Planning to start a part time business in Qatar?

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Qatar is one of the part of Gulf Cooperation Council GCC with population (approximately 2.3 million in June 2015) and boasts the third largest natural gas reserves in the world. Qatar has the one of the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head in the world. It ranks 14th in the Global Competitiveness Index, second only to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the (GCC) region.

This abundance of natural resources coupled with recent legal liberalisation, economic diversification and a burgeoning economy mean that there are many opportunities for investment in Qatar. These opportunities have been greatly enhanced by Qatar being chosen to host the Football World Cup in 2022.

Qatar has the third largest economy in the GCC, after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that Qatar will have the highest real growth in the region over the next 4 years. Its population is expected to grow by 7% in 2015 due to a large influx in expatriates.

Qatar plans to invest up to US$220 billion in infrastructure over the next 7 years. This is in support of the Football World Cup in 2022 and its National Vision 2030. It is one of the most ambitious infrastructure programmes in the world.

Qatar is very much a market where local knowledge is key.

Challenges

Doing business in Qatar is not without its challenges.

Most businesses setting up in Qatar need to have a local sponsor or business partner with a 51-49% split in favour of the Qatari partner. Disputes do occur and the burden of risk in such contracts tends to lie with the foreign company. If you want to do business in Qatar you should seek advice and ways of reducing risk.

Companies should always make sure they sign a contract before undertaking any work/projects in Qatar. Work should not be agreed on a ‘handshake’ as this can lead to non-payment issues.

Other challenges include:

1) High levels of bureaucracy

2) Price, rather than quality, most important factor in the buying decision

3) Delays in payment

4) Highly competitive and saturated market in some sectors

5) Rents for both business and private residences expensive and rising

6) Qatari Riyal is tied to US dollar, so when the dollar exchange rate is strong Qatar becomes an expensive market

Growth potential

Qatar was the world’s fastest growing economy during the global economic crisis. From 2008 to 2012 real GDP growth was 12%, compared to China’s at 9%. Growth in Qatar is expected to be around 5% in 2015.

This growth is due to a number of different factors including:

1) Hosting the football World Cup in 2022

2) Implementation of the Qatar National Vision 2030

3) Plans to build a metro system in Doha and a national and international rail network by 2026

4) Rapid population growth

5) Qatar has significant oil and gas reserves, estimated to be 60 and 160 years respectively. Energy 5) production per head dwarfs the other Gulf countries.

Most of Qatar’s major energy projects are now up and running and the government is using the revenue generated to diversify its economy.