Qatar's economy to witness accelerated growth

Qatar’s economy will witness accelerated growth in the next decade. The long term growth prospects of Qatar’s economy are bright and the economy is expected to grow at a faster pace over the next decade, said a senior official of Qatar Financial Centre (QFC).

Senior Economic Advisor, Qatar Financial Centre, Thaddeus Malesa said in a video posted on QFC’s social media account,“The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) tells us that Qatar’s economic recovery is all about sustained recovery and new business and that is unmatched in our region. I see, for example, over the last four months that we have had a large increase in new orders and those continue to be so.”

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) readings have seen a consistent rise in the past few months. The PMI rose to 52.5 in November, from 51.5 in October, to signal an improvement in operating conditions in the non-energy private sector. The PMI stood at 51.5 in October, up fractionally from 51.4 in September, driven by strong business expectations and realised transactions.

“The PMI only covers four non-energy sectors and for Qatar’s economy LNG, crude oil, condensates, and related products are extremely important and we have been fortunate because this diversified production suit that we have here in Qatar has been in continual demand throughout the COVID-19 crisis,” he explained.

"So we have only had to shut in about 1.3 percent of that production over the period versus (some of) our neighbours have had to shut in 10 percent crude oil production during the same time,” he added.

Qatar’s economy is expected to witness accelerated growth over the next decade, helped by World Cup related preparations, expansion of LNG production capacity and increased activities in free zones.

“The other major factor is the North Field Expansion from 2025 to 2028. This is 64 percent increase in terms of LNG export capacity. That is going to be brought online up to until 2028 according to latest industry estimates. This will obviously expand not only the amount of LNG but also the condensates and derivatives that are available for processing and for export,” he said.