tennis Championships.

the big luxury brands it is time for the more niche products to hit the market. Our consumers certainly have an appetite for quality, the challenge will come if the quantity is in excess of the demand.

Market trends show that effective branding and com-munications strategy have an important effect on the success of traders. As you celebrate 15 years of success, how did you develop the brand Cellini and what is the philosophy behind it? I love fashion, I love quality and I believe in service. Some people joke that I am half Italian and half Qatari because I am so familiar with Italian products and travel to Italy every month and have done for the last 30 years. It became apparent to me that the shops in Qatar lacked luxury service and so when I decided to open up my chain of outlets I wanted this to be the major consideration – the consumer experience. I wanted the customer to become as in touch with their final product as the tailor would be, I wanted them to have an haute couture experience, where they could be part of the journey of the fabric, buttons, and thread coming to life. Cellini was born out of a dream that Qatar would finally have access to the best quality products at the highest echelon of service. 20 years ago it was a challenge to explain our pricing, but once people had come and seen the shop and the fresh Italian concept we grew day by day. Reaching the top is one thing but maintaining ones position is entirely another. That is why we are continuously innovating,

travelling to exhibitions and bringing new machines from England, Germany, or Italy – we only work with the best because we only produce the best.

You have created a truly unique business; you have carved out an idea that others have unsuccessfully tried to duplicate. What makes you so passionate about your business?

I love my business and I understand well that investing in my people, my outlets, and the materials that I use is essential. I use the finest Loro Piana fabrics; I use fabrics from Thomas Mason that you cannot find anywhere else in Qatar – fabric that is used to make Prince Charles’ shirts, and that prestige will pay dividends.

The Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix at the Losail International Circuit on the outskirts of Doha repre-sents the debut race of each MotoGP season. Photo by D@LY3D (Flickr), licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Ghazi Al Mannai, founder and CEO of Cellini Tailors the flagship brand of Al Shoura Trading and Services Company

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There is one somewhat surprising statistic that tells you a lot about the modern day cultural dynamic of Qatar. Out of its current popula-

tion of 2.8 million people, only 12 per cent are native to the country.

A small proportion of an already small population, you may think. And it is. It’s a situation resultant of a fossil fuel boom that started in the 1940s. This – on top of the relatively liberal policies established under former Emir Hamad bin Khalif Al Thani – has seen the tiny emirate welcome expats from all over the world in search of opportunity. Still today there is a continuously increasing number of foreigners moving to Qatar to work, as well as to enjoy a standard of living relatively similar to that of Western Europe.

Owing to such a huge influx of immigrants – to the extent where Qataris are now demographically a minority in their own country – you’d be forgiven for wondering how on earth the nation has managed to preserve its own identity. Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al-Thani, Chairman of Al Faisal Holding – one of Qatar’s leading private companies – says that while Qatar has become “almost unrecognisable” from the tiny nation it once was, it has in fact managed to retain its cultural heritage extremely well.

Primarily, says Sheikh Al-Thani, this has been pos-sible thanks to the country’s investment in education. “In order for Qatar to protect and preserve its traditions, since the country has been flourishing economically

we’ve endeavoured to improve our education system, as well as add things like new museums. The youth of today now has a chance to receive an extremely high quality education, where priority has always been given to preserving Qatari values.”

Although formal education has been one major part of keeping Qatari culture alive, as Mr Al-Thani alludes to, so has been the establishment of educational and cultural facilities such as museums.

One such place is the Katara Cultural Village in Doha. Opened in 2010 by the Cultural Village Foun-dation, Katara is described by its General Manager, Dr Khalid Bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti, as “an exceptional project of hope for human interaction through art and cultural exchange.” Named after the country’s ancient moniker – Katara Cultural Village was born out of a long held vision to position Qatar as a cultural beacon in the Middle East through theatre, literature, music, visual art, conventions and exhibitions.

“Katara was envisioned by Qatar’s leadership, who were perceptive of the need to move from a society with an economy depending on hydrocarbons to a society based on knowledge. It is today considered as a giant architectural masterpiece spreading awareness about the importance of each culture and civilization,” explains Dr Al-Sulaiti.

Indeed Katara is not just a celebration of Qatari cul-ture, but – true to the modern cultural melting pot that Qatar is today – a celebration of all cultures from around the world, and especially the Middle East. Keeping pace with the emerging global culture that emphasises the importance of diversity in human development, the village is the largest and the most multidimensional cultural project in Qatar and is equipped with cutting-edge amenities, beautiful concert halls and galleries.

The general director explains that the village’s main focus, in line with the National Vision 2030, is to develop knowledge and understanding. “Katara is a centre for cultural and intellectual development in the region due to the unlimited support it receives from the country’s leadership,” he says. “Its aim, anchored on Vision 2030,

is to make Doha an international capital of culture while maintaining its distinct local and Gulf identity, and to offer an ideal model of Arab culture to the world.”

Naturally, Katara is not only an extremely popular attraction with locals keen to learn more about their own heritage, but also with expats residing in the country and a steadily growing number of tourists. Indeed Katara is gearing up for the expected spike in international visitors which will be brought by the hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2022 with a raft of new developments. “Katara is providing for all means of tourism, entertainment and shopping within its new projects that will be completed in the coming months, including many commercial complexes, shopping malls and entertainment facilities,” says Mr Al-Sulaiti.

Under the National Vision 2030, the nation aims to receive seven million annual visitors specific to tour-ism and envisions positioning Qatar as both a world-class tourism destination and a cultural cornerstone in the region. And it’s fair to say Katara is not the only company anticipating new opportunities in the tourism, hospitality and service sectors.

“While this company focuses mainly on industrial manufacturing, we are also trying to strengthen our position within the hospitality and tourism sectors,” says the Al Faisal Holding Chairman, Sheikh Al-Thani. “We are very proactive, and continuously evaluate op-portunities for new investments.”

The same can be said for AMLAK Hospitality, a 100 per cent Qatari holding group that manages a strategic portfolio of assets through its subsidiaries that include hospitality, leisure, venues, arenas, and residential and commercial properties. As with Katara Cultural Village, there are certain set of values that define its activities, says CEO, Abdul Aziz Al Emadi.

“The role of AMLAK Hospitality has evolved in the four years since it was formed. There is its original role, and its current role. But a common thread runs through both: the values of quality, service, education, sustainability and raising awareness in the hospitality industry, all for the benefit of Qatar.

“The initial role of AMLAK Hospitality was to man-age our hotel assets. However, our current strategy is to develop and operate our own hospitality brands. It is not a case of simply building a hotel. There is a greater responsibility, and that is to ensure that any project we undertake will add value to Qatar as a whole.”

If organisations such as Katara Cultural Village are essential for Qatar to preserve and celebrate its traditions, companies like AMLAK Hospitality are the embodiment of contemporary Qatar and its ambitious vision for the future – one that places great emphasis on education, health, sport and sustainability. “Our strategy and brand-ing is in alignment with this,” says Mr Al Emadi.

While a huge influx of immigra-tion has brought much cultural diversity to the country, Qatar has also made concerted efforts to preserve its own heritage through cultural projects and the all en-compassing Vision 2030

Qatar transforms into true international capital of culture

Qatar Islamic Cultural Centre, Doha

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