The recovery in Qatar’s economy is consistent and is unmatched in the region. The long term growth prospects of Qatar’s economy are bright and the economy is expected to grow at a faster pace over the next decade, said a senior official of Qatar Financial Centre (QFC).
“The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) tells us that Qatar’s economic recovery is all about sustained recovery and new business and that is unmatched in our region. I see, for example, over the last four months that we have had a large increase in new orders and those continue to be so,” Senior Economic Advisor, Qatar Financial Centre, Thaddeus Malesa (pictured) said in a video posted on QFC’s social media account.
Senior Economic Advisor, Qatar Financial Centre, Thaddeus Malesa
The PMI readings have seen a consistent rise in the past few months. The PMI rose to 52.5 in November, from 51.5 in October, to signal an improvement in operating conditions in the non-energy private sector. The PMI stood at 51.5 in October, up fractionally from 51.4 in September, driven by strong business expectations and realised transactions.
“The Purchasing Managers’ Index only covers four non-energy sectors and for Qatar’s economy LNG, crude oil, condensates, and related products are extremely important and we have been fortunate because this diversified production suit that we have here in Qatar has been in continual demand throughout the COVID-19 crisis,” he said.
"So we have only had to shut in about 1.3 percent of that production over the period versus (some of) our neighbours have had to shut in 10 percent crude oil production during the same time,” he added.
Qatar’s economy is expected to witness accelerated growth over the next decade, helped by World Cup related preparations, expansion of LNG production capacity and increased activities in free zones.
“We have a lot of promise over the next decade to be growing at a fast pace and those are really for three primary reasons. One is the preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2022 where we anticipate hosting 1.5 million visitors and in terms of fiscal outlook a lot of these projects, big infrastructure projects are being completed and those will not only be in service of the games themselves but also will be adapted for touristic use or all sorts of commercial uses in the years ahead,” he said.
“The second major factor is the North Field Expansion and that is going to be looking out from 2025 to 2028. This is 64 percent increase in terms of LNG export capacity. That is going to be brought online up to until 2028 according to latest industry estimates. This will obviously expand not only the amount of LNG but also the condensates and derivatives that are available for processing and for export,” he said.
