LITERTURE REVIEW

Foreign Investment in Qatar

Table of Content

Background3

Assessment of Recent Foreign Investments in Qatar4

Attraction of Foreign Investment Inflows to Qatar Due to Liberalisation of Economy5

Economy of Qatar for Foreign Investors6

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Growth in Qatar8

References11

Foreign Investment in Qatar

Background

Over the last several years, Qatar has experienced swift economic development primarily due to high oil prices; in fact in 2008 Qatar posted its eight consecutive budget surplus. Its magnificent growth over the past years is also associated with its rapid success in regional as well as other global emerging which also involved the BRIC countries. The country is said to be one of the richest nations across the world due to its strong GDP per capita income that was over $75,000 per annum. Qatar's economic policy is focused on its non-associated natural gas reserves development and escalating foreign as well as private investment in non-energy sectors. However, oil and gas still accounts for no less than 50 percent of GDP, approximately 85 percent of export earnings, and 70 percent of government revenues (Qatar Country Review, 2010, p.51). Due to its oil and gas sector, Qatar has become the second highest per-capita income country, following Liechtenstein, and one of the rapidly growing countries across the globe. Unfortunately, the decline in oil prices in the late 2008 and the worldwide financial crunch have reduced budget surplus of Qatar and slowed down the investment pace and project development in 2009, but still the country saw GDP growth with a likely rebound in 2010 (Qatar Country Review, 2012, p.81). There were very few countries which didn't experience a major affect of Global Financial Crisis of 2008, and fortunately Qatar is one of them. In fact, the government of Qatar didn't face major issues in meeting the budget targets of years ahead and also meet the requirement of major projects associated with the infrastructure of the economy (Kahl & Belkaoui, 1981). Thus, the overview of Qatar's economy clearly indicates the financial and economic strength and stability of the country, which holds an immense importance for any foreign investment.

Assessment of Recent Foreign Investments in Qatar

Since last decade, Qatar has attracted considerable foreign investment that has stimulated its economic growth. The country welcomes foreign investment in order to promote its continuous development, specifically as it tends to grow its natural gas reserves in the offshore North Gas Field (Qatar Country Review, 2012, p.81). Where, the single most appealing arena of interest for foreign investors is the energy sector of Qatar, specifically the industry of liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, in order to encourage such investments, certain changes are still required to be made in the laws that govern foreign investment. Particularly, implementation of new codes for easing the local agent or sponsor requirement is under determination and also the permission of 100% ownership of foreign investments in particular sectors of the economy. So far, Emiri Decrees have been established in order attract foreign investment in particular areas where prevailing laws are problematic for outside investors (Qatar Country ...