São Paulo – Qatar’s economic policy is underpinned by a robust system, and the USD 20.6 billion private sector stimulus package will enable the country to absorb the worldwide shock from the coronavirus pandemic. So said this week former Qatar minister of Energy and Industry Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada during an online seminar hosted by Qatar Foundation, in which board he sits.
Qatar announced a QAR 75 billion package, equivalent to USD 20.6 billion, to help see the private sector through the pandemic. Government funds have also been instructed to step up investment in the local stock exchange by QAR 10 billion (USD 2.7 billion). Import fees on foods and medical items have been lifted for a six-month period.
Al Sada expects the economy to see 3% growth in 2021, with the services sector recovering particularly well in the lead-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which Qatar is set to host. “Our unemployment is nearly zero – which is unheard of in most of the countries – and so I feel our economy will manage,” he said.
He noted that action was taken early on in the crisis, and that the latest ratings from both Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Moody’s indicate that Qatar’s economy is solid and able to withstand shocks. The world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Qatar accounts for a third of exports of the product worldwide. Hydrocarbon prices have dropped significantly this year.
Sada said that “salvaging the world’s oil and gas industry is very important in order to salvage the global economy and mitigate the worldwide impact of the recession and, in fact, trying to stop it from going further into a depression.” He believes gas supply and demand will become balanced by 2024 or 2025, because “the curve of the consumption and demand is increasing more than any other form of energy.” Qatar has announced that its LNG output capacity will be 67% by 2027.
*With information from Qatar’s The Peninsula daily
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
