The Business Year Qatar 2020

Qatar's road to diversification is paved with ambitious investment programs in a host of sectors, such as agribusiness, IT, and food security. These investment programs and the trends and challenges shaping the Qatari economy are covered in great detail in The Business Year: Qatar 2020, our sixth publication dedicated to the country, produced in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Qatari Businessmen Association. Over the period of our fact-finding, time and time again we were struck by the positive approach of the different stakeholders to tackling the blockade introduced in 2017. Investors looking to understand the major trends and key players in the Qatari economy will find what they need within the pages of this publication. The Business Year's country-specific publications, sometimes featuring over 150 face-to-face interviews, are among the most comprehensive annual economic publications available internationally.

2020 will forever be remembered as the year that the COVID-19 pandemic mercilessly hit the world, leaving a trail of loss both human and economic. Qatar has managed to limit its economic decline to a reasonable 2.5%, emerging as the top performer in the GCC. The IMF also expects the economy to expand 2.7% in 2021. Resilience and diversification have been buzzwords in Qatar for some time, yet never have they taken on so much meaning. This 184-page publication aims to provide a platform for the country's decision makers at a time of global uncertainty and act as a guide for investors looking seriously at the Gulf economy. It covers sports, finance, energy, industry, transport, ICT and media, construction and real estate, food security, health and education, tourism, and retail.

Founded in 1975, Commercial Bank of Qatar is the second-largest conventional bank in the country. In 2021, the net profit of the bank amounted to QAR2.3 billion, up 77.1% compared to 2020. This special report includes seven exclusive interviews with representatives from the bank's key personnel, focusing on the main features, such as digitalization, that have made CBQ one of the most dynamic financial institutions in the Qatari market. Additionally, given Qatar's imminent hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2022, the words of the featured banking professionals address what Qatar's future could be like in its aftermath, which will be marked by the development of the North Field Expansion project, expected to take Qatar's LNG production capacity from 77 million tons per an-num (MTPA) to 126 MTPA, as well as by the realization of Qatar National Vision 2030.

While conducting research for The Business Year: Qatar 2024, our primary focus was on the country’s competitive strengths and how it plans to build upon the legacy established by hosting the world’s most-watched sporting event, The World Cup. As Qatar aspires not only to maintain its status as a trusted host for international events, but also to emerge as the driving force behind a flourishing global economy, we believe that this 220-page publication will serve as a vital tool for anyone seeking to engage in business endeavors in Qatar. Through this 220-page publication, featuring interviews with top business leaders from every major sector of the economy, as well as a range of articles and analysis, we present a comprehensive snapshot of the Qatari economy and the investment environment at this crucial period.

The Business Year: Mexico 2020 is a comprehensive examination of Latin America's second largest economy during an unprecedented period of uncertainty and change. To understand how this economy performed during this period and how it might recover, we conducted a year-long investigation that includes interviews with the top executives and officials from the public and private sectors.

Qatar at the Crossroads of the World was the first open-attendance digital event launched and co-hosted by QFZA and TBY in Qatar. The opening remarks were delivered by HE Ahmad Al-Sayed, Minister of State & Chairman of the Board of QFZA, and participants included guest experts Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow, ISAS, National University of Singapore and World Economic Forum, and Oktawian Kuc, Investment Policy Officer of the Division on Investment and Enterprise, UNCTAD, who explained the importance of enhancing and deepening international economic relations to achieve full recovery in the post pandemic world and the role of special economic zones. This 16-page report is a summary of the topics covered during the event, and also includes additional interviews and analysis.

This publication is the result of months of on-the-ground research at a time of unprecedented upheaval. Not only was Saudi Arabia already in the midst of an economic revolution aimed at diversifying away from oil and gas, but COVID-19 also upended the very way business is conducted, putting to the test many of the digitalization initiatives carried out in recent years. The pandemic thus served as a validation of many of Saudi Arabia's internal reforms. It also created massive opportunities for some of the nation's up-and-coming businesses. In this 246-page publication, we show how technology completely changed the Kingdom during the pandemic. Things will never be the same. It covers finance, payments and fintech, IT and digitalization, industry, water and energy, aviation and defense, transport and logistics, construction and real estate, agriculture, health, education, and tourism.

Business concepts in the Transportation Management