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FY 1999: Qatar |
I. Executive Summary This Country Commercial Guide (CCG) presents a comprehensive look at Qatar's commercial environment, using economic, political and market analysis. The CCG's were established by recommendation of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC), a multi-agency task force, to consolidate various reporting documents prepared for the U.S. business community. Country Commercial Guides are prepared annually at U.S. embassies through the combined efforts of several U.S. government agencies. One of the smaller Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Qatar's population exceeds 550,000 and has an area of about 4,500 square miles, slightly smaller than the land area of Connecticut. The peninsula of Qatar has an extensive coastline in the Arabian Gulf, its only land border being with Saudi Arabia in the south. Qatar is an oil and natural gas rich country and represents a challenging but potentially fruitful market for U.S. sales and investments. An active member of the GCC community, Qatar seeks to play a pivotal role in the political and economic scene in the Gulf region as a regional supplier of natural gas (clean energy) to the neighboring countries and the rest of the world. A slow but promising move towards economic and political/social liberalization and open trade is encouraging continued development of entrepreneurial spirit and competitiveness. The country's pragmatic monarchy is taking various steps to foster the establishment of democratic institutions and broad-based structures to ease the long-established centralized practices. Having successfully hosted the 1997 Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Economic Conference, Qatar is a strong supporter of the Middle East peace process. For Qatar, durable peace in the Middle East will yield a new regional linkage, new trade and investment flow, as well as a greater business confidence. Bilateral relations with the U.S. are friendly and strong. The government's policy is geared towards maintaining stability in its relations with the rest of the world and avoiding extremism and volatility which may hurt the local social and business climates. While attempts to diversify the country's economic base are under way, Qatar's economy has continued to be heavily dependent upon revenues from the export of about 500,000 bpd of crude oil to the Far Eastern and European markets. During the last three decades, the Qatari economy has been sensitive to fluctuation in oil prices in the international markets. The current low price of oil has exacerbated the State General Budget deficit, which has been officially computed at USD 1 to 1.5 billion per year throughout the past decade. Qatar plans to increase its oil production level to 850,000 bpd in the year 2000 through enhancement of exploration and production operations. This plan will somewhat bridge the gap until significant liquefied natural gas (LNG) revenues begin flowing into the State treasury by about the year 2006 onwards. If oil prices continue at current low rates of below USD 15 per barrel throughout 1998-99, as current predictions indicate, Qatar will have to cope with financial constraints. Official data show that, at USD 8.3 billion, Qatar's GDP in 1996 recorded an increase of 3 percent. Per capita income (USD 17,500) continues to be among the world's highest. U.S. exports to Qatar have, for the second year in a row, occupied the position of leadership among nations exporting goods to this market. U.S. exports of goods (services excluded) reached USD 421 million in 1997 or 14.7 percent of the market (USD 2,860 million). Qatar's openness to trade and foreign investments, combined with a growing private sector, huge natural gas reserves and enhanced oil recovery programs, provide significant commercial opportunities for U.S. exports of goods, services, technology and investments. Japanese and European firms are strong competitors in key sectors, viz., telecommunications, motor vehicles, heavy machinery, petroleum and natural gas equipment and contracts, as well as power generation and water desalination. Country Commercial Guides are available for U.S. exporters from the National Trade Data Bank's CD-ROM or via the Internet. Please contact STAT-USA at 1-800-STAT-USA for more information. Country Commercial Guides can be accessed via the World Wide Web at http://www.stat-usa.gov, http://www.state.gov/ and http://www.mac.dov.gov. They can also be ordered in hard copy or on diskette from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at 1-800-553-NTIS. U.S. exporters seeking general export information/assistance and country-specific information should contact the U.S. Department of Commerce, Trade Information Center, by phone at 1-800-USA-TRADE or by fax at (202) 482-4473.[end of document]
Note* International Copyright, United States Government, 1998 (or other year of first publication). All rights under foreign copyright laws are reserved. All portions of this publication are protected against any type or form of reproduction, communications to the public and the preparation of adaptations, arrangement and alterations outside the United States. U. S. copyright is not asserted under the U.S. Copyright Law, Title 17, United States Code.