qatar supplement

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE NEW YORK TIMES

THIS ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT IS PRODUCED BY SUMMIT COMMUNICATIONS AND DID NOT INVOLVE THE REPORTING OR EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

Rich in natural gas, the Gulf microstate is a high-profileactor in the region and a tested friend of the U.S. LikeArab purebreds, Qatar has intelligence and staying pow-er. Its desert roots are evident in its reverence of tradi-tion. But Qatar also has the stamina that has enabled

its society to master the era of globalization. Today, it is betterknown for the cachet of its Formula 1 races or the verve of Al Jazeeratelevision than for its vast natural gas reserves.

The State of Qatar (pronounced Ghattr in Arabic) is scarcelythe size of Connecticut. Haze and sandstorms regularly sweepeastward from neighboring Saudi Arabia, with which Qatar sharesa 37-mile land border. With a population of 825,000, it is as-tounding how far this country has taken its reform agenda. Apearling nation under the British protectorate, GDP in 2007amounted to around $71.42 billion (source: CIA – The WorldFactbook.)

Qatar has also proven to be a formidable U.S. ally in the re-gion. Al Udeid, just north of the capital, Doha, served as cen-tral command during the war in Iraq. United States CentralCommand, including the 9th Air Force, still ensures that mili-tary operations in Iraq and Afghanistan run smoothly. The U.S.Department of Defense has therefore awarded several contractsto maintain operations at Al Udeid up until 2012.

Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, is also theacting defense minister. He has made it clear that his govern-ment hopes the U.S. will prevail in both Iraq and Afghanistan.“Security and stability in our region are closely tied to politicaland economic stability,” he told his Advisory Council last year.

Social advancementThe thrust of the Emir’s policies, however, is directed at educa-tion and social advancement. Rapid action and talent will beneeded to prepare Qatar for the post-oil era of the 21st centu-ry. Sheikh Hamad has turned the country into the wealthiest na-tion per capita in the world. But beyond macroeconomics, hebelieves that greater political pluralism will create even more val-ue. Hence his enthusiasm for the 24-hour news station Al Jazeera,based in Doha.

In his speeches, the Qatari head of state emphasizes an inte-grated context for his reforms. His management philosophy is tofree talent from red tape. This means encouraging the private sec-tor to participate in helping to build a modern state. The wind-fall money from the oil and natural gas boom is being channeledinto new sectors: financial services, insurance and ICT.

Foreign investment, meanwhile, has begun to shift subtly to moreadded-value projects in petrochemicals and LNG. With the launch-ing of the fifth train of RasGas, Qatar’s production capacity willrise to 30 million tons per year. Ports, industrial cities and eco-nomic zones will act as complementary agents of development.

A modernizer at heartSheikh Hamad has embraced change. He is a believer in swiftoverhauls to make the system more effective, refusing to insu-late civil society from reforms. Instead, he delegates many ofthe reforms to actors in the private sector. A keen manager, SheikhHamad is also a modernizer at heart with a profound respectfor ancient Bedouin traditions.

“Our options in the economic sphere were limited in the past.They were confined to the development of our hydrocarbon in-dustries and to the optimal utilization of our finite natural re-sources,” Sheikh Hamad said recently. Today, Qatar has alter-natives that match the Emir’s vision.

Building a knowledge economy requires investments in edu-cation. To encourage R&D ventures in Qatar, the Emir hasstressed the importance of universities nurturing new talent, andnot being places of privilege for the few. Qatari centers of learn-ing have signed partnership agreements with higher institutionsin developed countries to encourage the flow of ideas.

“We will work on pursuing our development efforts in the so-cial, scientific and urban fields as well as the sphere of culture,art, and other aspects of human activity that go hand in handwith continuous progress in the economy,” explains Sheikh Hamad.

Creating the Gulfregion’s health hubPremier facilities and hotel-style service raise standardsPage 4

The Pearl-Qatarrises from the sea One of the world’s largest realestate projects is taking shapePage 8

PIONEERING WOMENENTREPRENEURS Page 3

Oil and gas rich, Qatar’s per capita income makes it one of the world’swealthiest nations. Aware that hydrocarbons are a finite resource,the country’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani has spent thelast decade laying the foundations for the post-oil era through an am-bitious program based on education, health care, and housing

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and the first lady Sheikha Mozahattending the ceremony of the tenth anniversary of Al Jazeera, in Doha,in 2006. Dubbed “the Arab CNN”, Al Jazeera broke taboos in Arab television.

Doha digs new ideas

INSIDER VIEW

QatarLocation: Middle East, peninsula bordering the PersianGulf and Saudi Arabia

Capital: Doha

Area – comparative: slightlysmaller than Connecticut

GDP (purchasing power parity): $71.42 billion (2007 estimate)

Exports – commodoties:liquified natural gas (LNG),petroleum products, fertilizers,steel

GDP – composition by sector:agriculture: 0.1%industry: 77.8%services 22.1% (2007 estimate)

Industries: crude oil productionand refining, ammonia, fertilizers,petrochemicals, steel reinforcingbars, cement, commercial ship repair

Imports – partners:U.S. 14.2%, Italy 11.5%, Japan9.5%,France 8.4%, Germany7.7%, U.K. 6%, U.A.E 5.5%, Saudi Arabia 4.6% (2007)

The Qatari government is keenly awareof the need to strengthen its economy

by diversifying away from oil and gas pro-duction, but the sector is currently still re-sponsible for 85 percent of export earnings,and will remain of paramount importanceto the country for the foreseeable future.

It is true that Qatar is a relatively smallplayer in oil production—its proven oil re-serves of 15 billion barrels are dwarfed bySaudi Arabia’s 260 billion barrels and areless than half those of Nigeria—but the dis-covery of the world's largest non-associat-ed offshore gas field in its territory has pro-pelled it to third place in terms of globalnatural gas reserves.

This has thrust the State of Qatar intothe international spotlight, and a flurry ofdeals have been signed in the past year orso to exploit its renewed energy-rich sta-tus. The result should be for gas to over-take crude oil as the main contributor toQatar’s GDP by 2010.

Projects include the QatarPetroleum/ConocoPhillips joint ventureQatarGas III, which will start producing gasfor the U.S. market from 2010, and Qatar-Gas IV, a joint project between RoyalDutch/Shell and state-owned oil giant QatarPetroleum, which will come on stream a yearlater, with output aimed at both NorthAmerica and Europe.

The crucial importance of oil and gas tothe economy is reflected in the immense ser-vices infrastructure investment being madefor the sector. Most notable is the con-struction of Energy City—a $3.5 billion de-velopment in the giant Lusail real estate in-vestment project located north of Doha thatis being pitched to be a hub for the ener-gy business in the Middle East.

Immenseenergyresourcesspark newinvestmentsNew LNG projects are increasingalmost daily as massive gas findsadd weight to Qatar’s energyclout on world markets

Continued on page 10

PH

OT

O:K

AR

IM J

AA

FAR

/AF

P/G

ET

TY

IMA

GE

S

An online version is available at

www.summitreports.com

This supplement was produced in Qatar by:

Nathalie Martin-Bea (Project Director)

Matthew Carroll (Editorial Director)

Photography: Maneesh Bakshi

For further information contact:Summit Communications

1040 First Avenue, Suite 395,

New York, NY 10022-2902 Tel: 1 (212) 286-0034, Fax: 1 (212) 286-8376,

[email protected]

QATAR nytsab pp1 OK PDF.qxd 30.10.2008 16:30 Página 1

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE NEW YORK TIMES Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Qatar

2

Every day, the journalists of theArab news channel Al Jazeerachallenge the conventional wis-dom of their viewers. Many of thestation’s reporters were initially

recruited from the BBC’s Arabic service. Theirsuccess lies in generating a critical approachto news analysis.

It may seem odd that a small country inthe Gulf was able to launch such an influ-ential and controversial media outlet. Startedin 1996 with a $150 million grant from theEmir of Qatar, Al Jazeera introduced a levelof freedom of speech on TV that was previ-ously unheard of in many Persian Gulfcountries. Today Al Jazeera is an empirewith a huge operation in Doha and scores ofoffices around the world. More importantly,it is an undisputed free voice in the Arabworld, which infuriates many governmentsnot only in the region but also in the West.

But it is no secret that openness is oftenbehind key competitive advantages, and eversince he took power in 1995, Sheikh Hamadhas promoted freedom of expression. One ofthe first reforms he put in place was to sup-press the Ministry of Information thatexisted under the previous regime. Qatar,unlike more traditional societies in the Arabworld, has used openness to ensure its eco-nomic future. By diversifying opportunities,each citizen is a free agent of change.

The Emir sees scientific research and

knowledge as future economic motors. Tocope with a changing global landscape,Qatar dedicates funds for technical train-ing. It facilitates the endowment of depart-mental chairs and signs partnershipagreements with foreign institutions. Thepolicy here is to reward innovation and cre-ativity, not to stifle them under the weightof tradition.

“We need to intensify our work andupgrade educational standards in order tobuild the capacity that we lack in R&D. Welook forward to a future with contented-ness and trust, confident that we shallachieve the progress and high status thatQatar deserves,” the Emir told members ofhis Advisory Council in a recent address.

This versatility of knowledge will prepareyoung men and women to pursue personal

initiatives in the private sector and encour-age others to follow in their path. SheikhHamad is convinced this can all be donewhile preserving national identity and basiccultural principles.

Education CityIn addition to Qatar University, estab-

lished in 1973, the government is attractinginstitutions of higher learning to its newDoha Education City, the flagship projectof the Qatar Foundation. Created by theEmir in 1995 as a private non-profit orga-nization, and chaired by his wife SheikhaMozah bint Nasser Al-Missned, the QatarFoundation for Education, Science andCommunity Development is the “heart andmind" of the new Qatar. New arrivals at the campus include Cornell

Medical College, Texas A&M University,Carnegie Mellon University and GeorgetownUniversity’s School of Foreign Service.

Cornell was the first institution to estab-lish a branch location in Education City. Itacted as a magnet for other U.S.-basedresearch centers. The renewals of these part-nership agreements are currently beingnegotiated for the long term.

“This is the most exciting experience Ihave seen in my lifetime since I graduatedfrom college in the U.S.,” says Dr. MohamedFathy Saoud, the Egyptian-born president ofthe Qatar Foundation.

The core idea of Education City is toboost the qualifications of the Qatari work-force. When Dr. Saoud first came to the Gulfin 1996, he recalls the predominant lifestylechoice as being government dependence.

Now the focus is on the liberating powerof knowledge.

The institutional role played by foreignuniversities is important not only in terms ofquality training, but also in accreditation.Cornell Medical College is in Doha to helpraise the standards of the Hamad MedicalCorporation, for example. Soon, the Qatarimedical center will become a recognizedteaching hospital.

Meanwhile, Education City is already alive community. To strengthen the socialbonds, the academic deans launched theDoha Debates, giving voice to students andfaculty on wide-ranging issues. Another ini-tiative has been dubbed Lakom al Qarar (TheDecision is Yours), which encourages stu-dents to think independently.

“The message was clear from the begin-ning: education is the most effective wayto institute change. No sustained changecan be achieved without the empowermentof education and research,” says Dr. Saoud.Still, Education City will not only be abouttraining doctors, but about opening minds.

Dr. Saoud says that coeducation of menand women was perhaps the biggest changeof all. No one but the Emir could have chal-lenged the idea that receptivity to new ideasentails the loss of Qatar’s traditional cul-ture. In the end, Sheikh Hamad’s politicalvision has succeeded in dispelling the myththat they are opposing forces.

Society

The rewards of investingin knowledge

Investment in education and R&D has helped fuel Qatar’s global competitiveness

Education City is home to the largest cluster of American universities outside the U.S.

One of the two major auctionhouses in the world, Sotheby’s,announced in early October that itwas about to open an office inDoha, where it would hold its firstmajor international series ofauctions in 2009. This move is proofof the increasing weight of the Gulfcountries in the international artmarket, and particularly of Qatar.“Doha is today a center of dynamiceconomic and cultural growth, notonly for the region but alsointernationally," declared BillRuprecht, president and chiefexecutive of Sotheby's at a pressconference in Doha. “Themagnificent Museum of Islamic Artas well as other museums plannedfor this city are stirring hugeexcitement around the world and itis a great honor for Sotheby’s to bea part of this dynamism.”Scheduled to open on November 22,the new Museum of Islamic Art(MIA) is designed by I.M Pei, theworld-famous Chinese-Americanarchitect who created the LouvreMuseum Pyramid in Paris. Situatedon its own island in Doha harbor –an area where four other museumsare slated to be built – the MIA hasnearly 5,000 square meters ofexhibition space and will show avast collection of unique Islamicartefacts. “Qatar is an important center of artand education in the region. Thepresence of Sotheby's underlines thegrowing demand of art in Arabsociety," said Abdullah Al Najar, CEOof the Qatar Museum Authority,quoted by the Qatari daily ThePeninsula. “With the new MIAopening [in a few days], the wholeworld is looking at us. The museumwill make Qatar a global center ofculture and heritage."

Has progress towards democracy cometo a halt in the Arab world? AreMuslims failing to combat extremism?Can the U.S. still act as an agent ofpeace in the Middle East? While mostArabs have an opinion on such issues,not all have the freedom to ask ordebate them openly, particularly in apublic arena.

Working with the Qatar Foundation,BBC award-winning journalist TimSebastian established the Doha Debates,a forum where such opinions could beheard, argued over and voted on.

Based on a centuries-old formatused at the Oxford Union, the DohaDebates take place eight times a yearand focus on a single, controversialmotion, with two speakers for andagainst. The debates are thenbroadcast on BBC News and archivedon the organization’s website,www.thedohadebates.com.

The majority of the debates takeplace in Doha, in front of aninternational audience of Arabstudents, although the group has alsoorganized sessions in Cambridge andOxford. Bringing togetherinternational experts from around the

world, the debates' guests range forma former American president to aLebanese talk show host.

Mr. Sebastian ensures they stay tothe point. His unbiased and aggressivemanner of moderation allows no roomfor equivocation, speciousness orcontradiction. Following one expert’sintroductory remarks, Mr. Sebastianread a seemingly contradictorystatement back to the participant and

asked him, “Are you sure you are onthe right side of the debate?”

As the participants present andrebut arguments, Mr. Sebastianfrequently interrupts and rebukesthem, and offers his own opinion.“But you are arguing it’s halted, andnow you are saying there are steps,”he said to Dr. Amr Hamzawy, anEgyptian political scientist and seniorassociate at the Carnegie International

Endowment for Peace. “If those aren’tmoves towards democracy, I don’tknow what is.”

After each side has presented itsargument, the audience is given theopportunity to ask questions and thenvote on the issue. The majority voteeither carries or rejects the House’s (theorganization’s) ruling.

For Westerners, the exchanges offera unique opportunity to hear how Arabintellectuals and students opine ontheir own issues. Conversely, it allowsArabs the opportunity to ask questionsto Western leaders. In 2005, formerPresident Bill Clinton fielded questionson foreign policy, Iraq and nuclearproliferation.

Apart from its on-the-floor debates,the Doha Debates organizationconducts polls on peripheral topics. Forinstance, a 965-person poll conductedafter a debate on extremismdetermined that the majority of Arabsbelieve Saudi Arabia is at greatest riskto religious extremism.

The debates larger importance forArab society is in presenting a way todissect controversial issues withoutviolence. According to its website, thegroup seeks: “to change minds, re-examine conflicts and project newsolutions by unleashing the power ofwords in a region scarred by violenceand discord.”

New Museum ofIslamic Art ‘stirshuge excitement’

Unleashing wordsto silence guns

Change is thought to come slowly in Arabsocieties, but powerful women are start-

ing to emerge and to play an active rolein promoting social and economic devel-opment. One of the most prominent isSheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned,ranked by Forbes magazine the 79th mostpowerful woman in the world, and secondin the Arab world.

Sheikha Mozah’s vision for the future ofQatar parallels that of the Emir, her hus-band. Along with establishing a sustain-able economy, the influential couple hasgiven education, scientific advancement andhealth care significant consideration.

As head and founder of various educa-tion institutions, groups and initiatives,Sheikha Mozah has shown concern for fu-ture generations around the globe. She isbecoming an increasingly influential fig-ure not just in Qatar, but also in the widerGulf region and internationally.

In the State of Qatar, she is a drivingforce for change. As chairperson of the QatarFoundation for Education,Science and CommunityDevelopment, a private,non-profit organizationbehind major initiativescurrently under way inQatar, she has overseen therealization of major pilotprojects, such as Education City and QatarScience and Technology Park.

Education City, a 2,500-acre campus ofstate-of-the-art facilities on the outskirtsof Doha, has helped attract some of theworld’s leading academic institutions, cre-ating a kind of Ivy League in the MiddleEast. Education City is home to a grow-ing community of educational and re-search institutions, including the largestcluster of American universities outsidethe United States.

Already established are outposts of WeillCornell Medical College, Carnegie MellonUniversity, Virginia Commonwealth Uni-

versity, Texas A&M University and George-town University. As close collaboration withindustry is a key goal, the site is also thelocation of the new Qatar Science andTechnology Park.

“No sustained change can be achievedwithout the empowerment of educationand research. This is why the Education Cityproject was started,” says Dr. MohamedFathy Saoud, president of the Qatar Foun-dation. “We wanted to use the best prac-tices and features of what is happening ineducation across the world.”

A high level of reassurance and long-term commitment from Sheikha Mozahand her staff have convinced some of theworld’s leading universities to open cam-puses on the site, says Dr. Saoud. “We havemade them feel confident that their fullautonomy and governance of their pro-grams, and their independent decisions re-lated to admissions, faculty and staff re-cruitment can never be undermined.”

Carnegie Mellon University opened its cam-pus in Education City in2004, teaching computer sci-ence and business. DeanChuck Thorpe says Educa-tion City’s blend of univer-sities creates an extremelyunique environment and op-portunity. “There is a very

strong sense that you can get an educationhere that you can’t get anywhere else in theworld,” he says. “We’ve opened up all ourcourses for cross-registration, so a student cancome here and major in computer science fromCMU, the world’s number one ranked com-puter science school, and go downstairs andlisten to a distinguished lecturer on foreignaffairs from Georgetown, go over to VCU andtake a course in jewelry making and go playsoccer with their buddies at Texas A&M. Thisis a chance to mix together high-ranked ma-jors and programs from highly ranked uni-versities around the world, and that’s a won-derful opportunity.”

Building a sustainableeconomy oneducation and healthThe Foundation for Education, Science and CommunityDevelopment is the heart and soul of Qatar

The addition of American institutionshas pushed academic standards for QatarUniversity, where Sheikha Mozah servesas president, and has increased her coun-try’s international renown. “We are ex-panding and accepting more applicationsevery year,” she says. “It is still a man-ageable increase because this number isbeing distributed among all of the oth-er universities and colleges, namely theEducational City and the region.”

Sheikha Mozah is also vice-presidentof the Supreme Education Council andis directly involved in setting nationalpolicies, and has instituted reforms aimedat improving learning and school per-formance at elementary, middle, andhigh school level. As president of theSupreme Council for Family Affairs, she

is in a position to promote educationfor children with special needs, learn-ing for the disabled and training for theunderprivileged.

Appointed as Unesco’s Special Envoyfor Basic and Higher Education in 2003,Sheikha Mozah promoted internationalprojects to improve the quality and ac-cessibility of education worldwide.

Four years ago, she established the In-ternational Fund for Higher Education inIraq, dedicated to the reconstruction ofinstitutions of advanced learning in Iraq.Last year, with a $10 million endowmentfrom the Emir, she set up the Arab Foun-dation for Democracy in Doha, which ismandated to promote democracy andequal opportunity throughout the Mid-dle East and North Africa.

Ranked by Forbesmagazine as one of the

most powerful women inthe world, SheikhaMozah is a fervent

promotor of education

The Doha Debates take place eight times a year and provide a forum where internationalexperts from around the world debate in front of an audience of Arab students.

QATAR nytsab pp2 ok PDF.qxd 27.10.2008 18:13 Página 2

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE NEW YORK TIMESTuesday, November 11, 2008

Qatar

3

One of the 20 most influentialbusiness women of the Arab

world, according to the FinancialTimes, and twice declared CEO ofthe year at the 2008 and 2006 Mid-dle East CEO awards for her “sig-nificant contribution in develop-ing Qatar's economic and socialpresence in the Arab world”, SheikhaHanadi Nasser bin Khaled Al Thanihas a stellar track record in globalArab banking and finance.

CEO of Al Wa’ab City, vice pres-ident of Nasser Bin Khaled Al Thani& Sons Holding Group, and thefounder and chairperson of Amw-al, she manages a wide range ofbusinesses including real estate andinvestment banking. She is also arole model for many Qatari and in-deed Arab women, who she says“play a trendsetting role in today’seconomies”.

“With its high GDP and sophis-ticated infrastructure, Qatar canplay a prominent role in global fi-nance. For this, increased partici-pation of women is vital. We mustnot only tap our financial reserves,but our vast reserves of human capital – and that means all ourpeople, not just a fraction. For this region to flourish, we must domore to harness the talent of our female population.”

The recent 2008 Middle East CEO prize tops a long list of awards;Sheikha Hanadi has also been named Personality of the Year in 2005by a leading Qatari newspaper Arraya, and the company she found-ed – Amwal – was recognized as the leading investment firm in Qatar

‘Arab women entrepreneurs play a trendsetting role’by Iktissad Wal Aamal Group dur-ing the 2006 Turkish-Arab EconomicForum.

Sheikha Hanadi’s singularity as abusinessperson goes back to herdays as a graduate student at theLondon School of Economics. Dis-covering that the majority of Arabwomen’s wealth lies dormant in sav-ings accounts, she wrote a paperdetailing what a great op-portunity the overlookedequity represented.

Her thesis wound up onthe desk of Sheikha Mozahbint Nasser Al-Missned,who would later marry theEmir. Sheikha Mozah likedthe paper enough to giveSheikha Hanadi the go-ahead and in 1995 shetransformed the idea into the QatarLadies Investment Company, todayknown as Amwal.

Amwal was the first investmentcompany to receive a license from theQatar Central Bank to conduct in-vestment banking, and asset andwealth management in the country.

Although she does not like to think of herself as a pioneer,Sheikha Hanadi recognizes the importance of role models. She hasworked as a lecturing assistant in the Economics Department ofQatar University, and now gives inspirational seminars at variousacademic institutions such as JA Worldwide, an organization thatprovides hands-on, experimental learning in financial literacy andentrepreneurship.

One of the rare women worldwide to have broken the glass-ceiling,Sheikha Hanadi heads a range of multi-billion-dollar businesses.

A maverick, independent andcrucial ally of WashingtonHome to one of the biggestAmerican military bases in theworld, Qatar has been a valuableally of the U.S. ever since thefirst embassy opened in Doha in1973. But American officials arealso often confused, to say theleast, about Qatar’s resolutelyindependent foreign policy.While maintaining friendlyrelations with Washington, Qataris also close to Iran and hasvoted against sanctions onTehran during its tenure on theUnited Nations Security Council.

The emirate is also on goodterms with Syria. Not only is itinvesting $350 million in atourism project there, but alsoQatar’s Emir personally offeredan Airbus to President Basharal-Assad.

While Sheikh Hamad hasbeen described by Arabeditorialists as amodern-dayMetternich, Qatar’sforeign ministerHamad bin Jassimbin Jaber Al Thanihas earned areputation as aclever, astute andinfatigable mediator.Together, they aregiving the tiny emirate anincreasingly important role ininternational politics, inparticular since they brokeredthe landmark Doha peaceagreement for Lebanon, lastsummer.

“We don’t have an agenda,and we don’t keep all our eggsin one basket,” said Hassan al-Ansari, the director of gulfstudies at Qatar University, inan article published by The NewYork Times in July this year.

Although Qatar’s maverickforeign policy does raiseeyebrows in diplomatic circles(both among American andArab officials), the emirate is acrucial ally for Washington,and their relations go muchdeeper than defense.

For generations, Qatarifamilies have been sendingtheir children to the UnitedStates for higher education.While this trend shows nosign of slowing, the creationof Education City, a groundbreaking, multi-institutioncomplex that includes top-tierU.S. universities, has broughtscholarly diplomacy to newheights. “I think of educationas an entire sector of Qatar’sdevelopment strategy and weare extremely thrilled to playa part in it,” says MichaelAlan Ratney, Chargé d'Affairesat the U.S. Embassy in Doha.

Business links remainpowerful, too. “Qatar is agrowing economy and oureconomic relationship ingeneral has been primarilyenergy focused. It is the driver

of their economicgrowth and wealth.What that creates is anenormously fastgrowing economy. Itcreates opportunitiesfor U.S. companies toexport a whole rangeof products andservices,” Mr. Ratneyadds.

Energy companies likeExxonMobil andConocoPhillips have long-established partnerships inQatar and IT players like Ciscoare helping to create newsynergies between theeconomies.

“This is a small countrywith a lot going on that’simportant to the UnitedStates. It is smaller thanConnecticut, with apopulation of 825,000 andyet we have ties in the areasof energy, education, securityand other areas that areterribly important to us,”comments Mr. Ratney. “AndQatar has a strong interest indeveloping their relationshipwith us as well.”

“We have ties inthe areas of

energy,education and

security that areterribly important

for the UnitedStates”

“I never want to leave educa-tion,” she says. “Even today, Ibook at least two speaking timesper week with schools because Ibelieve that you have to educateentrepreneurship from a veryyoung age.”

Through her lectures, SheikhaHanadi says she wants to teachQataris, especially women, how to

spot opportunities andcapitalize on them. De-scribing Qatar as still a“pearling society”, wheremen traditionally spendmonths out to sea andleave their wives to han-dle financial and busi-ness matters on land, sheadvises women on howto invest their personal

wealth wisely. “We come from atribal society,” she says. “Everysingle person had to rely on eachother—including women.”

Collaboration between busi-ness leaders, on both local andinternational levels, has occa-sioned more prudence in invest-ing fossil fuel income. While pre-vious oil booms have broughtgreat wealth, she says the mon-ey was largely mismanaged. Thisrevenue surge, under the guid-ance of an increasingly modern,capitalist government, will result

in markedly more long-lastingprosperity, she says.

“We see the price of oil at arecord high, and we are not go-ing to waste the opportunity,”she adds. “Oil producing coun-tries have to seize the opportu-nity and secure the future forsubsequent generations.”

Unsurprisingly, much of the prof-it earned from the gas and oil spikegoes into real estate – a boomingsector since Qatar decided fouryears ago to become a world-classbusiness and tourism destinationand invest some $15 billion in build-ing infrastructures, creating themeparks, resorts, financial centers anda new museum, as well as wooingleading hotel chains.

Upon completion, the Al Wa’abCity development in Doha will pro-vide housing for more than 10,000people. It will be comprised of morethan 2,200 residential units, com-mercial spaces and a 300-room ho-tel, according to the developer.

In March, Al Wa’ab City an-nounced it was raising $1.3 billionthrough loans, equity and subor-dinated Islamic debt securities tofinance the project. The subordi-nated debt sale is being arrangedby Dubai-based Shuaa Capital,Amwal and Kaupthing Bank, withHSBC Bank advising.

With a stellar track record in banking and finance, Sheikha Hanadi is one of the most influential entrepreneurs in the Arab world and an inspiration for Arab women

One of hercompanies, AlWa’ab City, is a

leading realestate developeroverseeing oneof Doha’s most

ambitiousprojects to date

The U.S. Air Force 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, one of the largest of theUSAF, is based at Al Udeid, west of Doha.



Qatar

4

Health

Medical care beyond boundariesBold advances, premier facilities and hotel-style service aim to establish Qatar as the health care center of the Gulf

Barahat Al Wa’ab, the communal piazza at the heart of a vibrant, people-friendly place to live.

Anew community, Al Wa’ab City, is risingin central Doha. The $3.3 billion project

will innovatively combine conventional andIslamic financing to build 19 million squarefeet of offices, homes, and shops to serve 8,000residents. This enormous projectis moving towards completion ata striking pace; construction start-ed in 2005, most residences andretail spaces will be ready by 2010,and the final piece – a five-starhotel – will be finished in 2011.

Two members of one of Qatar’smost prominent families, whichhas long been associated with the309-acre Al Wa’ab site, are the dri-ving forces behind the project.Sheikh Nawaf Nasser Bin Khaled Al-Thani isthe chairman of Al Wa’ab City, and SheikhaHanadi Nasser Bin Khaled Al-Thani serves asits CEO. Brian Meilleur, the president and COOof Al Wa’ab City, says that the Al-Thaniscould have opted for a more conventionaldevelopment, but instead wanted to makea distinctive mark on their home city. “Thecountry has a great need for new residen-tial, retail and commercial accommodations.There are a number of excellent projects inDoha, but we are creating something different– a community – that is truly a unique con-cept,” he says.

Mr. Meilleur goes on to describe Al Wa’abCity as an expression of a confident and as-sertive Gulf nation: “Qatar is growing quick-ly, and our objective is to create a projectthat uniquely suits the needs of the coun-try today and offers the highest quality oflife to its residents. His Highness the EmirSheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani createdtremendous opportunities to achieve excel-lence in this country, and that is our goal forAl Wa’ab City.”

While preserving its strong cultural tradi-tions, Qatar has experienced a dramatic mod-ernization in recent years. Mr. Meilleur ex-plains that this strategy – using the country’sheritage to inform its future – carries over in-to the name of the development. “The name‘Al Wa’ab City’ is derived from the Arabicword for a spacious plot of land. It also echoes‘the ability to accommodate’, which is oftenassociated with Arabic traditions that cele-brate generosity and hospitality.”

The design and concept of Al Wa’ab Cityreflect the treasured sociability of Qatari fam-ilies, while at the same time updating Doha’s

The vision for health care in Qatar is extremely ambitious. “Wewould like it to be the best in the region, and on a par with

the best in the world,” states Hanan Al Kuwari, managing direc-tor of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), the national health-care provider, which is masterminding the building of the $1.5billion Hamad Medical City.

At the center of the government's strategy to position Qatar asa benchmark in global healthcare, Hamad Medical City will housethree specialized hospitals—a 320-bed children’s hospital, a 220-bed center for bone diseases and a 350-bed center for medicalrehabilitation—together with therapeutic facilities, residential build-ings for medical staff and the offices of the National Health Au-thority. Scheduled to open within the next two years, the Med-ical City is the crowning jewel in government efforts to expandQatar’s medical facilities that also include the new Sidra Medicaland Research Center, slated for 2010, and a new $33 million 100-bed heart hospital. All in all, total hospital capacity in the coun-try is expected to double over the next five years.

Latifa Al-Houty, chairperson of HMC’s board of directors says,“We have always operated with the aim of being an internation-ally recognized medical center of excellence, particularly in an agewhen medical care is no longer limited by geography.”

Al Wa’ab City: building on thespirit of community livingA low-rise, low-density multi-use development, the project will bring a different experience to the urbanlandscape, reflecting the best traditions of Qatar and delivering world-class environmental performance

After studying in the U.S. in thelate 1960s and early 1970s where

he was the first Qatari student to at-tend Hope College in Michigan, Dr.Abdulwahed Al-Mawlawi returnedto Qatar to join the Ministry of Pub-lic Health. There he developed healthcare management strategies, a skillthat he has employed fully as man-aging director and CEO of MedicareGroup, the parent company behindthe visionary Al-Ahli Hospital. He al-so established the Qatari Red Cres-cent Society, equivalent to the RedCross in the Middle East, and wasits first secretary general after itsfounding in 1978. Here he speakson Qatar’s resurgence in health andeducation, and the vision driving itfrom the Emir.

What influence have the govern-ment’s initiatives in health and ed-ucation had?

If you looked at Qatar you’d saythat it is such a tiny country, but I’dsay that valuable things come insmall boxes. The Emir’s vision remindsme of the Medici vision in 14th cen-tury Florence. At a time when Flo-rence was coming out of the Mid-dle or the so-called Dark Ages, theMedici family started with art, andthat’s why we created two schoolsin Qatar where we teach our entirecurriculum through art.

The vision of the Emir transcendsthe Gulf and even the Arab World.Suddenly we have a leader who isthinking very laterally and who is notgoing after factories and big megaprojects and real estate, but rather

going after real quality, socio-eco-nomic development. When we talkabout one of the top libraries of theworld, the top museums, the five re-search centers, apparently Qatar is thethird country in the world in its per-capita allocation for research afterthe U.S. and Japan. That’s incredi-ble. We are attracting top Nobel lau-reates like Dr. Ahmad Zuhair andNASA’s guy Farouq al Bas, who aremembers of the Board of Trusteesat Education City.

To me Qatar can potentially be-come the Camelot of the Arab World– the city on the hill that was theguiding light for Europe during KingArthur’s time. For Qatar, in a periodof just ten years to have turned AlJazeera, according to European sur-veys, to exceed the BBC after the lat-ter’s 76 years of existence, is a bigaccomplishment.

What challenges exist for Qatar? I hope that we don’t repeat two

historical mistakes that we have madein the Gulf region. The first waswhen nature gave us an incredibleopportunity during the times ofpearling. During this period a lot ofcountries, whether it was Bahrain,Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or Dubai,got rich and suffered economically.And thankfully, due to the accidentof geography, we were saved.

Then we went through anotherphase in October 1973, when theprice of oil went from $1.20 per bar-rel to $14 in one month. Thatbrought a lot of wealth and petrodol-lars into the Gulf region, and the Arab

oil producing countries like Libyaand Algeria. And I feel that we se-mi-squandered that great historicalopportunity. There was what someconsidered conspicuous consumptionand dubious investments. We shouldhave concentrated on real develop-ment, not growth. We concentrat-ed on growth in civil developmentand on capital income, which ismeaningless because you take thegross national product and divide itby the number of population and thatsays little. What is really relevant isdeveloping the quality of the indi-vidual. There was huge expansion ininfrastructure, roads and buildings,but it did not get to the core of theGulf citizen.

I hope that Qatar, in the directionit’s moving and because of the vi-sion of the Emir, in 20 to 40 yearsmight spearhead a renaissance ofthe Arab World.

What other progress is being made?The other area, which is also mov-

ing greatly, is education. I remem-ber reading an article in a U.A.E.newspaper two years back. It said thatthe education in the Arab world iswaiting for the revolution that istaking place in Qatar. We are takingbold steps and redirecting educa-tion. They are all waiting for Qatarto lead the way with independentschools and Education City. We havetasted the success of plans in Qatarand this is different than just hav-ing them in the pipeline. And thathas given us a hail that is similar toObama’s mantra, ‘Yes, we can’.

‘We are going for real socio-economic development’For one philosophical health care leader, medical services in Qatar have undergonea paradigm shift that reflect the nation’s potential to be a beacon for the region

residential landscape to accommodate 21st-century lifestyles. In Mr. Meilleur’s view, thisthoughtful approach distinguishes Al Wa’abfrom other recent developments. “If you lookat the residential units here in Doha, they are

either in small compounds or largetowers. Al Wa’ab City is a low-riseand low-density project, yet we willstill house around 8,000 people ina unique and vibrant setting.”

In addition to offering security,a central location, and comfort, AlWa’ab City will deliver world-classenvironmental performance. Sus-tainable design practices have beenemployed throughout the site, in-cluding the careful positioning of

buildings to reduce the need for heating andcooling. Fully one-fifth of the total area ofthe project is park land, and the landscapinghas been designed to thrive naturally in a desertenvironment and thus minimize water usage.

Mr. Meilleur is proud to report that the de-velopment will use up to 30% less energy andwater than other projects, while creating anaesthetically pleasing urban neighborhood.“We’re creating walking paths, shaded struc-tures and water features that will render AlWa’ab City a very special, pedestrian-friend-ly place to live.”

At the center of the development will bea lively, family-friendly entertainment dis-trict, built around a dramatic central plazathat will form a social hub. “Barahat Al Wa’ab,the piazza and the beating heart of Al Wa’abCity, will be more than just another additionto Doha’s entertainment scene. It is designedto set a new benchmark and be a first in thesocial life of Al Wa’ab City and Qatar morewidely.” A 200-bed luxury hotel and 600housing units will be set around this 11-acrecentral square, along with one million squarefeet of retail space, two million square feetof offices, and 10,700 parking spaces.

‘The projectechoes Arabictraditions that

celebrategenerosity and

hospitality; it’s designed to

set a newbenchmark’

Excellence in treatment is not the only strategy in Qatar’sglobal health care bid. Al-Ahli Hospital, the country’sfirst major private hospital, is redefining basic ideas ofhealth care setting. Patients at the 250-bed hospital, whichopened in 2004, are referred to as guests, hospital roomsas suites, and its reception is a spacious atrium that isjust a first taste of the luxurious comforts and world-class amenities to be found inside.

From room furnishings to food, the philosophy of heal-ing and hospitality remains palpable in every aspect ofthe facility. This, along with a highly-qualified and in-ternational team of medical professionals and the verylatest in technology and treatment, combine to createa new standard for global health care that was recent-ly awarded the International Gold Star award for Qual-ity in Geneva by Business Initiative Decisions.

Now the premier private health care facility in theGulf region, Al-Ahli Hospital offers services in obstet-rics and gynecology, pediatrics, internal medicine, gen-

eral surgery, urology, gastroenterolo-gy, dermatology, emergency care, den-tistry, anesthesia, radiology, patholo-gy and lab medicine and physiother-apy. Since managing director Dr. Ab-dulwahed Al-Mawlawi took over thehelm in 2005, the hospital has becomea profit maker while staff has increasedfrom just 35 nurses to 210 and from14 doctors to more than 75.

International partnerships also formpart of the philosophy behind thehospital, and of the desire to expandits reach. “If you want to be a tophospital, it is not enough to serveonly residents in Qatar. One has tothink regional and then global,” says

Dr. Al-Mawlawi, who has already begun to establishrelationships with top hospitals in the East and the West.

Dr. Al-Mawlawi says that establishing a solid repu-tation for Al-Ahli Hospital is the first stepping stonefor the expansion of the hospital’s parent group,Medicare. “We are concentrating on the hospital strate-gically because it is at present the core of MedicareGroup, but Medicare has many other plans for the fu-ture,” he explains.

The hospital is already on its way to establish-ing international recognition. Top figures in med-ical care visiting from around the globe have beensolidly impressed, and Dr. Al-Mawlawi has been in-vited to present Al-Ahli as a case study at Harvard.He adds, “We were visited by Professor Bindar fromAustria who heads 65 consultant cardiologist cen-ters and whom I brought here for four days to con-sult on our cardiology department. After he wroteme to say, ‘Al-Ahli Hospital is a jewel’.”

Healing and hospitality await guests at the luxurious Al-Ahli Hospital.



Qatar

5

ICT sector edges ahead

Leveraging technology to benefit societyNew infrastructure, liberalization of the ICT market and competition have sharpened the focus on IT knowledge and excellence

Qatar is harnessing the extraordi-nary power of information and

communications technology to ac-celerate social, political, economic, andeducational change. A wide-openICT marketplace is one element, al-lowing new competitors to come inand cut prices for consumers. Anotherelement is new facilities, which pro-vide world-class office and labora-tory space to local and internation-al companies seeking to reap thebenefits of cluster effects. However,perhaps the most important com-ponent of the ICT revolution is amodern telecoms agency that canhelp unleash opportunity within theknowledge-based economy. That’swhy Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khali-fa Al-Thani established ictQatar in2004 to accelerate the transforma-tion of Qatar into an information-based society.

As elsewhere in the Gulf, the lib-eralization of the ICT sector has un-locked growth by introducing com-petition. In addition to the existingstate-owned telecoms provider Qtel,the government this year has licensedU.K. cellular operator Vodafone toprovide mobile services and award-ed it Qatar’s second fixed-line license.The introduction of a European tele-coms giant to the market has helpedsharpen the focus on the customerand lowered prices for people wholive and work here. A successful freemarket needs a careful regulator tomake sure that the benefits reach theconsumer, and ictQatar is overseeingthe process as it introduces compe-tition for telecom services.

Alongside these changes in theconsumer marketplace, Qatar is chang-ing the environment for research inthe Gulf. The construction of the$300 million Qatar Science and Tech-nology Park has given the country anew R&D center for local and inter-national firms. It’s part of the QatarFoundation’s Education City in Do-ha, which has seen new research hos-pitals rise alongside campuses fromtop-flight U.S. universities like CarnegieMellon, Northwestern, and George-town. The Science and TechnologyPark is a free-trade zone that has at-tracted advanced research activitiesfrom companies such as Cisco, EADS,Shell, GE, and Microsoft. The com-plex is a hub for domestic innovationas well, where Qatar is nurturing itspeople’s capacity for entrepreneurshipthrough training, grants, and a busi-ness incubator for local firms.

The government of Qatar estab-lished ictQatar not only as an ICTregulator, but also as an advocateand a facilitator for extending ICTthroughout business, government,health and education. Dr. Hessa Sul-

tan Al-Jaber, ictQatar secretary-gen-eral, understands this multifacetedrole as key to fulfilling the promiseof technology for private enterpriseand social development in Qatar.“No matter how state-of-the-art acountry’s infrastructure might be,and no matter what regulations havebeen promulgated, if people do nothave the readiness to use ICT, thenthe infrastructure will not be ben-eficial. That’s why we have beenworking to increase business readi-ness and working with individualsto increase their readiness.”

A national ICT agency in a boom-ing economy might simply find themost advanced technology in theworld, plug it in, and wait for the re-sults. Yet Dr. Al-Jaber is forthright inlaying out the problems with theconventional approach to building aknowledge economy. “I view IT dif-ferently. I do not think of it as onlyphysical infrastructure, which is themistake that many countries havemade. They are not using IT to achievereal impact for the social-economicgoals that they’ve set for their coun-tries. We do not believe that our goalswill be realized by importing ready-made applications or strategies.” Theagency is helping other governmententities use ICT as an engine ofprogress for Qatari society, and lever-age technology to deliver better re-sults for Qatar’s people from thehealth and education systems.

The rapid growth of the Qatarieconomy has created strategic op-portunities for investment in ICT in-frastructure – but taking full advan-tage of them requires that ictQatarmakes the right choices. The gov-ernment has already taken steps toenhance the country’s own capaci-ty to innovate and attract the bestand brightest, and has a goal of de-voting 2.8 percent of the country’sGDP to R&D. “What has happenedin the Gulf Cooperation Council over

the past couple of years, and will continue in the years to come, is that gov-ernments have been generating a lot of income, mainly through oil andgas. It’s become quite clear in Gulf countries that we need to diversify. Forthis reason, ictQatar was one of our priorities here. ICT includes our tele-com sector, which represents maybe 2 percent of the GDP.”

On examining international models for the ICT sector, as for education,health, and government, it’s evident one size doesn’t necessarily fit all. Dr.Al-Jaber has taken a hard look at how to grow ICT capabilities in the Qatarieconomy, and says that her organization is opting to build local capacityfor communications from the ground up, instead of going with an off-the-shelf approach. “We could spend $10 or $20 billion with international ven-dors, who would come and establish state-of-the-art infrastructure, and af-

New investment is sweepinginto Qatar, and foreigninvestors are seeking localpartners who can deliverquality results. Since 1994, theGulf Development Centre hashelped Qatari organizationsmeet those expectations bycomplying with internationalnorms such as ISO 9001:2000,and by advocating for a greaterfocus on quality among Gulfbusinesses. As GDC presidentMohammed Bin Saleh Al-Kuwari puts it, “We act ascatalysts in the Qatari businessenvironment. We encouragedifferent companies, thegovernment, and even ourselvesto improve processes and tostart working according tointernational qualitystandards.”

The GDC’s client list reads likea who’s who of Qatar’s majorstate organizations and privateenterprises. Government clientsinclude the Qatari ArmedForces, the Ministry of Economyand Commerce, and the EmiriDiwan (Qatar’s royal household.)On the corporate side, GDC cancount among its customersindustrial firms like QatarPetroleum, Qatar Steel, andQatar Fertilizers, as well asmajor financial institutions likethe Doha Bank, the QatarIslamic Bank, and the QatarNational Bank.

In addition to providingdirect advice to Qatar’s majorenterprises, the GDC takes anactive role in fostering anoverall culture of quality inQatar and across the GulfCooperation Council countries.The GDC developed theblueprint for the Qatar QualityAward in 1996, and startedpromoting the idea to the Emirand the government. In 2003,the government responded bypassing a law that created anew award recognizingimproved quality standards atQatari businesses, awarded bya committee including theMinister of Finance and agroup of experts.

The annual Gulf Conferenceon Quality Systems, anotherGDC initiative, bringsorganizations from across theGCC to Qatar to gain valuableknowledge about qualitymanagement systems. TheGDC also publishes a directoryof ISO-certified companies inthe GCC, a regularly updatedlist of 1,425 corporations thatis the first such inventory inthe Gulf. Mr. Al-Kuwariexplains that these efforts areall part of the GDC’s push tocreate a coherent environmentof quality for Qatari and Gulfbusiness, and promotesystematic approaches toquality management. “We’retrying to encourage people tobring their standards up, andto understand the influencethey have over lives andbusinesses. This doesn’thappen suddenly, it’s agradual process.”

ter two or three years we wouldn’t beable to sustain it ourselves. That’s whyictQatar thought that now would bethe right moment to start somethinglocal in a couple of areas, with a veryclear vision, that could be regionaland even international.”

Dr. Al-Jaber believes that a Qatarifirm can take the country’s success tothe next level, both as a lever for so-cial development and as a Gulf busi-ness success story. “It’s time to createa company that will provide IT ser-vices, in order to act as the deliveryarm for some of the projects Qatarwants while maintaining a 100 per-cent competitive process. The companywill join with international firms, ei-ther by acquisition or by developingstrategic partnerships, that will act as

catalysts to upgrade the local workforce. The main objective is to developthe skills of locals, who will stay here and be a part of the positive growthof the Qatari ICT sector.”

Qatar’s youth have taken up the internet with astonishing speed, adopt-ing a global medium and making it their own in ways that may trans-form Qatari society in the future. However, Dr. Al-Jaber says that ictQataris making efforts to introduce the power of information technology to allsectors of the population. “We’re working to provide e-literacy coursesfor people of all ages and walks of life.” Providing online content in Ara-bic is an important part of ictQatar’s push to help this highly literate coun-try display its culture to an online audience, including projects to digitizehistoric Arabic books.

Making waves: the new Qatar Science and Technology Park in Doha aims to serve as an incubator for ICT innovation.

Raising the standard of Qataribusiness development


Over the last decade, real estate de-velopment has changed Qatar’s cap-

ital Doha, through high-profile projectssuch as the Pearl of the Gulf Island, the-new International Airport, Hamad Med-ical City, Qatar Education City, the Gen-eral Library, the Islamic Museum, and theQatar Science and Technology Park, toname but a few of the best-known.

One of the biggest players in the sec-tor is Barwa International. With a rep-utation for meeting its post-deliverycommitments, the company has em-barked on an ambitious internationalexpansion program throughout the re-gion, into Europe and beyond. The com-pany’s high-profile projects in London,Paris and Switzerland have gained me-dia attention, but it is also committedto carrying out large projects in East-ern Europe, the southern Mediterranean,Asia and Africa.

Ghassan Al-Binali, CEO of Barwa In-ternational discusses his company’s glob-al strategy.

What are Barwa International’s criteriafor developing an overseas project?

When we look at a new market we con-sider many factors, such as supply, de-mand, the regulatory environment, bank-ing, and risks among others. And not for-getting partners. These factors help usmake up our mind on this or that mar-ket. We look for long-termprojects; as we believe in long-term relationships.

In the case of the Shard,for example, our partners area group of developers andbankers. The location of theShard of Glass tower, and itsmixed use will bring a sophis-ticated real estate solution tothe market, with offices, a ho-tel, and residencies in one prime loca-tion in London. The project is a chal-lenging one; however, we truly believethat it’s worth it.

There is also the Paris conventioncenter, in addition to a number ofproperties in Paris and Switzerland.

Why Europe? Europe is an attractive market. It has

major cities like Paris, London, and Rome.Those cities will continue to play a ma-jor role in the global economy. In Eu-

rope we look for trophy assetsthat we can turn around andkeep for long periods. Our as-sets in Europe help to diversi-fy our portfolio, which coversa number of emerging mar-kets. Are you planning to enter theU.S. market?We are keeping an eye on theUnited States. We recently

came up with a new structure in BarwaInternational to focus on the US mar-ket. We have set our targets and start-ed looking at that. However, we are fo-cusing on buildings which we can con-vert and add value to, such as trophy as-sets and hotels. But property develop-

ment is another ball game; we would needa partner with experience in that sector. How do you go about selecting a com-pany to work with?

There are people working in differentareas, from development to asset man-agement to brokerage, but we don’t dealwith them. We look for a partner thatshares our vision, and to a great extentwho shares the same ethics and ways ofdoing business. I believe that there is noperfect partnership but there is the rightpartner. Partnerships go up and downwith markets, opportunities and profits andlosses; partners do not.Do you think you represent Qatar inter-nationally?Yes. We are a Qatari company. Qatar’sname is a door opener for us, and wehave to maintain the name and the im-age of Qatar and work hard to com-municate the soul of Qatari visions andbeliefs.


Qatar

6

Dozens of spectacular projects are changing the skyline of Qatar’s capital city

Real Estate

Construction and propertysectors drive Doha renewal

Shard takes shape

The race is on

After years of delay, work is finally dueto begin in January on what will beEurope’s tallest building: The Shard.

The breakthrough on the much-stalled glass skyscraper came after aQatari consortium made up of theQatari Islamic Investment bank QInvest,Sellar Property Group, Qatar NationalBank, Qatari Islamic Bank and Barwa,paid $130 million to secure an 80percent stake and take control of theproject. By providing the first trancheof finance, construction of the towercan now begin.

Due for completion in time for theLondon Olympics, the 1,016-foot towerwill have 88 floors. A mini-city withina city, it is a vertical town with offices,a hotel, apartments, retailers andrestaurants – a building that willemploy as many as 12,000 people andwill attract millions of visitors annually.The Shard will become a globallandmark for London. The project hasalready achieved iconic status and isprobably one of the most talked aboutbuildings in Europe.

The use of sophisticated glazing andangled panes will reflect sunlight andthe changing patterns of the sky on thebuilding, constantly changingappearance according to the weatherand seasons.

Barwa chairman Ghanim bin Saad AlSaad says the project is a first. “This isa unique project for Barwa. It is thetallest mixed-use development tower inEurope, and will house the firstShangri-La hotel on the old continent,in addition to hosting prestigioustenants and luxurious residencesoverlooking London. We also believethat the involvement of this speciallyformed consortium should provide the

necessary support needed for a projectat this level.”

Mr. Al Saad highlights the sharedvision of the consortium’s members,who have equal stakes. “We all share thesame vision, and we will do whatever ittakes to deliver the project on time tofinally bring this magnificent tower tolife, making it the latest and moststriking addition to the London skyline.”

Glamorous the project may be, but italso fits in with Barwa’s long-termexpansion strategy. “We seek long-termownership and always look fordifferentiation and value added. Barwahas projects worth more than $20 billioninside and outside Qatar. At the sametime, Barwa International, ourinternational arm, has investments infour European countries with a totalportfolio of more than $2 billion.”

Barwa International’s first foray intomotor racing sponsorship has won it theConstructor´s Championship for theGP2 2008 season, which ended inSeptember. The prize topped a fineseason for the Spanish driven BarwaInternational Campos Team.

Now Barwa is looking to attractyoung Qataris to the sport, says Barwachairman Ghanim bin Saad Al Saad. “Aspart of Barwa International's corporatesocial responsibility to promote Qatarisport, we are working with CamposRacing to find talented young Qataridrivers. Once a driver is discovered, it

will take two or three years of trainingfor them to qualify and begin racing,but Barwa International looks forwardto that day in the near future.”

The Shard: it’s finally going to happen.

Fast lane Barwa’s team tops a fine season.

Doha skyline new districts are mushrooming up around the capital city of Qatar, as adecade-long construction boom of so-called mega projects continues unabated.

“We look for apartner thatshares our

vision, and to agreat extent

shares the sameethics and ways

of doingbusiness. ”

QATAR nytsab pp6 ok PDF(Barwachange).qxd 24.11.2008 10:43 Página 2


Qatar

7

Al Wa’ab City, located six miles fromDoha’s Corniche, comprises more than2,200 residential units, commercialspace and a world-class 300 roomhotel. Although Al Wa’ab will providehousing for more than 10,000 people,it boasts the lowest density ratio inany new major development in thecountry. At its heart is Barahat AlWa’ab, Doha’s first urban piazza, withoutdoor restaurants, cafes and a hotel.It will be filled with water features,landscaping and a spectacular sunkengarden, and be accessible on foot.

Brian K. Meilleur, president andCOO of Al Wa’ab City, says theproject’s inspiration came fromchairman Sheikh Nawaf Nasser binKhaled Al Thani, and CEO SheikhaHanadi Nasser bin Khaled Al Thani.Mr. Meilleur explains: “They wantedAl Wa’ab City to be Qatar’s firstfamily-planned vibrant community.Qatar is growing quickly and theobjective is to create a project thatuniquely suits the needs of thecountry today and offers the highestquality living to its citizens.”

The best way to appreciate the scaleof construction projects underway in

Qatar is from the air. The view of this tinypeninsula nation’s coastline on descentinto Doha airport is of a vast construc-tion site. Landmarks such as the offshorePearl-Qatar project stand out, or the new$5 billion airport being built ten milesfrom the present overcrowded installa-tions, but these are just two examplesamong many more.

A budget of more than $100 billion hasbeen allocated for new construction andinfrastructure between now and 2012.Much of it will be spent on transport,health, education, housing (taking in lux-ury projects and low-cost units), andpublic buildings.

Foreign investment in real estate isbooming drawn by the liberalization oflaws opening the market to greater de-velopment.

Among the key players building Qatarfrom the ground up is Barwa, the coun-try’s largest property developer.

Real estate in Qatar has largely focusedon prestige projects, but as Barwa’sdeputy CEO Dr. Yousef M. Alhorr pointsout, Barwa is also supplying solutionsto the country’s acute housing shortageby developing large-scale residential de-velopments in Doha and the second cityof Al Khor that amount to new districts.

The company insists on quality ac-commodation and facilities at all levels.“By catering to the whole spectrum, wefeel we are building for the nation,” saysDr. Alhorr.

Ongoing developments under way in-clude the Al Khor development on Qatar’snortheastern coast, the Barwa City resi-dential scheme and the Barwa FinancialDistrict, a new regional and financial hubfor Doha.

The development of Al Khor has seena remarkable transformation from whatwas once a wild desert to a hub for thriv-ing energy-related multinational com-panies. The city houses some of the elitenames in the world of energy such asExxonMobil, Shell, Dolphin Energy andthe production facilities of the pride of

pride, Qatargas and RasGas LNG. A largenumber of other multinational compa-nies are also headed to Al Khor over thenext couple of years.

Strategically located at the center ofthe Arabian Gulf sandwiched betweenthe Far East and Europe on the inter-national maritime shipping route, AlKhor has become an ideal location forreal estate investors. Along with itsgrowth the city is also in need of supe-rior real estate solutions and that’s whereBarwa comes in.

The Al Khor project will comprise 24,000residential units, and 700,000 square me-ters for a commercial and retail complex,civic buildings, public plazas, a greenspace, a beachfront, and extensive high-end hotels.

The Al Doha project, located in thecity center, is billed to become one of themost popular fixtures in Qatar’s residen-tial and retail solutions market. Aimed athigh-net-worth individuals, the futuris-tic complex will house spacious apartmentbuildings with multiple floors and vari-ous function areas. The apartments willoffer professional and highly-skilled guestworkers – a demographic group that’simportant to Qatar’s economy – a cus-tom-built residential complex. The pro-ject includes a five-star hotel and cine-ma complexes.

A statement of styleBarwa’s U® Street development brings

style to the company’s portfolio. Theconcept of design guru Philippe Starck,the structure will be an inspirational con-tribution to Qatar’s burgeoning educa-tion sector.

Suitable for conferences, student ex-change events, seminars and a variety ofother education-related activities, theblueprint includes two reflective glassmonoliths connected by a shopping com-plex at the base. The buildings will cre-ate a canyon effect, providing an elevat-ed, open corridor where students andyoung professionals can gather to so-cialize or shop.

With its bold, functional shape and in-triguing name, U® Street has the mak-ings of a national symbol, and one thatwill be immediately recognizable to thevisitor flying in over the capital.

Developers aim forquality constructionat all levelsFuturistic and innovativeconstruction projects spearheadthe building boom

A city of the future. From top left clockwise: Barwa’s Al Doha project, two glimpses of U ® Street, and the Doha Convention Center and Tower.

AL WA’AB CITY

Vibrant urbanplanning

Qatari Diar, which has a 45 percentstake in Barwa Real Estate, is thedriving force behind a brand new citythat’s taking shape north of thecapital. Lusail is a 15-year mixed-usesatellite city of Doha expected to rivalthe capital in grandeur and possiblytrump it in quality of life. Built fromscratch for a potential 200,000residents, the city will cover over 13square miles and include everyimaginable amenity. With towers,marinas, commercial centers,shopping and luxury condos, Lusialwill change the face of Qatarindefinitely.

“Lusail is where Qatar’simagination comes to life,” says DiarCEO Ghanim bin Saad Al Saad. “It’san outstanding symbol of vision andinspiration—we are essentiallycreating a brand new city wherepeople will work, live, raise theirfamilies and enjoy their lives.”

The end-goal of the development,aside from beautifying the city, willfall in line with the government’seconomic diversification plans.

LUSAIL

A city custom-built from scratch

In addition to its high profileprojects, Barwa provides housing thatcaters to the needs of low-incomeearners including public housing andresidences for workers. One of thecompany’s latest projects is the AlBaraha development in Doha’sindustrial area, which will includehousing and recreational facilities.

The project, designed to improveliving conditions for Qatar’s massivetemporary foreign labor force, willinclude a number of amenitiesunseen in the so-called “man camps”that dot the Gulf. Used carshowrooms, shopping malls,multiplex movie theaters, cricket andsoccer fields, medical centers and amosque have all been incorporatedinto the master plan.

"Barwa's vision is to constructliving quarters which are not onlycomfortable but also make you feel athome we genuinely believe that it'sthe least we can do to help those whoare building our nation to rest andrelax,” says Barwa chairman Ghanimbin Saad Al Saad.

AL BARAHA

Quality housingfor all sectors



Qatar

8

There is something magical about citiesbuilt on water: the Spanish conquista-

dors marveled at ancient Mexico’s Tenochti-tlan; while Venice, Amsterdam, and Copen-hagen still captivate visitors.

In the 21st century, few countries havethe vision—or the resources—to attempt tobuild anything on such a scale. But the oilrich states of Dubai, and now Qatar, are re-viving the tradition and reclaiming landfrom the waters of the Arabian Gulf to cre-ate exclusive Riviera-style island commu-nities characterized by wealth and archi-tectural elegance.

The Pearl-Qatar is one of the most am-bitious real estate projects in the world, witha price tag of $20 billion. Currently underconstruction off the coast of Doha it willeventually be home to 42,000 people andup to 800 visitors.

A four-phase development, it is made upof 11 distinct, themed districts to be de-veloped over five years. When completed,The Pearl-Qatar will house beachfront vil-las, and a range of housing options withcreative architecture including town hous-es, luxury apartments, deluxe hotels, mari-nas, and schools, as well as upscale retailand restaurant facilities. It will be a desti-nation in its own right – a lavish, secureand exclusive island retreat.

Those fortunate and wealthy enough tolive in The Pearl-Qatar’s glamorous pent-houses, apartments, town houses, and vil-las will enjoy a luxurious waterfront lifestylebased around three marinas, almost half amillion square feet of retail, dining and en-tertainment space, and mile upon mile ofpristine beaches.

Schools and medical centers will be pro-vided, making it quite possible to live onthe island without ever leaving it.

Qatar’s first international real estate de-velopment, The Pearl-Qatar is one of thefirst in Qatar to offer freehold propertiesto international investors. There has beenno lack of interest. Investors have been soeager to snap up real estate on the islandthat one entire district, the Qanat Quarti-er, was sold within an hour when it waslaunched in January 2008, grossing $405million in just 60 minutes.

Among those buying property were thearchitects of the precinct, Andre Lateganand his wife Rebecca Gernon, who flew toQatar specifically for the launch.

The challenges of creating a city on the water

A challenging project, The Pearl-Qatar iscomprised entirely of reclaimed land—a to-tal of four million square meters—built in

various stages. The project developer isUnited Development Company (UDC), oneof Qatar’s leading private sector companies.UDC’s mission is to identify and invest inlong-term projects that contribute to thecountry’s growth and provide high share-holder value. Its founders, who on launchin 1999 held 45 percent of the shares, areamong Qatar’s most successful investors anddevelopers. Equity is also held by thou-sands of Qatari and International investors.

UDC raised a total of $600 million of eq-uity commitments and committed financ-ing to invest in the Qanat Quartier, which

was launched under the banner “Venice isnow in Qatar”. Guests at the launch weretold that the company aims to build “aprecinct akin to the finest European citiesand to Venice’s famed canals and Renais-sance architecture.”

Khalil Sholy, UDC’s managing directorand president, explains the thinking be-hind The Pearl-Qatar: “Thanks to the Emir’sinitiative, Qatar is one of the most robustdiversified and fast-growing economiesin the world, and is becoming a destina-tion of choice as a world-leading centerof finance, energy, education, sports, med-

icine, and culture, attracting the hightestcalibert of professionals worldwide. As thecountry grows, its infrastructure has togrow with it and be able to offer the bestfacilities at the highest standards. ThePearl-Qatar island was the the productthat we thought would best serve to achievethese goals.” The vision of the Emir is toopen up the country and to make Qatara destination of choice to come here andenjoy a vacation, do business or just foran exploration trip.”

“The Pearl Island was the product thatwe thought would best help acheive thesegoals,” says Mr. Sholy.

UDC intends to make The Pearl-Qatar aunique living and cultural experience thatcombines the best of the country’s past andpresent. A primary objective is to incorpo-rate a range of living environments – fromhigh-end luxury villas complete with theirown beaches to fashionable apartment-style accommodation with sweeping seaviews. Diversity and the very highest qual-ity of the accommodations is a key objec-tive in the project’s master planning.

The Pearl-Qatar, the Venice of the Middle EastOff the coast of Doha, a veryspecial man-made island istaking shape under the auspicesof domestic and internationalinvestors led by Qatar’s UDC

The Pearl-Qatar These artist’s impressions give an idea of the scale of the project. The firstphase, the Qanat Quartier, has already been sold. As can be seen, life on the pearl will begreen, sustainable, and very calm. It will also have a positive impact on the marine environment.

The goal of The Pearl-Qatar is tooffer residents a secure andexclusive island retreat which bringsthe ambiance and lifestyle of theMediterranean to the heart of theGulf. In addition to its Europeanfeel, The Pearl-Qatar is set to beone of the most technologicallyadvanced real estate projects in theworld. The island will be home to afull range of diverse technologicalservices and solutions in what isknown as the world’s first SmartIsland. Smart Island technologyincludes innovative securitysystems, building managementsystems, energy monitoring, smart-card system technology, and ofcourse user-friendly homeentertainment systems.As Eric Lebrun, executive vicepresident of assets management atUDC, points out, nothing of thisscale has been attempted anywhereon the planet. “I think the best wayto define a smart island is to talkabout convergence,” he says. “As the master developer, UDC hasbeen installing a full fiber opticnetwork throughout the islandlinking all units, villas, apartmentsand buildings.” A full range oftelephony options, as well asInternet Protocol Television (IPTV),high-speed internet, Wi-Fi, e-learning, gaming, and video ondemand will be available. Residentswill have full automation in allunits, “so people can open theirdoor, move their curtains, tweak theAC, put on the radio or play a CD—all remotely,” says Mr Lebrun,adding: “The whole city isinterconnected, we have totalmonitoring of what’s going on,reducng staff and lowering costs forend-users,” he says.

From the outset, UDC wantedThe Pearl-Qatar to set newenvironmental standards. From energy efficient buildingsto machine beach cleaning, anda vacuum waste disposal system,the methods used to maintainenvironmental control meet thehighest standards in the world.The Pearl-Qatar also uses districtcooling, a system thatdistributes thermal energy viachilled water from a centralsource through a network ofunderground pipes.

The cooling or heat rejection isusually provided from a centralcooling plant, thus eliminatingthe need for separate systems inindividual buildings.

“This is very environmentally-friendly and reduces carbonemissions. In summer there istoo much load on the powergenerator facilities because 70pecent of power goes to cooling.We have reduced dependency onpower by around half,” says Mr.Sholy, adding: “As an owner,

you save the cost of having tobuild a chilling plant that takesup space in your building, aswell as those ugly lookingcooling towers. You also saveabout 40 percent on billsbecause of reduced powerconsumption.”

Peter Bolton, the head ofenvironmental protection andcontrol at UDC, saysenvironmental concerns havebeen paramount throughoutthe project: “It’s refreshing to

be working with a companywhere the higher managementunderstands the issues and iscommitted to addressingthem.”

But UDC’s real environmentalachievements lie under thewater.“We’re creating a uniqueseascape and landscape that hasalready started to establish anunderwater ecosystem,” Mr.Bolton says. “The Pearl-Qatarwill become a tropical gardenwith local and exotic flora.”

The Pearl Qatar offers its residents thetotal island package. But the man-madeisland’s beaches, seaside cafes andwaterfront villas would not be completewithout a world-class marina. RonauticaMiddle East, a joint venture between ThePearl-Qatar’s developer UDC and Spanishnautical services provider Ronautica, hasentered the first phase of completion onthe new marinas that are designed to setnew standards for sailors.

Each of the three marinas underdevelopment has a distinct theme. Thelargest, Porto Arabia, will be encircled byhigh-rise residential buildings, shoppingdistricts and a boardwalk. With room for500 vessels, the marina at Port Arabiawill be one of the world’s first all-in-oneyacht spots, offering services normallyreserved for luxury hotels.

“It’s like a five-star hotel,” saysgeneral manager Jaume Marco, adding

that mariners can expect a specialwelcome when they drop anchor atThe Pearl-Qatar. “There will besomebody to greet you with a coldtowel on a hot day. That’s the kind ofservice we will provide.”

To boost the marina’s efficiency,Ronautica ME has designed a convenientsystem that allows larger yachts to refueland pumpout from larger berths,without having to navigate the island’swater ways.

The marina will also be home to anetwork of water taxis, allowingresidents and guests to visit nearly everycorner of The Pearl-Qatar, as well asaccess the airport and mainland.

Ronautica’s in-depth approach toservice ensures that all the marinas willbuzz with activity. “This is not realestate, it’s a lifestyle,” says Mr. Marco,adding that berth rentals have been

intentionally limited to two per client.“It’s a place where you can come toenjoy the sea….we want to make surethat everybody who wants to have a boathere can.”

The Pearl-Qatar’s other two marinaswill offer a more low-key experience.Costa Maraz, has a private clubhouse andwill take advantage of prevailing windsand deep water to attract sailingenthusiasts. It’s location on the edge of asecluded villa area, will minimize impacton residents.

Viva Bahriya, designed with families inmind, will include a nautical activitycenter with charters, a sailing school,diving classes, and a range of watersports and activities.

The marinas will not only be open toresidents of The Pearl-Qatar. Some of theworld’s top-end retail outlets havealready scheduled fashion shows, and

property developers have expressed aninterest in offering seaborne promotions.

Currently, Doha’s marinas boast acombined 750 berths. When The Pearl-Qatar is completed, an additional 1,000will be created. Developers expect thatthis increase will create a sailing culture.

“Ronautica brought its expertise tomake this marina the best in the world,”says Mr. Marco. “We’ve put together ateam of expert sailors, managers, andmariners to make it possible.“

After 20 years in the business,Ronautica has won a reputation forbeing passionate about the sea.Company policy is that every employee,from management to maintenance, musttake sailing courses. As one of The Pearl-Qatar’s crucial lifestyle partners, Mr.Marco says that Ronautica looks forwardto end-to-end management of all theisland’s maritime services.

Welcome to the future

World-class marinas aim to make Qatar an international sailing center

Environmental concerns the major priority

The Pearl-Qatar’s environmental impact will be positive.



Qatar

9

Since the 19th century, JaidahGroup has been one of Qatar's

premier companies. Starting out asa trader of foodstuffs, wool andeven pearls, the company has evolvedinto a market leader in sectors thatinclude heavy equipment, furnitureand the automotive industry.

The turning point in JaidahGroup's history came in the 1950s,when the company started import-ing British and American cars toQatar. Since then, by adapting to thechanging Qatari market, it has beenable to consolidate its position as apreeminent enterprise. Its continu-ing leadership does not mean, how-ever, that the notion of high stan-dards has been forgotten. In fact,the implementation of an internalquality management system, whichled to the company being awardedan ISO 9001-2000 certificate, meansthat nowadays Jaidah Group guar-antees a complete service for bothclients and international partners.

Through long-term distributionagreements with a range of inter-nationally respected companies,Jaidah Group has become more thana mere Qatari agent or distributorof products by such well-knowncompanies as GM, Fujitsu and Nis-san. In the face of unsustainableagent distribution agreements, whereclients are free to change accordingto their own needs and the oppor-tunities presented to them by com-peting companies, Jaidah ensuresstability and quality by establishingmore permanent joint venturesthrough its subsidiary companies.

The group's marketing manager,Mohamed Jaidah, understands therelationship between Jaidah Groupand these international companiesas “long-lasting and strong part-nerships". And as the strength ofthese partnerships allows JaidahGroup to reinforce its own brand,as well as that of its partners, it's nosurprise that Mr. Jaidah defines thisapproach as “one of our key suc-cess factors".

Through its subsidiaries, JaidahGroup supplies consumers and cor-

porations throughout Qatar withproducts as varied as cars, cranesand couches. Jaidah Motors, one ofthe oldest elements of the group, hastwo major showrooms in Doha, wherepick-ups, sedans and SUVs from theChevrolet and Isuzu brands can beviewed. Meanwhile, the group's heavyequipment division provides vehi-cles of a different kind, including roadpavers, loaders and excavators, whichsupply Qatar's major developmentprojects with the necessary equip-ment to successfully carry out ma-jor construction and infrastructurework. A workshop, which compli-ments the sales division and servicesand repairs this equipment, makessure that Jaidah provides its clientswith a comprehensive service, evenat the post-sales stage.

Further diversification, in responseto the evolving Qatari economy, hastaken the company into new territo-ries too, including oil and gas equip-ment supplies and technology. “Thegroup's chairman decided to diversi-fy and expand business operationsmainly to capitalize on the market op-portunities and also to cater for cus-tomers' growing needs within vari-

Family business adapts and thrives for over a century

ous areas," explains Mr. Jaidah. The oil and gas equipment subsidiary has abroad business base, which includes drilling services in partnership with Hal-liburton and equipment from Invensys. It also offers operation managementservices, from supplying skilled manpower to logistical support.

The technology division, meanwhile, works with firms such as Siemensand Key Radio Systems, distributing computers, mobile phones andplasma and LCD screens. A recent agreement with the British firm NeosInteractive means Jaidah’s subsidiary company Business Communica-tions Qatar (BCQ) will distribute Neos' iTV interactive entertainmentsystem, favored by luxury hotels the world over. Furthermore the prod-uct will be present in another of Jaidah Group's business interests, the

Technological development and IT solutions are just some of Jaidah Group’s priorities for the future.

Jaidah Motors’ U.S.-made cars can be seen all over Doha.

Bringing the pride of Detroit to the Gulf

Thanks to its more than fivedecades of experience, JaidahGroup's automotive arm, JaidahMotors, has built strong tieswith American carmaker GM andits emblematic Chevrolet brand.Since the 1950s, the Qatariholding has enjoyed a fruitfulrelationship with General Motorsand has been responsible forbringing a number of Detroit'sfinest specimen to the Gulf. “Atthe beginning of the 1950s, westarted importing differenttypes of cars, mainly British andAmerican. Then on January 1st,1963, we signed with GM to bethe official dealer for Buick,Oldsmobile and Chevrolet,"explains Mohamed Jaidah, groupmarketing manager of JaidahGroup. Since then, GM vehiclescan be seen all over the countryand Jaidah Motor's relationshipwith the company has been sosuccessful that, along withanother 16 Middle East dealers,Jaidah was awarded one of GM'sInternational Chairman'sChallenge Awards for 2006, inrecognition of surpassing salestargets and providing a highlevel of customer satisfaction.

Qatar’s insulated fuel priceshave made powerful American-made cars and trucks preferredvehicles in Doha and the rest ofthe country. Jaidah's top-of-the-line products include theChevy Corvette, the Trailblazer,Uplander and the Captivacompact SUV. As the fastestproduction car built in theStates, the emblematic Corvetteremains a popular choice amongenthusiasts on Doha’s streets.Additionally, the importer'sracing team, equipped with theZ06 editions of the sports car,has been hitting local circuitswith considerable success.

The racing track and citystreets are not the only drivingsurfaces for Jaidah Motors'American imports; off road,Jaidah's roster of SUVs andpickups have also gainedpopularity with “dune bashers".These drivers, who prefer thefreedom of tackling thepeninsula's dunes to the stressof city traffic, are choosingJaidah Motors as their preferredsupplier of sand climbers, andthe Silverado and Tahoe are bothadept in the unlikelyenvironment of deep MiddleEastern sand.

Even though GM vehicleshave a considerable presencethroughout Qatar, there is stillroom for more. In September2008, Jaidah and the Qataripublic transport companyMowatasalat signed anagreement for the supply of 400Chevrolet cars – 300 ChevroletEpicas and 100 ChevroletCaprices. These cars willcontribute to the expansion ofthe country's taxi fleet and formpart of Mowatasalat's expansionplans for its taxi and limousineservices. As part of theagreement, Jaidah Group willsupply vehicles and services thatwill reiterate not only thecompany's quality approach tobusiness, but also itscommitment to providinginfrastructure support in Qatar.

The continuing popularity ofAmerican cars in the Gulf regionis good news for Americanmanufacturers who havewitnessed a decline in sales as oflate. And as the Qatari economygrows, more and more are likelyto find there way onto Doha’sstreets, thus ensuring manymore years' successful businessfor Jaidah Motors and GM.

W Doha Hotel & Residences, to beopened at the end of 2008.

The group's hopes for future di-versification, which go hand inhand with the country's owngrowth and development, lie inthe creation of an IT solution com-pany focusing on a particular mar-ket segment. One of those nichesegments is e-government solu-tions, as shown by the memoran-dum of understanding signed withCrimsonLogic of Singapore in2007. “CrimsonLogic was ap-proached by many other compa-nies," says Mr. Jaidah, “but theychose us because we value strongand long-term partnerships basedon a win-win principle. We areworking in a way that makes theidea an investment for the future."

Investment in the future, howev-er, is not only made through busi-ness transactions. “Qatar is a verycapitalist economy, but at the sametime we have a very social mindset,"reveals Mr. Jaidah. “We are lookingat different ways of helping thecommunity, and our main goal is toempower the community and helppeople acquire the tools and skillsthat will help them become an ac-tive part of society and contributeto its successful expansion."

One example of Jaidah Group'scorporate social responsibility is its

recent agreement with the ReachOut to Asia (ROTA) NGO to promoteeducation in the Middle East andAsia. On signing the agreement,Jaidah Group COO, Bengt Schultz,declared that its intention was “toachieve a common goal throughteam work". Future projects includea Corporate Literacy Campaign,which will include a literacy pro-motion program for Jaidah Groupemployees, reiterating Mr. Jaidah'sbelief that while in the past “wehave been heavily dependent on aforeign workforce, our long-termplan would be to develop a localworkforce."

While regional and internationalambitions may well form part of thefuture, for now Jaidah Group is con-centrating on fully capitalizing onthe national market. Sponsorship ofmajor events, such as Project Qatar,an international construction tradefair that celebrated its fifth editionin 2008, is a sign of its aim to con-solidate its position as a Qatari busi-ness leader.

“It's one of the fast boomingeconomies in the Gulf region," con-firms Mr. Jaidah, and Jaidah Groupaims to continue to be a key play-er in the staggering development ofthe Qatari economy, maintainingthe notion of quality as the refer-ence point for all of its work.

Strong, lasting partnerships with leading international companies have fortified Jaidah Group’s pole position and its diversity of business interests



Qatar

10

Sustained economic growth over the lastfive years, low exposure to the U.S.

markets, and high liquidity levels point tobusiness as usual within Qatar’s bankingsector despite the current internationalfinancial turmoil.

Qatar’s banking sector has grown by aphenomenal 35 percent a year over thesame period, and indicators suggest con-tinued double digit expansion for the nextdecade.

Aside from the phenomenal growth thesector has enjoyed over thelast five years, Qatar’s finan-cial system is further pro-tected from the global creditcrunch thanks to Islamicbanking.

The international finan-cial crisis began over a yearago, yet Islamic banks haveremained unaffected by thesub-prime mortgage crisis.As a result, many non-Mus-lims, spooked by turmoil inthe Western banking systemare turning to Islamic bank-ing seeing it as a safe havenbecause of its inherent busi-ness ethics.

Islamic banking does notdeal in debt trading, and

has distanced itself from the market spec-ulation that has characterized Europeanand American banks. Principally, Islamicbanks are custodians and cannot transferpublic deposits to other banks withoutthe permission of the depositors. Inter-bank liquidity transfer on debt financebasis is not permitted in Islam, whichcounters liquidity-related problems in themarket.

That said, on October 13 of this year,Qatar took a pro-active approach and

launched a $5.3-billion plan to buy bankshares to shore up confidence in theirbanks, sending stocks across the regionsoaring.

Middle Eastern policymakers havejoined Europe and the United States tofight the financial crisis, and more movesby the cash-rich states to fortify capitaldefences are likely.

Qatar Central Bank (QCB) deputy gov-ernor Sheikh Fahd Bin Faisal Al-Thani saysthat the bank’s officials in that Gulf nationhave the assurance of local banks thatthey had no assets with any of the banksor companies that have been declaredbankrupt in the U.S. and Europe.

The pattern in Qatar over the last fiveyears has been for banks to enhance theirfranchises by expanding retail and Islamicbanking, and greater geographical diver-sification.

Furthermore, benefits from the gov-ernment in the form of allowances andgrants allow Qatari nationals to main-tain higher levels of disposable income,creating a niche client base for retailand private banking, which suggeststhat the sector will have little troubleriding out the financial storm in thecoming months, until normal service isresumed in the United States andEurope.

Banking and Finance

Business as usual for Qatar’sfinancial institutionsPrudent polices of Islamic banking have protected system from global turmoil

The developers of Energy City have goneto great lengths to attract key energyplayers. Its free trade zone status will allowcompanies to sidestep the normal condi-tions of Qatar sponsorship and enjoy fullautonomy, while high-tech infrastructure,such as an electronic energy-trading plat-form, promises to cut costs and improveefficiencies.

“It’s likely that this form of trading will,within the next few years, become thefourth ‘super-asset’ class for globalinvestors, alongside conventional debt,equity and foreign exchange,” says EnergyCity CEO Hesham Abdul Rahman Al-Emadi.

In addition, Energy City’s sophisticatedIT infrastructure—which has been sup-plied by contractors including Cisco Sys-tems and Microsoft—will allow full controlof every building and will link workplacesto homes and data centers.

“The hydrocarbon industriesuse IT extensively, for instancein visualizations, so this high-end technology will have valueimmediately,” adds Mr. Al-Emadi.

Qatar Petroleum (QP) is anearly anchor tenant, National PetroleumServices has purchased a plot to build itsnew regional headquarters, and negotia-tions are under way with others.

Completion of the first phase of thedevelopment is scheduled for 2009. Qataris also pursuing a policy of developingglobal relationships to break away fromsimple extraction and add value to thesector. Qatar Petroleum has now createdan external arm, Qatar Petroleum Inter-national, whose remit is to invest in bothupstream and downstream global petro-leum projects and forge links with multi-national companies.

Last year saw a deal with OccidentalPetroleum to build a $7 billion refineryin Panama, opening up Latin America for

the first time and providing refiningcapacity of 350,000 barrels per day (bpd).

On the gas side, QP will work withExxonMobil in Qatar’s Barzan gas pro-ject, and has also taken a stake in liquefiednatural gas (LNG) receiving/regasificationterminals in Europe and the U.S. Thecompany plans to raise its game through-out the supply chain, including shippingand terminals.

Qatar’s LNG fleet is considered to beone of the most technologicallyadvanced in the industry. RasGas, a jointventure between QP and ExxonMobil, isexpanding its global LNG supply begin-ning this year, with the development of itsTrain 6 production facility to ramp upsupply to the U.S. over the next 25 years,and in 2009 to Asia with the start-up ofTrain 7.

Under the banner “The Energy toTransform”, RasGas has committed fundsto a wide range of educational, medical,

cultural, and environmentalinitiatives, including a long-term partnership with emer-gency relief charity Qatar RedCrescent. It is also celebrating aremarkable safety record. ItsRasGas Alpha rig was designedand constructed after the

release of safety recommendations fromthe 1988 Piper Alpha disaster. The rig hasnever had a lost time incident (LTI)through serious injury since commenc-ing operations in 1998.

Other developments include the moveinto the production of by-products such asfertilizers. QAFCO, the Qatar FertilizerCompany, was one of the first new indus-tries in Qatar, utilizing waste gas fromcrude oil production to create fertilizers.While it is now the world’s largest singlesite producer of urea and ammonia, withan annual production capacity of two mil-lion metric tons each, the construction ofa fifth production train—QAFCO-5—willboost production to 3,500 metric tons aday when it is completed in 2010.

Oil and Gas

New gas findsboost investment Energy trading is fast attracting a new class of investor

Akey part of Qatar’s growing economy forthe last quarter century, Ahli Bank en-

tered a new era when it set up a strategicpartnership with Bahrain-based Ahli Unit-ed Bank in 2004. The result was Ahli BankQ.S.C., a full-fledged commercial bank pro-viding a range of retail, private, Islamic andcorporate banking and treasury services tothe country’s fast-growing client base.

As one of the top 15 banks in the Gulf,Ahli Bank’s CEO Bassel Gamal Aly says thatit has been increasingly successful in at-tracting international clients.

“Providing the quality service that ourclients are used to in their home countriesat competitive prices is one of the key fac-tors behind our ability to attract a growingnumber of international customers. Ahli al-so provides regional knowledge and cross-border business modules for our clients inthe seven countries we operate in – Bahrain,Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, Iraq, and theUnited Kingdom,” he explains.

Overseas companies coming into Qatarneed a bank that can provide a full rangeof services from simple transaction ac-counts and cards for its employees toshort-term funding through letters ofcredit, overdraft funding, medium andlong-term financing, project finance, andperformance guarantees. Ahli offers all ofthese services.

“Being among the regional leaders givesAhli bank in Qatar a strong position in themarket with the support of a much biggerand stronger group. Had we remained at ouroriginal size without the support of a big-ger group, we wouldn’t have been able tocompete,” says Mr. Aly.

“The Qatari market is attracting more andmore financial institutions and other segmentsand sectors of different economic activities,because it is a lucrative market, and very wellstructured to expand,” he says, emphasizinghow the government laid the foundationsfor growth in the banking sector a decadeago, aimed at putting Qatar in the right di-rection to become not just a regional strongplayer but also an international and globalplayer in terms of its natural wealth.

Mr. Aly believes that local Qatari bankswill increasingly work with larger regionaland international players to underwritebigger transactions. “We have worked wellwith global banks in terms of arranging larg-er transactions in Qatar. At the end of theday, when global banks come in they def-initely need local expertise. It has workedwell in the past and most of the local banks,if not all of them, have been in partner-ships, affiliations or associations with oth-er banks that are non-local, this is criticalin undertaking and underwriting largerdeals in the government or private sector.We get the benefit of having the expertiseof the global banks while the local bankshave the expertise and knowledge of thelocal market,” he explains.

Local bank branches outAhli Bank captures moreclients with expertise andcustomer care

By 2010, Qatar islikely to be theworld’s single

largest producerof liquefiednatural gas

Qatari insurancerises to challengeFor most of the last half century,insurance in Qatar meant the QatarInsurance Company (QIC), and untilthe construction boom of the last fewyears, its seven-story headquarters inDoha was a landmark. Times havecertainly changed, but the role of thecompany, set up in the early 1960s,remains pivotal in Qatar’s burgeoninginsurance sector. QIC offers insuranceand re-insurance to the retail,corporate, energy and marineindustries.

The dramatic increase ininvestment spending and subsequentasset creation, means that there is ahuge untapped potential for insurersin Qatar, and Sunil K. Talwar, deputyCEO & CFO of QIC, says his companyhas some catching up to do with thepace of development work.

“The size of the gate is expanding.When you plan projects worth $175billion in the next four to five yearsyou are creating large assets thatneed to be insured. We have toendeavor to reach the level ofsophistication in more developedeconomies in terms of insuranceproducts,” he remarks.

Mr. Talwar says that he is alsoseeing more sophisticated and savvycustomers in the markets: “Newerpeople coming in with newrequirements make us change theinformation base.”

Central Bank of Qatar, shown above. The country’sfinancial system has largely avoided global turbulence.

The oil and gas sector currently accounts for 85 percent of Qatar’s export earnings.

Continued from page 1



Qatar

11

ConocoPhillips, the third-largest energycompany in the United States in terms of

market capitalization, oil and natural gas re-serves, is a partner with Qatar Petroleum (QP)in a number of important projects. These in-clude the Qatargas III LNG liquefaction ter-minal at Ras Laffan, and Q-Chem, a petro-chemical company that began pro-duction in April 2003 of high-den-sity polyethylene and 1-Hexen, aco-monomer employed in the pro-duction of polyethylene. QP andConocoPhillips recently signed amemorandum of understanding(MoU) to cooperate on a range ofinternational projects.

“ConocoPhillips is very excitedabout the recently signed MoU with QatarPetroleum International,” says Mike Stice,ConocoPhillips’ president. “Both companiesbring different expertise. QPI offers an attractivecombination of potential access to financial,government and energy resources while Cono-coPhillips brings technical expertise in near-ly 40 countries worldwide.”

ConocoPhillips is a global integrated en-ergy company active in exploration and pro-duction, refining, natural gas extraction, pro-cessing, and petrochemicals. Its exploration

and production segment (oil, natural gas,natural gas liquids) is active in 23 and 16 coun-tries, respectively. The Houston-based com-pany is also involved in natural gas process-ing through joint ventures such as Delaware-based DCP Midstream Partners, which trans-port natural gas and natural gas liquids. The

company is a leading wholesaledistributor of propane in the Unit-ed States. At the end of 2007,ConocoPhillips operated 63 naturalgas processing plants and a 58,000-mile pipeline network. In the petro-chemical sector, the energy majorparticipates in 36 countries throughits 50 percent interest in ChevronPhillips Chemical Company, a glob-

al leader in the production of olefins, poly-olefins, aromatics styrenics, piping and pro-prietary plastics.

Apart from these core areas, ConocoPhillipsis also working to develop new technologyfrom heavy oil and gas to alternative suppliesof energy. Among these has beeen the licensingof E-Gas technology to coal industry customersfor reducing carbon dioxide emissions andcleaner burning. In May, the company signedan agreement with General Electric to workin Qatar as an equal partner in ConocoPhillips’

Water Sustainability Center (WSE), which willsee investments of $25 million over the nextfive years to treat water and develop otherprojects relating to water sustainability. Witha commitment to the environment, Cono-coPhillips, QP and Shell relocated in 2007 over4,500 coral colonies from the future pipelinerouts of the Qatargas III and Qatargas IV (QP70 percent, Shell 30 percent) projects.

Owing to rising future energy global demandand the paramount importance of supply se-curity, ConocoPhillips is developing with QP

Qatargas III, the first liquefaction pro-ject in Qatar that will supply regulardeliveries of LNG to the U.S. Gulf ofMexico region. ConocoPhillips’ stakein Qatargas III is 30 percent comparedwith 68.5 percent held by QP and the1.5 percent of Mitsui of Japan. TheQatargas III liquefaction terminal en-compasses the whole LNG value chain:from drilling and bringing gas via un-derwater pipeline from the hydrocar-bons-rich North Sea Field to the pro-duction train at Ras Laffan, where itwill be shipped by modern LNG tankersto the United States.

Different phases of the Qatargas andRasGas projects aim to maintain Qataras one of the future leading globalLNG suppliers. Thanks to these projects,Qatar’s LNG output is seen rising to 77

metric tons in 2010 compared with 31 millionmetric tons in 2007.

Understanding the importance of indus-trial diversification in Qatar, ConocoPhillipshas a 50/50 interest with QP in Q-Chem atMessaieed City, located south of the capitalDoha. Due to high demand, both companiesare expanding the installation (Q-Chem II) thatis forecast to come onstream in mid-2009.The new plant will raise polyethylene outputby 850,000 metric tons and 400,000 metrictons of normal Alpha Olefins.

Energy accounts for 85 percent of Qatar’sexport earnings, and Qatar Petroleum

(QP) is the third-largest energy company inthe world in terms of oil and gas reserves.As a result, the company is playing a keyrole in Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani’s plans to diversify the economy andoffer world-class healthcare services andeducation to its residents.

The role of natural gas in general and LNGin particular will play a key role in main-taining Qatar’s leadership as a future glob-al energy supplier. By 2010, gas is expect-ed to surpass oil export revenues thanks toincreasing LNG output through liquefactionprojects such as Qatargas I-IV and RasGasI-III at Ras Laffan. Thanks to the discoveryin the 1970s of the hydrocar-bons-rich North Field, Qatar hastoday the third-largest proven re-serves of natural gas (910.5 bil-lion cubic meters) after Russiaand Iran.

QP’s most important areas ofexpansion include LNG, gas-to-liquids (GTL), natural gas pipeline exports,and natural gas feedstock for local indus-try and power generation plants. Qatar'sDeputy Premier and Minister of Energy andIndustry H.E. Abdullah bin Hamad Al At-tiyah sees QP continuing to play a key fu-ture role in developing Qatar’s energy wealth.

“QP today is becoming one of the mostimportant oil and gas companies,” he says.“We are in full chain from upstream to thedownstream operations and [gas pipeline]transportation in addition to operating thebiggest energy shipment company in theworld.”

Even though Qatar is OPEC’s smallest oilproducer, it aims to raise output from850,000 barrels per day to one million bar-rels per day by the end of 2009. LNG, how-ever, will be the key motor of growth for

Qatar through projects such as Qatargasand RasGas, where QP has majority inter-ests. Qatar is today the main supplier of LNGto Japan and South East Asia and there areplans to extend regular supply contracts tocountries such as China, Europe and the Unit-ed States. Partnering with energy majors suchas Exxon, Shell, Total, ConocoPhillips andothers, QP has three liquefaction terminals(Qatargas, RasGas, RasGas II) in operationwith three others (Qatargas II, Qatargas II,Qatargas IV, RasGas III) either under con-struction or in the planning-implementa-tion stages.

QP has interests in subsidiaries such asQatar Petrochemical Company (low-densi-ty polyethylene and sulphur) and Qatar Fer-tilizer Company, the world’s largest singlesite producer of urea and ammonia. It alsohas a 50/50 joint venture with ConocoPhillipsin Q-Chem, which produces high-density

polyethylene and 1-Hexene. Q-Chem is expanding the plant (Q-Chem II) that will start produc-ing polyethylene and normal Al-pha Olefines from mid-2009.

Apart from supplying LNG, QPhas interests in LNG receiving re-gasification terminals in Europe

and the United States together with one ofthe most technologically advanced LNGfleets in the industry. National Oil Distrib-ution Company, a subsidiary of QP, oper-ates two of the country’s oil refineries.

QP is also a partner in the Dolphin Pro-ject, which interconnects Oman, the Unit-ed Arab Emirates and Qatar to a gas pipelinenetwork. It is the first-ever of its kind in theGulf region. GTL projects are of keen in-terest to QP and there are plans to develop400,000 barrels per day of capacity by 2012,although delays in the Palm GTL project haveput such capacity targets in question.

QP funds a wide range of education-al, medical, cultural and environmentalprojects and works in close cooperationproviding relief charity to the Qatar RedCrescent.

State-run energy enterprise expands operations

Through expertise, social responsibility, and research endeavors,ConocoPhillips has become a pioneering partner for Qatar Petroleum

Qatar Petroleum continues toplay a key role in the energysector as LNG exports grow

Expected to comeonline next year,the Qatargas IIIproject, a 7.8

million ton annualLNG yield, willbegin shipping

in 2009

“Qatar Petroleumtoday is

becoming one ofthe most

important oil &gas companies”

LNG: A clean new fuel for the North American marketLiquefied natural gas, or LNG, isnatural gas that has been convertedto liquid for easier storage ortransport. This cleaner-burning fuelsource has become Qatar’s premiumexport adding economic horsepowerto the nation’s already flourishingenergy sector.

In its super-cooled state, LNGtakes up a fraction of the volume ofthe gas that makes its way into thestovetops, driers and heating systemsfound in homes. When chilled belowminus 260 degrees Fahrenheit, abeach ball of natural gas shrinks toan LNG golf ball, or by about 600times. Odorless, colorless and non-

toxic, LNG only burns when mixedwith significant quantities of air,making it the safest and mostefficient way to transport natural gasto distant markets.

Companies under the QatarPetroleum umbrella, in partnershipwith U.S. firms like GE andExxonMobil, have developed newtrains—industrial equipment systemsdesigned to prepare the gas forstorage and shipping—that willenable Qatar to export this resourceto markets across the globe. Alreadya key supplier to Japan and SouthEast Asia, steps have been taken toprovide LNG to the energy-hungry

economies of China, Europe and theUnited States.

Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrialcomplex has become the world’slargest LNG facility in the world. Bytapping the immense reserves on theNorth Field, a non-associated gasdeposit that dwarfs all others, Qatarhas become a leader in LNGproduction, transport and technology.

Natural gas is about twice as cleanto burn as oil. And the world’sdemand for it is expected to increaseby 50 percent in the coming decades.Qatar’s location, between East andWest, makes it a prime globalsupplier.

WATER WONDER

ConocoPhillipsand GE tacklesustainabilityissuesHouston-based energy majorConocoPhillips has announced plansto establish a Global WaterSustainability Center (WSC) at theQatar Science and Technology Park(QSTP) that will examine ways oftreating and using by-product waterfrom oil production and refiningoperations. The WSC will be a jointventure with General Electric’s Waterand Process Technologies unit.

Waste water is a major concern inthe oil industry—each barrel of oilcreates about three times as muchcontaminated water. Moreover, waterin the arid Gulf region is in shortsupply, and remains vital to growth.By investing $25 million,ConocoPhillips and GE aim todevelop more efficient and cost-effective treatment technologies.

Mike Stice, president ofConocoPhillips Qatar, says, “TheWSC is a landmark facility. We areconfident that it will developvaluable innovations and will make agenuine contribution to Qatar’sfuture and water treatment science.”

Testing technologies as well asproduction and managementtechniques will be developed at thenew facility, which will become theenergy giant's worldwide hub forwater expertise. Findings will beused commercially throughout thecompany's global operationsnetwork (75 percent of WTC’s workwill focus on the petroleum sector),in addition to addressing local waterneeds.

“GE’s leading-edge technologiesin chemicals, equipment andadvanced membranes, coupled withConocoPhillips’ industrialapplications, will help us achieve thisgoal,” says Mr. Stice.

Dr. Tidu Maini, executivechairman at QSTP, says this type ofcollaboration is exactly what the techpark was meant to foster. “Watersustainability is vital for Qatar andthe Middle East, and central toQSTP’s strategy of developing keytechnologies demanded by the localcommunity. I am very pleased to seeConocoPhillips and GE join forces toadvance research in this field.”

Map of Qatar showing the extent of the north fieldclose to the coast of Iran.

Qatar has become a leader in LNG production, transport and technology.

Joint ventures create new opportunities



QATAR nytsab pp12 OK PDF.qxd 27.10.2008 15:40 Página 2

qatar supplement

Documents