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(Last updated: 07 May 2008)
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) provides advice for business travellers and tourists going to Qatar. This is regularly updated, and should be checked before planning travel.
With one of the world’s highest GDP per capita and growth forecasts in the world, Qatar is an attractive Middle Eastern commercial market. Qatar already has an increasing number of Australian companies developing business successfully, and Qataris are receptive to Australian products and services, which are perceived to be of high quality.
Opportunities lie mostly within the service industries. Information technology, education, health, construction and oil and gas all feature highly. As a smaller and lower-profile Gulf market, Qatar may be less competitive than the surrounding countries.
Austrade in Qatar can assist by helping you understand the market, complete market research, help you build business contacts and select potential partners, verify leads and help provide follow up business advice.
Opportunities lie in the construction sector, services (especially finance, IT, health and education), food and beverage, franchising, defence and security.
Australian companies find doing business in Qatar relatively less constrained than other markets of the Middle East. Business people are open, progressive and well educated. Relationships are important and care needs to be taken in establishing representation
Qatar is a small Middle East market which may suit small companies or ones new to the region.
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| Capital city: |
Doha |
| Surface area: |
11,000 sq km |
| Population: |
0.8 million |
| Official language(s): |
Arabic |
| Government: |
Traditional monarchy |
| Head of State: |
H.H. Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani |
| Head of Government: |
Prime Minister HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani |
| Australian exports to Qatar: |
A$185 million |
| Australian imports from Qatar: |
A$295 million |
| Qatar's principal export destinations: |
Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore |
| Qatar's principal import sources: |
France, Japan, US |
(Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Country economic fact sheet) |
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Qatar continues to enjoy the region’s highest economic growth rates thanks in large part to high oil prices and growing natural gas output. This recent economic growth will make Qatar the richest country in the Arab world on a per capita basis in the near future.
Qatar has some of the lowest economic risk levels in the entire Middle East, with risk levels that compare favorably with many of the world’s leading developed economies. This lack of economic risk has helped Qatar to attract increasing levels of foreign investment in recent years. Most of this foreign investment is within the oil and gas industries.
There is however a need for Qatar to diversify the economy along the lines of Dubai or Bahrain, in order to provide a more stable environment for economic growth in the future. In order to help achieve this, the government has committed itself to an investment program amounting to US$130 billion in projects across all major sectors over the next five years. Examples of these include the Qatar Financial Centre, Hamad Medical City, Education City and The Qatar Science and Technology Park.
To support these and many other projects, Qatar is also investing heavily in construction and infrastructure projects. New roads, water and sewerage systems are being built along with education facilities, hospitals, housing, business and tourist infrastructure. Major projects also include the Pearl, Lusail City, the New Doha International Airport, the Qatar-Bahrain Causeway and the proposed 65km bridge that would link Doha with Abu Dhabi at a cost of $13 billion.
Qatar along with many other Middle Eastern countries has of late become an active investor overseas through its sovereign wealth funds. Recent purchases have included 20 per cent of the London Stock Exchange and shares in Nordic bourse operator OMX.
Key economic indicators and statistics for 2007:
- GDP – US$65.8 billion
- GDP per capita – US$70,754
- Real GDP growth – 14.2 per cent
- Inflation rate – 12 per cent
(Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Country economic fact sheet)
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Trade relations and statistics
Major Australian exports to Qatar (2006-07):
- Passenger motor vehicles – A$87 million
- Meat (excluding bovine) – A$15 million
- Live animals – A$12 million
- Bovine meat – A$7 million
Major Australian imports from Qatar (2006-07):
- Fertilisers (excluding crude) – A$87 million
- Crude petroleum – A$46 million
- Polymers of ethylene – A$10 million
Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Country economic fact sheet)
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