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NEWS & UPDATES

Normalisation of relations between Qatar and its neighbours have boosted its trade with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

After the Al Ula Summit and declaration of Gulf reconciliation in January last year, the trade volume between Qatar and GCC has jumped around 160 percent at the end of third quarter compared to the end of first quarter of 2021.

According to the figures from the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA), the trade volume between Qatar and GCC was QR3.39bn during the first quarter of last year which soared to QR8.79bn during the third quarter of 2021.

The trade momentum between the countries is so strong that the trade volume during the first three quarter is more than the total trade volume during the entire 2020. The total trade volume between Qatar and GCC was around QR13.1bn during 2020 while it is QR19.1bn for the first three quarters of 2021.

The trade volume between Qatar and GCC has shown a rising trend during last year. The volume of trade between Qatar and GCC was QR3.39bn during the first quarter of last year which increased to QR6.95bn during the second quarter of last year.

There is still huge potential for growth in Qatar-GCC trade volume. The last year’s trade volume does not reflect the full potential of bilateral trade as COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the economic activities in GCC countries. The impact of pan-demic is likely to decline in this year due to further increase in the vaccination rate. Also, the economies of GCC countries are set to witness an increased pace of recovery, which will give further boost to trade between Qatar and GCC countries.

During the third quarter of last year, the exports from Qatar to GCC countries were around QR7.9bn while total imports were QR846m.

The total exports during the second quarter of last year were QR6.1bn while the imports were QR807m. The total exports from Qatar to GCC were QR2.6bn during the first quarter while total imports were QR769m during the same period.

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Qatar Tourism have setup a hotline and introduced a simplified process for landlords to be able to rent their properties and obtain the Holiday Home Licence within a week.

Qatar authorities have announced that residential letting and subletting will form a significant part of the hospitality services during the upcoming World Cup, and many people have been enquiring about the process and how to ensure they lease out their properties legally. Qatar Tourism hopes that this updated process will make it easier for people to get the required paperwork as well as ensure customer rights are protected.

Property owners who rent their units without obtaining a licence risk significant fines.

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The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) in Qatar announced the closure of a commercial company in Al Muntazah for a month, as the said company had wiped out the validity dates of expired products and printed new ones.

The company deliberately concealed the dates of expired products and printed new dates on its products, the ministry clarified. The action was taken due to violation of Article No. (6) of Law No. 8 of 2008 regarding consumer protection.

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Event management companies have planned a strong line up of mega-events in Qatar for 2022. Citizens and residents will have a chance to witness several high-profile trade fairs, exhibitions and conferences this year.

Some of the major events include Qatar International Agricultural Exhibition (AgriteQ), Qatar International Environmental Exhibition (EnviroteQ), Project Qatar, Hospitality Qatar and Finnovax.

Organisers believe this year will be better than 2021 for the event management industry and economy as a whole.

IFP Qatar, one of the leading event organisers of trade shows in the country, has a bullish outlook for this year.

“The event management industry in Qatar has learned the ways to deal with the COVID-19 challenges. It is equipped with the measures to hold events in a safe manner and 2021 is a proof of this. Despite the challenging situation last year many mega events were held successfully,” Haidar Mshaimesh, General Manager, IFP Qatar told The Peninsula.

“The year 2022 promises to be an exceptionally exciting year in Qatar, offering businesses a wide range of new opportunities across different sectors,” he added.

The 9th edition of AgriteQ & EnviroteQ, Qatar’s only and largest exhibition serving the agriculture, food production & environment sectors, will be held from March 10 to 14 in Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC).

Finnovax, a summit on financial services innovation and excellence will be held on March 15.

Project Qatar, which is Qatar’s longest running and most comprehensive business platform for the construction industry, scheduled from June 6 to 9 in DECC.

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Qatar’s economy is expected to witness a robust recovery this year. Global organisations expect Qatar’s economy to grow by more than 2 percent in 2021, and by more than 3.5 percent in 2022, said the latest Qatar Economic Outlook Report 2021-2023.

“The consensus forecasts by a number of international institutions, organizations, and banks showed that the Qatari economy will undergo recovery during 2021 and 2022, with a predicted average growth rate of about 2.8 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively,” Dr. Saleh Al Nabit, President of the Planning and Statistics Authority in the report.

The Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) released yesterday, Qatar’s Economic Outlook Report 2021-2023 – Issue No. 13 - in which it reviewed the developments of the national economy during 2017-2021.

“The preliminary results of the PSA’s forecasts for non-oil activities (non-hydrocarbon Gross Value Added) for the three scenarios indicate that it is likely to grow between 3 percent and 3.9 percent in 2021, and between 2.8 percent and 4.7 percent in 2022, driven by the expectations of booming activities related to hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup,” said Dr. Saleh Al Nabit.

As a result of the optimistic forecasts for the stability of oil and gas prices during the period (2021-2023) for the three scenarios, it is likely that the public finances will achieve a surplus ranging between 1.9 percent and 3.6 percent of GDP, as well as it is expected that the current account of the balance of payments will achieve a surplus ranging between 5.8 percent and 11.5 percent of GDP during the same period and for the same scenarios.

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Qatar's Minister of Transport HE Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti and Saudi Arabia's Transport and Logistic Services Minister engineer Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser on Thursday in Doha, discussed setting a date to begin studying the proposed rail link between the two countries and enhancing co-operation in the fields of transportation, civil aviation and ports.

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The seventh edition of the Doha International Maritime Defence and Exhibition (DIMDEX 2022) will be held from March 21 to 23, 2022, at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC).

The organising committee of DIMDEX announced the start of the online registration process for the event that takes place every other year, and brings together a number of senior government officials and the pioneers of the security and defence industry.

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Qatar Chamber called on all Qatari companies to abide by the General Tax Authority’s circular which calls for the tax return for the taxable year 2020 before the end of the extension period to avoid financial penalties in accordance with the Income Tax Law and its executive regulations.

The circular stipulated that companies and establishments owned by Qatari citizens and citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries that are exempt from income tax, whose share capital is less than QR 1 million and their annual revenue are less than QR 5 million, should submit the tax return before that deadline.

Companies that fail to abide by such procedures alongside with the submission of financial statements will be liable to pay financial penalties of QR 500 for each day delay (maximum QR 180.000) according to the 24 Article of the Income Tax Law.

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QatarEnergy announced Monday the awarding of a major Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (EPCI) Contract for the offshore scope of its North Field Expansion Project to McDermott Middle East Inc.

The scope for the awarded contract includes 13 normally unmanned wellhead platforms topsides (eight for NFE and five for NFS), in addition to various connecting pipelines and the shore approaches for the NFE pipelines, beach valve stations and buildings.

The expansion project will increase the State of Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity from 77 million tons per annum (MTPA) to 126 MTPA, through the North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS) expansion projects, with first LNG expected in 2025.

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