Qatar 

Qatar country policy

Policy established 01 May 2012

• Early warning signal 1100 mln euro
• - of which was used as at 2012-04-30 873 mln euro
• Open without restrictions

Country class: 2

Qatar country facts

Atradius Dutch State Business Economic Research

Country Report last updated :  July 28th, 2011 
Country :  QATAR

Political Situation 

Stable

Head of state
Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

Form of government
A council of Ministers assisted by an Advisory Council
 
Internal Economic Situation
Very High Growth

General situation
Very high GDP-growth (2011 15.8%) due to further increasing oil-/LNG production, large (public sector)  investments and ongoing consumer demand.  Because of low production costs Qatar has a dominant position on the energy markets. The global crisis and a dip in rental prices caused two years of deflation in 2009/’10, followed by moderate rising prices since 2011. Strong banking system with the lowest non-performing loan ratio in the Gulf.

External Economic Situation
Very Strong

Main sources of foreign exchange
(Refined) oil: crude, LNG, NGL (75%), petrochemicals.

Main foreign markets
South East Asian markets

Main expenses of foreign exchange
Machinery (41%), base metals (26%), food (5%); workers’ remittances, profit repatriations.

Balance of payments
New oil- and LNG exports and high prices are contributing to a very large current account surplus in 2011, despite also rising deficits on the services and transfer accounts (foreign companies’ profits, workers’ remittances).