The Al Shaheen oil and gasfield off Qatar’s northeastcoast represents one of theworld’s greatest lessons inperseverance. Initially ex-plored and deemed eco-nomically unviable due tothe challenging environ-ment, the Al Shaheen fieldwas left untouched by ma-jor international oil com-panies until Maersk Oildecided to grab this partic-ular bull by the horns.

In cooperation with QatarPetroleum (QP), in 1992Maersk began developingthe field, which proved to beQatar’s largest oil field. Just18 years later, in July 2010, thetwo companies celebratedthe production of their bil-lionth barrel of oil – a trulyimpressive landmark con-sidering the field was virtu-ally ignored for many years.

Now in 2011, Maersk isplanning to devise a schemeto extend the life of the AlShaheen field, after com-pleting a $6.2 billion pro-ject to raise its productionabove the 330,000 bpdrecorded in 2008. Indeed,Maersk aims to raise Al Sha-heen’s capacity to well over500,000 bpd, despite QP’s

currently limit on output to300,000 bpd.

In order to recover oilfrom this tricky field some50 miles offshore, the Dan-ish company employs theworld’s longest horizontalwell. Last month, Maerskestablished a long-term col-laboration agreement withDutch independent re-search company TNO tojointly develop new tech-nologies for increased oilrecovery (IOR), focusingmainly on this type of longhorizontal well.

Maersk and TNO are con-ducting the project at Do-ha’s Qatar Science andTechnology Park, whereboth companies alreadyhave research centers. Maer-sk is investing an addition-al $100 million in its facility.

Maersk Oil,working againstthe odds

Invest in Qatarforum

The Danish oil companyproved to the worldthat Qatar’s oil couldindeed be developed

A two-day forum in NYC isbringing attention to the newfrontiers of opportunities forinvestors in Qatar. On April6 and 7, government offi-cials, decision makers, busi-nessmen and representativesof the private and public sec-tors are convening to shareand promote Qatar’s grow-ing roles on the global stage.

The Business and Invest-ment in Qatar Forum hasbeen organized by the For-eign Ministry’s PermanentCommittee for OrganizingConferences and various pri-vate sector entities.

Our World Insert is produced by United World. USA TODAY did not participate in its preparation and is not responsible for its content

The State of Qatar isemerging and reach-ing new frontiers.This tiny Gulf emi-rate, slightly smaller

than the state of Connecticut, isrising to global prominence asan oil and gas power, as a sportscapital, as a business and real es-tate development hub, and as aresearch center.

Last December, the gov-ernment of Qatar celebratedthe state’s newly developedcapacity to produce 77 milliontons per annum (MTA) of liq-uefied natural gas (LNG), thusplacing it head and shouldersabove the competition. In2002, Qatar’s annual capaci-ty sat at just 14.9 million tons,but new trains, debottle-necking projects and millionsof dollars of investment frominternational oil companies,such as ExxonMobil, Cono-coPhillips, Shell, Chevron,and Maersk Oil, have turnedwhat was once described byskeptics as an “economicpipedream” into a very lucra-tive reality.

Today, Qatar stands as aLNG powerhouse well suitedto step in and offer help intimes of need. A spokesper-son from Qatargas recently an-nounced that the company“stands ready to provide all thesupport to its long-term part-ners and foundation customersin Japan to meet any increasedrequirements for LNG at thistime. Qatargas can also rely onour sister company RasGas tosupport Qatargas’ efforts to

meet our Japanese buyers’ andpartners’ needs.”

Such is Qatar’s global impor-tance in the 21st century ener-gy industry that it was chosenby the World Petroleum Coun-cil as the first Middle Eastern siteof the WPC congress. Thecouncil cites various reasons asto why Qatar was selected tohost the 2011 event, includingits position as the largest LNGproducer and exporter and one of the fastest growingeconomies in the world, as wellas its modern facilities, infra-structure, hospitable people,and recent success in hostingthe Asian Games.

Qatar made history in 2006when it became the first Mid-dle Eastern country to host the15th annual Asian Games, Asia’slargest sporting event. And in2022, as soccer fans around theworld know, Qatar will onceagain be in the spotlight as theregion’s first-ever site of the FI-FA World Cup. The announce-ment by FIFA last Decemberpractically coincided with the 77MTA celebration, making for adouble red letter month.

In business, Qatar is also shin-ing, with several companies andholdings helping to diversifythe national economy. Frompetrochemicals to real estate,

and from consumer products to Islamic and traditional fi-nance, Qatari and regional com-panies are expanding themarket, contributing valuableservices, and reshaping thecountry’s skylines.

Meanwhile, the Qatar Sci-ence and Technology Park(QSTP) is home to various in-ternational companies con-ducting cutting-edge researchand development. As Qatar isan energy powerhouse expe-riencing tremendous eco-nomic growth, much of whatgoes on at the QSTP is relatedto environmental sustainabil-ity in an effort to prevent the

negative effects of urban andenergy development.

While growth in Qatar isseemingly boundless, the gov-ernment is careful to ensurethat progress in both industryand business are in line withQatar’s National Vision 2030,which emphasizes modern-ization while preserving tra-dition. The QNV 2030 focuseson the four pillars of human,social, economic and environ-mental development, and aimsto create “an advanced societycapable of sustaining its de-velopment and providing ahigh standard of living for allof its people.”

Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Qatar Petroleum (QP), thestate-owned company re-sponsible for Qatar’s oil andgas industry, made history in2010 by achieving a liquefiednatural gas (LNG) productioncapacity of 77 million tons perannum (MTA). This signifi-cant milestone was made pos-sible in large part by long-termpartnerships with interna-tional oil companies such asExxonMobil as well as by pro-viding an investor-friendly en-vironment and a focus oninnovation.

In the 1990s, Qatar’s visionof developing an LNG indus-try was dismissed by many asbeing unattainable. Qatar’slarge natural gas reserves wereviewed as effectively strand-ed by the long distances be-tween the emirate’s NorthField and the end-user mar-kets. However, with the glob-al demand for clean, efficientenergy rising rapidly, theQatari government decidedto develop the technologiesto make commercializationpossible. It encouraged fi-nancial investment and form-ing relationships with foreignpartners.

Today, QP has many suc-cessful projects with major in-ternational oil companies anda worldwide distribution net-work for the country’s LNG.

Qatar’s proven natural gasresources are estimated to be

nearly 900 trillion cubic feet,equivalent to almost 14% ofthe world’s total. The countryis the third largest natural gasresource holder after Russiaand Iran.

In 2009, Qatar exported 1.8trillion cubic feet of LNG,about 20% of total global LNGtrade, based on analysis in the

U.S. Energy InformationAgency’s recently-releasedQatar Country Analysis Brief.Also, in the second half of2009 LNG output surpassedcrude oil production for thefirst time since Qatarlaunched its gas projects. TheInternational Monetary Fundhas projected Qatar’s LNGand related exports to be $33.2billion for 2010 and high-lighted the country’s “sizeableenhancement of LNG capac-ity” in a recent report.

Last December, DeputyPrime Minister Abdullah binHamad Al-Attiyah said, “TheState of Qatar promised to re-alize the vision of His High-ness the Emir for Qatar toreach LNG production ca-pacity of 77 MTA of LNG bythe end of 2010. This mile-stone brings to fruition yearsof investment in infrastruc-ture and expertise that has en-abled us to go from zero to 77MTA in a mere 14 years. To-day, Qatar has invaluable cre-dentials as a key innovator inthe global LNG market, witha reputation for deliveringLNG to global markets safe-ly, reliably and efficiently.”

Innovation is the major fac-tor that has enabled Qatar’sLNG industry to flourish. Atthe Qatar Science and Tech-nology Park in Doha, whereExxonMobil Research QatarLimited is an anchor tenant,

new ideas are researched anddeveloped. Among other fo-cus areas, research is being con-ducted into environmentalmanagement and LNG safety.

ExxonMobil has broughtmany important technologiesto its partnership with QP, re-sulting in milestones such asproduction wells that aredeeper and produce gas atflow rates higher than the typ-ical well in the Gulf of Mexi-co and the North Sea.

Overseas, QP, ExxonMobiland ConocoPhillips have con-structed the Golden PassLNG terminal on the SabinePass waterway near PortArthur, Texas. The terminalhas the capacity to deliver 2.5billion cubic feet per day ofnatural gas. This representsthe average daily gas used byabout 10 million householdsin the U.S.

Minister of Energy and In-dustry and chairman of QPDr. Mohamed Saleh Al-Sadasaid, “The commencement ofcommercial operations at theGolden Pass terminal andpipeline marks another no-table achievement in Qatar’sworld-leading LNG business.”

This December, Doha willbecome the first country inthe Middle East to host theWorld Petroleum Congress,further reflecting Qatar’s keyrole as a major provider of en-ergy to the world.

Promoting innovation and developing advanced technologies are key to the success of Qatar’s LNG industry

QATARThe new development

model in the Middle East This supplement to USA TODAY was produced by United World Ltd.: Suite 179, 34 Buckingham Palace Road London SW1W 0RH - Tel: 44 20 7409 3106 - ourworld@unitedworld-usa.com - www.unitedworld-usa.com

Our World

This report is available at www.unitedworld-usa.com

AA UUNNIITTEEDD WWOORRLLDDSSUUPPPPLLEEMMEENNTT

PPRROODDUUCCEEDD BBYY::Nathalie Martin Bea

ARNOLD MAERSK MC-KINNEY MØLLER,Former CEO of MaerskDR. MOHAMED SALEH AL-SADA,

Minister of Energy and Industry andChairman of Qatar Petroleum

Qatar Petroleum: reaching new frontiers

THIS FORUM IS PARTLYSPONSORED BY

QATAR’S PROVENNATURAL GASRESOURCES AREESTIMATED TO BEALMOST 14% OF THEWORLD’S TOTAL ANDQATAR PETROLEUMMADE HISTORY LASTYEAR BY REACHINGAN LNG CAPACITYOF 77 MILLIONTONS PER ANNUM

QATAR USAT 8 pages v3.qxd 29/3/11 18:36 Página 1

QATAR USAT 8 pages v3.qxd 29/3/11 18:01 Página 2

Distributed by USA TODAY Thursday, April 7, 2011 33

QATAR

Our World Insert is produced by United World. USA TODAY did not participate in its preparation and is not responsible for its content

ConocoPhillips, a tried and tested partner of Qatar

Energy giant ConocoPhillipscan easily claim expertise in thefield of oil and gas thanks to asuccessful track record span-ning more than 135 years. To-day the third largest energycompany in the U.S., Cono-coPhillips is also an importantglobal player, seeking out op-portunities abroad in the world’shydrocarbon hotspots.

The company’s relationshipwith Qatar dates back to 1997when, through a 50% share inChevron Phillips Chemicals, itcollaborated with Qatar Petro-leum (QP) to establish the Q-Chem I joint venture, a fullyintegrated ethylene/crackerpolyethylene production facil-ity. Last year, Chevron Phillipsand QP’s Q-Chem II went on-

line to produce high-densitypolyethylene (FDPE) and nor-mal alpha olefins (NAO).

As for natural gas, Qatar’s ex-ceptionally strong suit, Cono-coPhillips is a shareholder in theQatargas 3 Joint Venture, andlooked on as a proud familymember when the country cel-ebrated the 77 MTA of LNGcapacity last December.

ConocoPhillips holds a 30%share of the Qatargas 3 (QG3)venture, with QP retaining68.5% and Mitsui the remainder.QG3’s mega-train, which is the6th Qatargas LNG train locatedin Ras Laffan (the world’s largestLNG complex), began produc-ing LNG in November last year.

With a capacity of 7.8 mil-lion metric tons per annum,

Train 6 has an expected 25-yearlifespan and additionally canproduce 70 million barrels perday of liquefied petroleum gas(LPG) and condensate com-bined from Qatar’s North Field.

ConocoPhillips was instru-mental in the appraisal drillingof the North Field that result-

ed in the ultimate allocation ofthe current blocks used by boththe QG3 and QG4 Joint Ven-tures.

The construction of the twoprojects was executed simulta-neously by a joint project man-agement team composed ofConocoPhillips, Shell andQatargas employees. Althougheach venture has its own megatrain, they do, however, shareoffshore production facilities,pipelines, and onshore facilities.

For Jim Mulva, chairman andCEO of ConocoPhillips, Qatarhas proved to be both an excel-lent investment and partner.“Qatar is a high priority coun-try for ConocoPhillips. We havean excellent and growing rela-tionship with Qatar, where wehave successfully invested bil-lions of dollars in LNG andpetrochemical projects. Dur-ing the five years of develop-

ment work that this massiveproject required, we have en-joyed the opportunity to estab-lish close, collaborativerelationships with Qatargas,Qatar Petroleum and the peo-ple of Qatar, and now look for-ward to seeing QG3 provideclean-burning natural gas tomarkets throughout the world,”he said in a recent interview.

Mr. Mulva added that theGulf country is convenientlylocated to both Asian and Eu-ropean markets and is rich infeedstock for petrochemicals,two major factors in reducingcosts and raising competitive-ness.

LNG from Train 6 is sold tohigh-value markets as well asseveral places where Sales andPurchase Agreements are al-ready in place, including theUnited States and Canada. Theprinciple delivery point in North

America is the Golden PassLNG terminal on the southeastcoast of Texas. With a 12.4%ownership in the facilities andas a buyer of QG3 LNG, Cono-coPhillips has firm rights tosome 35% of the Golden Pass ca-pacity of 15.6 million mtpa.

Inauguration of the GoldenPass terminal is taking place aspart of the Invest in Qatar Fo-rum currently on in New York.

Through its participation inQG3 and Golden Pass, Cono-coPhillips has been part of aworld-class joint venture teamthat develops offshore and on-shore facilities of the highestcaliber.

“The project will play an important role in furtherstrengthening existing businessrelationships with global LNGbuyers as well as building newbusiness relationships,” said Mr.Mulva.

JIM MULVA,Chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips

For 14 years, this Texas-based company has forgedstrong relationships through successful LNG andpetrochemical projects

Shell reaches new milestones in2011 for GTL and LNG

Within the next few months,Shell’s multimillion-dollar in-vestment – the Pearl GTL –will begin producing fuel. Thisgas-to-liquids plant locatedat Ras Laffan is being jointlydeveloped by state-ownedQatar Petroleum (QP) andShell, and once completed,will be the world’s largestsource of GTL products, ableto produce 140,000 barrelsper day.

Additionally, the plant willbe able to produce 120,000barrels of oil equivalent dai-ly of natural gas liquids andethane.

Shell is a pioneer in thisrealm, having built the firstGTL pilot plant in 1983 inAmsterdam as well as the firstcommercial-scale plant 10

years later in Bintulu,Malaysia. Furthermore, al-though over the past 35 yearsof GTL development Shell hasfiled some 3,500 patents, thecompany’s world-scale un-dertaking in Qatar is bringingnew discoveries and chal-lenges.

“Throughout the PearlGTL plant you se e ne w

breakthroughs, sometimesin technology, but also inscale ,” explains Andre wBrown, executive vice pres-ident of Shell. “Some of ourutilities systems are someof the largest the world hasever seen, be it oxygen man-ufacturing or steam sys-tems, or water treatmentfacilities.”

The advantages of GTL aremanifold. Despite being a cap-ital intensive activity, the con-version of gas to liquidfacilitates its transportation,commands a higher price, andis of a higher quality than con-ventional fuel.

While the Pearl GTL plantis still a thing of the future,albeit the near future, Shellcan already boast a huge

achievement for 2011. In ear-ly February, Qatargas pro-duced the first batch ofliquefied natural gas (LNG)from its new Train 7 plant(dubbed Qatargas 4) whereShell holds a 30% share, mark-ing the moment all 14 of thecountry’s LNG trains went upand running.

This cargo was then deliv-ered to Shell’s Hazira LNGterminal in India. Shell is al-so providing operation andmaintenance services to runthe Nakilat fleet of 25 LNGtankers.

Train 7 has raised Qatar-gas’ overall production ca-pacity to 42 MTA, and byextension, has raised Qatar’sproduction to well over the77-MTA mark so proudly cel-ebrated in December. And itis the country’s drive, amongother reasons, that attractedShell to Qatar in the first place

“[Qatar] is an extraordi-narily important resourceholder – with 900 trillion cu-bic feet of gas it holds almost15% of the world’s proven re-serves. That is the first andforemost reason as to why wewant to invest here. When wecame here we found excellentinfrastructure and also I thinkthere is a very good businessenvironment in which to in-vest the money,” explains Mr.Brown.

“The country has ambi-tion and we like that. Andthat means that we c anbring over our cutting-edgetechnology.”

Huge things are afoot this year for Royal Dutch Shell in Qatar, with massive investments bearing, or about to bear, fruit

In 2009, Shell won the first-ever Qatarization award in the energy sector, in recognition of the company’s policy of recruitment and training of local employees

WORKING WITHQATARICOMPANIES, SHELLHAS LAUNCHED THECOUNTRY’S 14TH LNGTRAIN AND WILLSOON BEGINPRODUCTION ATPEARL GTL, AGLOBAL LANDMARKPROJECT

Partnershipsleverage LNGpotential

Tapping into Qatar ’s im-mense natural gas reservesby leveraging partnershipswith leading multinationalshas enabled Qatar Petrole-um (QP) to establish a world-class liquefied natural gas(LNG) industry.

In recent years, Qatar haswitnessed a series of historicmilestones with its Qatargasand RasGas LNG joint ven-tures. Twelve out of the 14projects are between QP andExxonMobil. These megapro-jects came on stream andhelped make Qatar theworld’s leading exporter ofLNG. The largest gas lique-faction trains in the world,each having a production ca-pacity of 7.8 million tons peryear, are supplying LNG car-riers that are now shippingQatari gas to regasificationterminals that the two com-panies have constructed inEurope and the United States,and to other customersthroughout the world. In ad-dition, last May QP and

ExxonMobil inaugurated AlKhaleej Gas 2, an integratedgas project with a target pro-duction capacity of 2 billionstandard cubic feet of gas perday, making it the largest do-mestic gas supplier in theState of Qatar.

The latest megaproject tohit the headlines in the Per-sian Gulf emirate is the multi-billion-dollar joint venturebetween QP and ExxonMo-bil for the Barzan gas pro-ject. Deputy Prime MinisterAbdullah bin Hamad Al-At-tiyah says that the project“will play a critical and strate-gic role in sustaining the highgrowth rate of the Qatarieconomy.”

The Barzan project is ex-pected to commence opera-tions in 2014 and willproduce 1.4 billion cubic feetof gas per day. Located in RasLaffan Industrial City, Barzanwill be operated by RasGas toproduce and process gasfrom Qatar’s North Field. Itwill supply gas to power sta-

tions and industries in Qatar,ethane to the local petro-chemicals industry, and as-sociated liquid hydrocarbonsfor local and internationalmarkets.

Rex Tillerson, chairmanand chief executive office ofExxonMobil, says Qatar is amodel for other resource-rich nations with its “stableand sensible” policies thathave facilitated resource de-velopment.

“There are two essentialsthat are necessary for a com-pany like ExxonMobil to con-sider entering business in anew country and Qatar pro-vided both of those,” says Mr.Tillerson. “First is the world-

class resource in the form ofthe North Field, but equallyif not more important is theleadership of the country andthe vision of His Highnessthe Emir to create a businessenvironment that gave us theconfidence to risk our capi-tal and bring our technologyto the country. We knew thatthe contracts that we put inplace with Qatar would berespected and we would havethe opportunity, if we tookthe risk, to share in the re-wards of those investments,”he says.

This long and stable part-nership enables QP to makea significant contribution tocontinued economic growth

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, pictured center, and Rex Tillerson, chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, at the Al Khaleej Gas 2 inauguration last May

The partnership between Qatar Petroleum andExxonMobil has played a key role in Qatar’s rapidtransformation into the world’s largest supplier ofreliable liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Major oilcompanies lendexpertise

Qatar’s irrefutable success atoil and gas development isdue in large part to the par-ticipation of major interna-tional oil companies in thesector. Two such players areChevron Corporation andOccidental Petroleum, orOXY.

In 1996, Chevron signedan exploration agreementwith Qatar, marking its en-trance for the first time inthis country. Just a few yearslater, Chevron expanded in-to petrochemicals, partner-ing with ConocoPhillips toform Chevron Phillips andjointly develop the Q-ChemI facility with Qatar Petrole-um (QP) in Mesaieed In-dustrial City, and laterQ-Chem II at Ras Laffan.

Qatar has been good toChevron. According to Eval-uate Energy, thanks to its ex-pansion plans, especially inthe Middle Eastern state,Chevron’s equity stake in ad-ditional LNG capacity be-tween now and 2020 totals 17 million tons, ranking it asthe fastest growing LNG pro-ducer worldwide.

Chevron’s investments al-so go beyond oil and gas ex-ploration and production.In early 2009, the companyearmarked $20 million overfive years to form a part-nership with the Qatar Sci-ence and Technology Parkin Doha and establish a cen-ter of excellence in renew-able power and energyefficiency. Also, collaborat-ing with GreenGulf, a localrenewable energy compa-ny, Chevron is testing solarenergy technologies andtheir application in Qatar.

OXY, the second largestoil producer in both Omanand offshore Qatar, is a part-ner in the Dolphin Project,the first cross-border nat-ural gas pipeline in the Per-sian Gulf which suppliesnatural gas from Ras Laffanto markets in Oman and theUAE. Furthermore, OXYhas worked closely with QPfor more than 15 years todevelop and operate off-shore oil fields, includingIdd El Shargi North Dome,Idd El Shargi South Dome,and Al Rayyan.

Two Californian companies are strong partners indeveloping Qatar’s oil, gas and renewable energies

The Q-Chem plant is operated by QP and Chevron Phillips

and to human, social and en-vironmental development.The investments contributeto Qatar’s National Vision2030 for a sustainable devel-opment.

ExxonMobil is also a part-ner of the Qatar Foundationin special programs such asthe Social Development

Center’s First Step Programand Career Counseling Unit,which provide ski l ls toyoung Qataris, especiallyyoung Qatari women, asthey enter the workforce.The company is one of themain supporters of Qatar’sWorld Innovation Summiton Education.

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The drive to create a vibrantsmall and medium-sized en-terprise (SME) sector in Qatarhas recently been given a boost

with the launch of an innovativefinancing package devised byQatar Development Bank(QDB). The Doha-based bankhas partnered with five institu-tions to provide financing to ex-isting and new SMEs byguaranteeing bank lending un-der its new Al Dhameenscheme. The banks participat-

ing in the scheme are Qatar Na-tional Bank, Qatar Internation-al Islamic Bank (QIIB), Al RayanBank, Gulf Bank and Com-mercial Bank.

Al Dhameen primarily tar-gets SMEs with an annual rev-enue turnover of up to 40 millionQatari riyals ($11 million). Fornew start-ups, the programguarantees 85% of the facility,up to 10 million riyals. For ex-isting eligible SMEs, AlDhameen guarantees 75% ofthe principal with the maximumfinancing available capped at 8million riyals.

The 100% state-owned bankfinances small and medium-sized industrial projects andprovides technical assistanceand advice to entrepreneurs andindustrialists to help get theirprojects off the ground. QDBalso provides consultancy ser-vices and financing for projectsin education, agriculture, fish-eries, healthcare, animal re-sources and tourism sectors.

Following extensive researchand market studies carried outby QDB, access to funding wasfound to be the biggest hurdle

faced by the private sector, andSMEs in particular, because ofguarantees required by banksoperating in the country. Withthe Qatar National Vision 2030in mind, QDB launched the newguarantor program, which hasbeen designed to develop high-priority sectors, such as manu-facturing and knowledge-basedventures.

Al Dhameen is also expect-ed to encourage other banks inQatar to increase their lendingto SMEs, especially to those thathold potential but are not in aposition to leverage assets orprovide accounting records tosecure such loans. The schemewill enable SMEs to build up acredit history and make thembetter positioned to apply forcredit facilities from banks inthe future without significantguarantees.

Furthermore, in January QDBlaunched the Qatar Export De-velopment Agency (Tasdeer)that aims to open new marketsfor Qatari products not con-nected to the emirate’s oil andgas sector and raise their com-petitiveness worldwide.

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The government’s prompt in-tervention in supporting lo-cal banks in December 2009,the solid levels of liquidity,and the state’s sound pre-recession economy have beenmajor factors in safeguardingQatar. The country achieveda remarkable growth in GDPof over 16% last year and theforecast for 2011 is 18%.

In the financial sector, re-cent developments includechanges at Qatar FinancialCenter (QFC) aimed at fur-ther boosting the finance sec-tor’s contribution to economicdiversification.

Another boom to the sec-tor is the partnership be-tween the Qatar Exchange(QE) and the NYSE’s Eu-ronext, whose 20% stake($200 million) represents itslargest investment in a for-eign exchange and first stepinto the Middle East. Thegovernment has unified theregulation of its financial ser-vices sector under a singlebody, creating a clearerframework for foreign oper-ators.

Doha Bank is the largestprivate commercial bank inQatar, and after being incor-porated in 1978 it has grownto be one of the country’sleading financial services in-stitutions. The lender strivesto offer its clients the mostinnovative technologies andto employ well-trained, ex-perienced workers.

“Doha Bank indeed is theleader, the one to initiate ex-clusive offerings, mainly al-ternative investment options

for its loyal and yet financial-ly established customers,” saysRaghavan Seetharaman, chiefexecutive officer of DohaBank Group.

Qatar is making an ambi-tious effort to attract more for-eign banks. In 2005 thegovernment set up the QatarFinancial Center (QFC) as partof its plan to become a regionalbanking hub. The QFC helpsgive Qatari and internationalinvestors access to local and re-gional opportunities.

U.S.-based lender Citibankhas been developing strongrelationships with Qatar’s fi-nancial institutions and topcorporations for more than30 years from its regionalheadquarters in Bahrain,

Dubai and London. In 2007,however, the bank set up afull-service presence at theQFC, from which it offersmore personal contact in itsfull range of corporate andinvestment banking services.

Earlier this year Citi an-nounced plans to strengthenits operations in the emirate,which has enjoyed rapid eco-nomic growth and whosewealthy citizens have needfor more sophisticated bankproducts.

“Qatar is uniquely posi-tioned with the amount of liq-uidity to tap opportunities,”says Alberto Verme, Citi’schief executive for Europe,the Middle East and Africa.

Shariah Compliant Finance

(SCF) is also very present inthe banking sector in Qatarand getting stronger. Earlierthis year, the governor ofQatar Central Bank an-nounced that conventionalbanks could not offer Islam-ic finance products directlyor through a subsidiary.

According to a researchnote sent to clients by Gold-man Sachs analyst WaleedMohsin, Islamic banks havebeen subject to strong com-petition from Western banksin the region offering Shari-ah-compliant products,which ate into their marketshare during 2010. Now Is-lamic banks will no longerhave to compete with con-ventional banking institu-

tions for loans and depositsand would potentially be ableto buy their Islamic portfoliosat favorable terms.

Qatar has 14 conventionalbanks – six domestic, one spe-cialized and seven foreign-owned – and four Islamicbanks; all of which come un-der the ambit of the centralbank.

Every economy needs astrong, solid banking sector tohelp finance growth. Qatar’slenders are well-managed andforward-looking institutionsthat are ready to partner withlocal and international in-vestors that are interested intaking advantage of the manyopportunities the country hasto offer.

Qatar National Bank, or QNB,is the Persian Gulf country’sbiggest financial institution, witha market share approaching 40%.It was established in 1964 asQatar’s first locally owned com-mercial bank, and is half-ownedby the Qatar Investment Au-thority and half privately owned.

QNB has one of the coun-try’s most complete offerings offinancial services and products,including retail, corporate, in-vestment, treasury, and wealthmanagement products for in-dividuals, companies and gov-ernments. The bank offers itsclients the country’s biggest ser-vice network, which comprisesmore than 160 ATMs and 44branches and offices.

QNB is not just expanding itspresence into new markets inQatar. The bank is addingbranches and offices in citiesaround the world, such as Lon-don and Paris, with a presencein a total of 23 countries aroundthe world, including Yemen,Oman, Kuwait and Singapore.

Opening offices in foreign

cities is one method of expand-ing internationally used by QNB,another is buying stakes in oth-er banks. QNB owns 34.3% ofJordan-based The HousingBank for Trade and Finance,23.8% of Commercial Bank In-ternational in the UAE, and partsof lenders in Tunisia, Syria andother countries.

The bank’s expansion pro-gram has already paid off for itsowners, producing strong prof-it and asset growth in recentyears. The group’s net profit in-creased 35.8% in 2010 from ayear earlier, reaching 5.7 billionQatari riyals ($1.57 billion), whiletotal assets rose 24.6% in thesame period to 223.4 billionriyals ($61.4 billion).

Youssef Hussain Kamal, chair-man of QNB Group’s board ofdirectors, attributed last year’sexcellent results to QNB’s non-stop growth both geographi-cally and in its activities, as wellas to the bank’s conservative ap-proach to risk management.

QNB has been adding to itsbanking activities for many yearsnow. QNB Capital, an invest-ment banking unit that offersservices to corporations, gov-ernments and other institutions,was established in 2008 and has

already gained an excellent rep-utation for its extensive trans-action experience, in-depthadvisory services, and first-classresearch capabilities.

The parent bank’s solidity hasbeen recognized by the inter-

national financial community,earning it some of the highestratings in the region from cred-it rating agencies Standard &Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch. QNBhas also won many awards fromspecialized financial magazinesfor its innovative products andits outstanding economic per-formance.

Qatar has mainlyobserved the financialcrisis from a near yetcomfortable distance

Highly rated QNB providescomprehensive financialpackages through thenation’s biggest network

Qatar has a well structured network of local, regional and international banks providing a full spectrum of banking products, from innovative investment options to Shariah-compliant services

QATAR ACHIEVEDNOTABLE GDPGROWTH OF MORETHAN 16% LAST YEARAND 18% IS FORECASTFOR 2011

WORKING WITH THECOUNTRY FOR OVER30 YEARS, CITIBANKOFFERS WEALTHYQATARI CITIZENSSOPHISTICATEDBANKING PRODUCTS

QATAR HAS FOURISLAMIC BANKS AND14 CONVENTIONALBANKS: SIX DOMESTIC,ONE SPECIALIZED AND SEVEN FOREIGN-OWNED INSTITUTIONS

Qatar National Bankshows solidity and growth

Qatar Development Bank is hoping to spur greater activity in the private sector andenhance economic diversification

QDB targets SMEs withnew financing package

Shareef Al-Emadi, CEO of QNB, and Mansour Al-Mahmoud, CEO of QDB, sign amemorandum of understanding for a loan assurance program for SMEs in Qatar

Riding the wave of growth

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QATAR

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As one of the world’s fastestgrowing economies, Qatar isattracting a special class of busi-nesses and expats. Meanwhile,Qataris are enjoying an in-creasingly high quality of lifeand greater spending power.Consequently, companies whovie for a greater share of this ro-bust market turn to global mar-keting and advertising leadersto help them boost their brandand reach a greater audience.

Pioneer and market leaderDDB, for example, is one multi-national that has been re-sponsible for some of Qatar’smost successful campaigns.Present in nearly 100 coun-

tries, DDB innovated adver-tising back in the mid-1900s,turning what was once a uni-directional message into an in-teractive dialogue that leads toaction and mutual benefit.

Local house q.media wasfounded in 2004 and has al-ready grown into the largestmedia provider in Qatar andone of the largest in the region.The company is renowned forits innovative and efficient ap-proach to utilizing media toolsfor premium audience deliv-ery. Three years ago, q.mediajoined forces with JCDecaux tocombine the knowledge andexpertise of this powerful com-pany for outdoor advertisingwith q.media’s understandingof the local and regional mar-ket. The result has been an ex-citing new class of advertising

that takes into considerationthe architectural and urbancharacteristics of Doha.

Even newer on the scene isFirefly Communications,founded in 2007 by two ambi-tious and entrepreneurialQataris who identified the vastpossibilities for marketing andadvertising that opened up asthe country’s economyachieved sustained growth. Justone example of the several newstart-ups in this sector, Fireflyis a complete end-to-end cre-ative communications com-pany that aims to become aplatform of innovative and cut-ting-edge solutions. Thoughjust four years old, Firefly’sclients include heavyweightssuch as Aljazeera, Chevrolet,Jaidah Group, Qatargas andBurger King.

From multinationals tolocal start-ups, advertisingis becoming a big businessin Qatar

Branding in Qatar, morecompetitive than ever

Paving the way in increasingthe country’s connectivity isQatar-based Gulf Bridge In-ternational, or GBI. With theMiddle East’s first privatelyowned submarine cable sys-tem, GBI is quickly becomingthe carrier’s carrier of choicefor wholesale telecommunica-tions traffic around the Gulfand beyond.

In March of this year, GBIannounced the landing of itsnew cable at Vodafone’s inter-national cable landing stationjust north of Doha. To belaunched later this year, this ca-ble system, the first of two GBI

has planned in Qatar, will in-terconnect all Gulf countriesand provide onward connec-tivity to Europe, Africa and Asia.

GBI’s state-of-the-art fiber-optic network offers carriersgreater bandwidth, choice, re-silience and value, thereby fur-thering Qatar’s, and theregion’s, overall advancement.“Achieving a knowledge-basedsociety in the Gulf depends up-on the availability of high-ca-pacity fiber-optic connectivity,both here in the region andacross the globe,” says RashedAl Noaimi, chairman of GBI.

Providing Qatari companieswith a broad range of profes-sional technical and manage-ment support services isCalifornia-based AECOM.

Active in areas as varied astransportation, environment,

architecture and design, eco-nomics, building engineering,program management, and pro-gram, cost and consultancy, AE-COM is involved in variousQatari landmark projects. TheFortune 500company has a longand distinguished history in theMiddle East, spanning over 60years, and has been instrumen-tal in shaping the modern faceof the region.

In Doha alone, AECOM’shandiwork can be seen in themaster plans of EducationCity’s landscape and Heart ofDoha, a downtown regenera-tion project. AECOM is also responsible for the environ-mental plan and monitoringof the New Doha Port as wellas the construction consul-tancy for the New Doha In-ternational Airport.

International companiesladen with know-how arelending their expertise inmanagement services andtechnology to Qatar

Servicing the nation’sdevelopment

Jaidah Group goes fromfamily business to holding

In 2007, the Mannai Corpora-tion, one of Qatar’s oldest andlargest family trading busi-nesses, listed on the Doha ex-change. The move convertedthe company into a model forQatar’s private sprawling hold-ings to become public share-holding companies, a trend thatis deepening in the country.

Many of these same busi-nesses, with names now be-coming increasingly familiarsuch as Alfardan Group, Al Jas-sim Group, Al Jaidah Groupand Al Sulaiti Group, support-ed the country’s economy longbefore the arrival of oil and gasrevenues. Over the past decade,they have grown along withQatar’s rapidly expanding econ-omy, in many cases moving in-to the international arena orabout to do so. Consequently,they are also playing an indis-pensable role in pushing thediversification of the country’seconomy forward, and as such,toward realizing the goals ofVision 2030 to reduce Qatar’sdependence on its hydrocar-bon industry.

The groups have been suc-cessful in bringing the world’smost well known brands to

Qatar. Alfardan Group dealswith BMW, Ferrari, Bentleyand Rolls Royce; NBKS, or theNasser Bin Khaled Group, hasattracted Mercedes Benz andHarley Davidson; Al Jassim hasbrought in Burger King andApplebee’s; and the list of glob-al names now available in thecountry goes on.

Converting from family busi-nesses into global, transparentand accountable local, region-al or multinational companieswith world-class business stan-dards, these same companiesare employing the aid of wellknown international compa-nies such as J.P. Morgan, whichrecently opened an office inDoha, to guide them throughthe transition.

The bank has been in-volved in a number of land-mark transactions in thecountry, including the Stateof Qatar’s $7 billion triple-tranche bond offering andQatar Telecom’s $1.5 billiondual-tranche bond offering.J.P. Morgan was also an ad-visor on Qatar Real EstateInvestment Company ’smerger with Barwa Real Es-tate Company.

Some, like Qatar’s JaidahGroup, which has over a cen-tury of trading experience un-der its belt, are choosing not togo public, even as they under-go deep transformations with-in the corporation. Initiallyestablished at the end of the19th century by IbrahimYoussef Jaidah, the companydealt with exotic imports fromplaces like Iran, India andYemen.

Jaidah Motors and TradingCompany was founded some50 years later by current chair-man Jassim Jaidah. In the near-ly five decades since then, it hasforged partnerships with ma-jor international manufactur-ers, helping the group to emergeinto a world-class profession-al company while maintainingits grassroots family businessvalues. Today, the group hassignificant interests in the au-tomotive industry, heavy equip-ment, industrial supply, energy,technology and furniture.

Mr. Jaidah’s son and chiefdevelopment officer for thegroup, Mohamed Jaidah, saysthat one of the main reasonsthe company has yet to gopublic is that it is financiallyable to grow businesses at therate necessary.

“One of the first things is thatwe are not exclusively depen-dent on ROI – return on in-vestment – and creatingshareholder value as the casewould be with a publicly-list-ed company. We can take de-cisions and if we envisionsomething for the long term, wecan actually allow ourselves totake a hit in the initial years be-fore seeing any ROI.”

One of Qatar’s oldest groups is choosing to stay family-run and maintain its core values

Qatari Diar is turningvision into value

In April of last year, newsspread that Qatari Diar, theproperty investment arm ofthe national sovereign wealthfund Qatar Investment Au-thority, was set to acquire Sin-gapore’s historic Raffles Hotel– famed for its colonialgrandeur – for $275 million.

A favorite watering hole ofliterary figures including Som-erset Maugham and RudyardKipling, and more recently ofcelebrities such as Beyoncé andthe late Elizabeth Taylor, theRaffles Hotel was the type ofsignature deal the global real es-tate industry has come to ex-pect of Qatar’s premierproperty investor.

Established in 2004 with acapitalization of $1 billion anda mandate to support Qatar’seconomic diversificationthrough quality real estate in-vestments, the company todayboasts 35 projects in 20 coun-tries with an asset value of morethan $40 billion.

In London, some of theselandmark developments in-clude the $2 billion,13-acreChelsea Barracks complex, justa stone’s throw from SloaneSquare, where Qatari Diar willdevelop 2,000 homes plus shopsand office buildings. The com-pany also owns 80% of the Shardof Glass tower near LondonBridge, which will be Europe’stallest building when complet-ed next year. In November 2010,the company acquired the U.S.Embassy in Grosvenor Squarefor $664 million, with plans totransform it into a luxury hoteland apartments, bringing its in-vestment in the city to nearly$5 billion – a figure it has said it

hopes will increase to $8 billionor more.

Also a 40% owner in luxuryhotel chain Fairmont RafflesHotels International (at a costof $847 million), Qatari Diarhas acquired the Le Royal Mon-ceau in Paris, which it will re-open under the Raffles nameafter a complete remodelingthat will convert it into a luxu-

ry 152-room hotel with interi-ors by Philippe Starck.

In addition to London andParis, Qatari Diar’s high-profileglobal investments have ex-tended to Thailand, Morocco,Egypt, Oman, Syria, Sudan,Seychelles, Tajikistan, Libya,Mauritania and Mauritius. Andthis is just outside Qatar.

At home, Qatari Diar is in-volved in a number of highlysignificant infrastructure andproperty projects. The com-pany is building the new 112-storey Doha ConventionCenter and Tower, and in a jointventure with Deutsche Bahn,

will develop the national rail-way network.

This cutting-edge, fully inte-grated system is the largest in-frastructure project everundertaken in Qatar and will re-sult in the creation of more than7,000 jobs. The multibillion-dollar project will consist ofvarious lines, including a high-speed link between the NewDoha International Airport,Doha City Center and theKingdom of Bahrain, as wellas the Doha Metro Network.The resulting railway systemwill decongest Qatar’s high-ways, raise traveler safety, andgive tourism a boost.

In line with its emphasison environmentally sustain-able communities, Qatari Di-ar is the developer behind the$7 billion Lusail City, one ofthe largest and most innova-tive projects in the MiddleEast, which will eventuallyhouse some 200,000 residentsand create a sister city to theQatari capital.

The award-winning LusailCity development is undoubt-edly one of Qatar’s most vi-sionary projects. A holistic citycreated by Lusail Real EstateDevelopment Ltd., a subsidiaryof Qatari Diar, the developmentwill turn 13.5 square miles of un-developed waterfront into aprogressive, world-class citycontaining educational, healthand recreational facilities whenfully completed in 10 to 15 years.

Lusail City will also be hometo the Qatar EntertainmentCity, a family entertainmentdestination with a theme parkand five districts with differententertainment offers.

Landmark property developments around the world carry the hallmark of Qatari Diar

Looking at community investment

The oil and gas industry’s pri-mary responsibility is to deliveraffordable, reliable supplies ofenergy while protecting people,local communities and the en-vironment. Energy companiesalso support local jobs and busi-nesses; educate and train the lo-cal workforce and suppliers;transfer knowledge and skills;purchase local goods and ser-vices; and make strategic com-munity investments.

The area of Qatar is similar insize to the state of Connecticut.The country has very large off-shore natural gas reserves in itsNorth Field. Qatar’s leadershipgoes to great lengths to protectboth the natural environmentand encourage job creation forQataris in the development ofits extensive energy resources.

The Government of Qatar isplanning a corporate social re-sponsibility (CSR) index for list-ed companies on the QatarExchange. Mohamed Hassan al-Saadi, Assistant Undersecretaryat the Ministry of Business andTrade, announced the index lastyear at Qatar’s Second Confer-ence on CSR. He also asked the

private sector to commit to CSRinitiatives as the country strivesto achieve the goals of the Na-tional Vision 2030, adding, “Theprivate sector should seriouslycommit itself as a full partner tothe standards of corporate socialresponsibility.” Many companiesin Qatar are now consideringpublishing sustainability reports,including their CSR initiatives,in conjunction with their annu-al reports.

Jaidah Group, a homegrownmultifaceted conglomerate, hasjoined forces with Reach Out ToAsia to provide literacy programsfor Jaidah Group's employees.The literacy initiative aims toequip employees with knowl-edge and skills and encouragesfurther support of their children'seducations. At Jaidah Automo-tive, 0.5% of proceeds from everyChevrolet automobile sold con-tributes toward the program.

Mohamed Jaidah, CEO of thefamily-owned Jaidah Group, said,“Some employees have beenwith us for more than 25 years.We know our employees byname. Even though Jaidah hasgrown to more than 700 em-ployees, we still have a familyconnection with them. It createsa stronger internal link, which isreflected externally with our sup-pliers and clients.”

Consistent with the objec-

tive of being a good corporatecitizen, ExxonMobil Qatar playsa key role in local communityprograms and activities. Thecompany supports various sec-tors of community develop-ment, such as education,environment, community ac-tion and sports. In education,ExxonMobil Qatar is the goldsponsor of the World Innova-tion Summit for Education(WISE) held in Doha. An ini-

tiative of the Qatar Foundation,WISE is based on the recogni-tion that educational challengesare international.

ExxonMobil Qatar also sup-ports academic programs at theQatar University and QatarFoundation. The company isone of the main founding sup-porters of the Qatar Founda-tion Annual Research Forum.ExxonMobil Research Qatar iscontributing to the advance-ment of local environmentalscience and research manage-ment in areas of common in-terest, including marineenvironment, liquefied natur-al gas (LNG) safety, water reuseand modern coastal carbon-ates. In 2010, the company an-nounced an extension through2014 of its commitment to theQatar Science and TechnologyPark with a total investment ofmore than 218 million Qataririyals ($60 million).

ExxonMobil Qatar is also amajor supporter of the SocialDevelopment Center (SDC).The company has contributedto the center’s Career Coun-seling Unit, which providesskills training for young Qatarisentering the job market. Theunit is a development of theFirst Step Program, which pro-vides young Qataris with ca-reer and professionaldevelopment resources.

Local and multinationalcompanies cancontribute to impactfulprograms in a localarea, region or nation

At the Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum, Dr. Fathy Saoud, president of Qatar Foundation (fourth from right), presented awards for research in program areas in-cluding biomedical, energy and environment, computing, arts, social sciences, humanities and Islamic studies

GHANIM SAAD AL-SAAD, Managing Director of Qatari Diar

Doha Progression I with Jaidah Tower, by artist Lisa Watson, who resides in Doha

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Not too long ago, Qatar was aquiet British protectorate on apeninsula jutting into the Per-sian Gulf. Known mainly forits pearling industry, Qatarmade little waves on an inter-national level. However, whenthe Japanese introduced thecultured pearl on the worldmarket in the 1920s and 30s,this backbone of Qatar’s econ-omy faltered.

Things then took a turn forthe better, beginning in the1940s with the discovery of oil.Since then, Qatar has onlylooked back to preserve thebest of its traditions and the

beauty of its heritage. Today, itis a highly modern, cutting-edge state that is a true medi-ator in the region and plays arole in the global marketplacequite out of proportion withits geographical size.

The considerable wealth theoil and gas industry has creat-ed translates into a high stan-dard of living, state-of-the-artbuildings and services, a greaterparticipation in internationalsporting and cultural events, ahigher awareness of environ-mental issues, and of course, agrowing tourism sector.

Visitors from around theworld can choose to fly intoQatar on one of the world’s bestairlines, Qatar Airways. Win-ner of Skytrax World’s BestBusiness Class, Best BusinessClass Catering in the World,

and Best Economy Class in theWorld, Qatar Airways links theemirate to more than 100 in-ternational destinations withits comfortable fleet of aircraft,which includes 19 Boeing 777s.Due to growing relations withthe U.S., the airline has openedthree direct routes to NewYork, Washington, and mostrecently, Houston.

The only Middle Eastern car-rier chosen as part of the eliteclub of Five Star airlines (Sky-trax 2009/10) and now rankedthird-best in the world, QatarAirways is also innovating fu-el efficiency. The airline has

partnered with various U.S.companies, Qatar Petroleum,Airbus, and the Qatar Scienceand Technology Park to reachtargets of zero CO2 emissionsgrowth by 2020.

Qatar Airways operates outof Doha International Airport,which is currently being ex-panded to keep up with currentand forecasted passenger andcargo traffic demands.

“The existing airport’s ulti-mate capacity is 12 million pas-sengers per annum only. Thisprompted H.H. the Emir ofQatar to issue directions that itis time for Qatar to build not on-ly a new airport but one of thebest in the world,” explains Ab-dul Aziz Mohammed Al Noai-mi, chairman of Qatar CivilAviation Authority (QCAA).

MEDCO, a United Devel-

opment Company (UDC) JV,has led dredging works, whichare reclaiming 40% of the newairport’s site from the sea.

Once the first phase is com-pleted in late 2011, NDIA willhave an annual capacity of 24million passengers and 750,000tons of cargo. Ultimately, ca-pacities will rise to 50 millionpassengers, 2 million tons ofcargo, and parking positions for100 aircraft, thus ensuringQatar’s needs are met through-out the 21st century.

This expansion is huge byany standard, yet it is evenmore impressive taking intoaccount that in the 1950s, Do-ha’s single runway received justone plane monthly. QCAA,which has played a pivotal rolein all airport growth projects,also took part in establishingQatar Airways back in 1994.

More than 35,000 peoplehave worked on building theNDIA, which will feature thePassenger Terminal – com-plete with a public mosque, a

man-made lagoon, extensiveareas for duty free, retail, andfood and beverage, a 100-roomtransit hotel, lounges and manyother amenities – and thebeautifully designed Emiri Ter-minal.

In the Emiri Pavilion, therewill be a special area whereH.H. the Emir can receive for-eign heads of state, minister’squarters, VVIP quarters, anda ceremonial podium outsidewhere an aircraft with jet-bridge may be parked.

Quality underscores any visit to the fascinating emirate,from the flight there to what it has to offer

Taking tourism to new heights

Designed by famous architect Ieoh Ming Pei and set on its own island, the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha showcases ancient and historically significant artifacts

Award-winning Qatar Airlines carried out the world’s first commercial flight on GTLfuel and currently has 19 Boeing 777 aircraft in its fleet

The first phase of the New Doha International Airport (NDIA) is scheduled for completion bythe end of this year and will have an annual capacity of 24 million passengers

Sports for life

Qatar’s participation in theworld of sports is nearly as im-pressive as its contribution tothe global energy sector.Though geographically small,the peninsular Gulf countryhas made itself known as a topdestination for some of themost popular sports events ofthese modern times.

While traditional sports,such as camel and horse racingand Arabian horse breeding,are still important, Qatar hashosted other events of a muchlarger scale that have been wit-nessed by millions round theworld, and personally attend-ed by dozens of thousands

On a broadly regional level,Qatar played host to the 200615th Asian Games, Asia’s ownOlympic-style tournament ofsports. The first city in the Gulfregion and only the second inWest Asia to hold the games,Qatar shone in the spotlight asthe flag bearer for the whole ofthe Middle East. This edition

of the Asian Games was alsounique in that it was the firsttime all 45 member nations ofthe Olympic Council of Asiatook part. It was also the firsttime Eurosport broadcast theevent live, meaning that Eu-rope was also able to look on.

One of Qatar’s older inter-national sporting event tradi-tions is the Qatar Open, nowcalled the Qatar ExxonMobilOpen. Played on outdoor hard

courts, the tennis tournamentis part of the ATP World Tour250 series and has been playedat the Khalifa InternationalTennis Complex in Doha since1993, when Boris Becker tookhome the trophy.

Qatar also hosts the QatarLadies Open, also known asthe Qatar Total Open.

Dating back to 1998 is theQatar Masters, now sponsoredby Commercialbank (as wellas Dolphin Energy, Maersk Oiland ExxonMobil) and held dur-ing the first two months of theyear. The prestigious golf tour-nament is held on a 7,374-yardunique and challenging desert-type championship course, de-signed by Peter Harradine, andis a regular stop on the Euro-pean PGA tour schedule.

As world capital of gas, it isonly natural that Qatar host ahigh-energy sport such asgrand prix motor racing. Since2004, Doha’s $58 million Losailracetrack has been the site of

the Commercialbank GrandPrix of Qatar (formerly calledthe Marlboro GP of Qatar).While the hot, desert condi-tions in Doha make for an ex-tra challenging race, a year agothe race organizers decided todo something heretofore un-seen: in 2008, Qatar success-fully celebrated the first nighttime competition in GrandPrix history.

Qatar also made history inanother sport last year when itwon the 2022 FIFA World Cupbid, marking the first time aMiddle Eastern country hasever been chosen as a location

for the planet’s most televisedsporting event.

“We were written off earlyon and no one saw that we hada chance to win. But because ofthe millions of people whostood with us, we won. We haveworked very hard to get to thispoint,” said Sheikh Mohammadbin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar bidchairman, back in December.

“We acknowledge that thereis a lot of work ahead, but wepromise that we will deliver. Wewill deliver with a lot of passionand make sure that this is a mile-stone in the history of MiddleEast and the history of FIFA.”

From international tennis and golf tournaments to motor racing and now soccer,Qatar is gaining notoriety for a different type of energy

From 12,000 to 90,000 hotel rooms by 2012

With the World Cup 11 yearsaway, Qatar is already prepar-ing for an onslaught of visi-tors with a specific plan toraise its hotel capacity from12,000 rooms to 90,000 –30,000 more than the capac-ity demanded by FIFA. And,with a sturdy network of five-star luxury hotels already inplace, the industry is placinga stronger focus on develop-ing more three and four-starhotels to cater for a wider au-dience.

Over 40 new hotels are ex-pected to open this year alone,according to Ahmed Abdul-lah Al Nuaimi, chairman ofQatar Tourism Authority. Oc-cupancy has been consistent-ly strong over the past fewyears, averaging 60% in 2010,10 points higher than the pre-vious year.

One of the biggest sup-porting hotels of the 2022World Cup campaign is theRamada Plaza Doha, whosetower was wrapped in a 600-square-yard banner back in2009 to support the WorldCup bid.

The Wyndham HotelGroup chose the RamadaPlaza Doha among 140 otherRamadas as The Best Rama-da Hotel in Europe, the Mid-dle East and Africa last year.And, with its 584 modern andelegantly appointed rooms

and suites, it is also one of thelargest Ramadas in the world.

Considered the place to befor work, dining, relaxing, andstaying, Ramada Plaza Dohais located in the heart of Do-ha’s shopping and commer-cial districts. It boasts 20

specialty restaurants and bars,including Qube, the largestand one of the most popularnightclubs in the city. “Qataris such a good place to be,”’says Gordon G. MacKenzie,the hotel’s general manager.

For those travelers seekinga more hip, innovative andcontemporary hotel at a rea-sonable price, Ramada also of-fers the Ramada Encore Dohain the business district andjust 2.5 miles from the airport.

Both hotels are highly ser-vice-oriented and cater to thespecific needs of both busi-ness and leisure travelers.

For more information, visitwww.ramadaplazadoha.com

Ramada’s two hotels in Doha offer modern elegance and contemporary design for both leisure and business guests

Katara:livingculture

Realized out of a vision to es-tablish Qatar as a cultural bea-con of the Middle East, thecultural village at Katara is aworld-class exhibition space thathas been designed to spur theparticipation of Qataris in cul-tural activities and encouragegreater exploration of the emi-rate’s rich heritage.

A true nation-building en-deavor, the $82-million projectis held as a key contributor tothe social and human develop-ment of the country.

Built on reclaimed coastal landbetween Doha’s West Bay andThe Pearl-Qatar, just to the northof the capital’s city center, Kataraincludes heritage centers, li-braries, art galleries and otheracademic facilities, in additionto retail outlets, coffee shops,museum facilities and marketareas.

Katara had a soft opening inOctober 2010 during the DohaTribeca Film Festival (DTFF).

According to Marcio Barbosa,managing director of Katara andformer joint director at UN-ESCO, the cultural village hasthe challenge of, on one hand,preserving the traditions and his-toric values of the country and,on the other, “offering culturalopportunities” – modern onesthrough different manifestations,like music, art, theater and cin-ema, among others. “The idea isto show that, in culture, the coun-try has a strategy of coexistenceof the ancient and the new,” hesaid in an interview last year.

Many Qatari organizations al-ready have their offices at Katara,including the Qatari Society forEngineers, Qatar Fine Arts So-ciety, Visual Art Center, QatarPhotographic Society, Child-hood Cultural Center, Doha FilmInstitute, and the Qatar MusicAcademy.

The 247-acre cultural villagefeatures a massive open am-phitheater, opera house, cinemathat can double as a drama the-ater, a multipurpose hall, beach,handicrafts souq, book market,international restaurants andcafes, and ample space for visi-tors to stroll around the differ-ent areas of the project.

The themed restaurant areahas eateries that are exclusive tothe Middle East and Katara’sminaret center is based aroundthree towers, one of which – ahotel – will be Qatar’s tallest.

Set in a beautiful location,the purpose-built culturalvillage of Katara hasalready hosted various high-profile events andspurred many Qatariorganizations to set up there

Qatari Olympic athletes competing during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

The RamadaPlaza Doha iswell positionedto support thegrowingnumbers ofbusiness andleisure visitorsfrequentingQatar or holdinglarge events inthe capital city

Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman AlThani, Secretary General of QOC

Ahmed Al Nuaimi,Chairman of Qatar Tourism Authority

Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al-Noaimi,Chairman of Qatar Civil AviationAuthority

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Arabian mystique combinesseamlessly with Mediterraneanluxury in The Pearl-Qatar, UDC’smost spectacularly inviting pro-ject to date. Rising out of Doha’sWest Bay on a series of artificialislands crafted through ingeniousengineering and daring vision,The Pearl-Qatar offers residentsand visitors the ultimate luxury,cultural and lifestyle experience.

Twenty miles of beaches andseafront, three world-classmarinas, high-end retail andrestaurants, and of course, top-of-the-line hotels, villas, town-houses and condominiums areall encompassed in a first-of-itskind development that exudesold-world charm while dou-bling up on the best in modernliving.

Everything from the dredgingand creation of the islands to theconstruction of the magnificentedifices, the environmentally

friendly district cooling systemand waste management, and thefinancial management of the pro-ject has been taken care of byUDC’s various subsidiary com-panies and partners. And onlythe creme de la creme are invit-ed to take part in this wondrousGulf venture.

For example, along LaCroisette, the world’s longest wa-terfront luxury retail boardwalk,one will find select boutiquesand shops such as Roberto Cav-alli, Hermès, Bisazza and Har-mont & Blaine, or outstandingrestaurants like Bice Ristorante,

Pampano, Tse Yang, Burj AlHamam and Liza.

Porto Arabia, the island’s firstcompleted and inhabited phase,is home to an award-winning782-berth marina, managed byUDC subsidiary Ronautica.Here, visitors can dock theiryachts of up to 100 meters andstep ashore to enjoy the best ThePearl-Qatar has to offer, or sim-ply call upon any of the island’srestaurants or cafés for an orderto go. Ronautica’s premium ser-vices also include yacht sales andmaintenance, and last year thecompany organized boat exhi-

bitions in coordination with thenumerous retail, hospitality andentertainment events hosted atthe island.

The Pearl-Qatar is also uniquein that it was the first develop-ment in the country to offer free-hold and residential rights tointernational clients. And oncethe island masterpiece is com-pleted, there will be more than18,800 residential dwellings – atrue green boon to Qataritourism and business.

“Developments such as ThePearl-Qatar will go a long way to-wards fulfilling H.H. the Emir’svision to make Qatar a destina-tion of choice for businessmenand tourists alike,” says Mr. Sholy.“You will end up living on an is-land that is not only giving youlife’s pleasures, but you will alsohave the pleasure of knowingthat it’s extremely environmen-tally friendly.”

Eleven years ago, what wouldsoon become one of Qatar’smost ambitious, visionary andsuccessful private sharehold-ing companies was born. Unit-ed Development Company, orUDC, was created to help growthe country’s economy and con-tribute to fulfilling the Emir’sgoal of converting Qatar into aleading country by 2030.

UDC has excelled at its mis-sion to identify and invest inlong-term projects contributingto Qatar’s growth and provid-ing good shareholder value. In-deed, when the 2010 resultswere in, UDC’s net profits hadswelled 20%, approachingQR617 million ($169 million)and net earnings grew by 18%to QR4.45 per share. This cameafter an unprecedented 73%spike in net profits and a 62%increase in earning per sharein 2009.

2010 was UDC’s best year

ever and fifth consecutive yearof record results. HussainIbrahim Alfardan, chairman ofthe board, attributes this to theoutstanding performance ofUDC’s many subsidiaries andpartnerships, which are activein an extraordinarily diverserange of sectors.

Khalil Sholy, president andmanaging director, says, “Weare an umbrella of successfulinvestments. If we look at thecompanies that UDC has es-tablished and created they arereally varied in their activities.From environment to utilities,hydrocarbon, hospitality, retail,media, and insurance, we havediversified to cover many sec-tors, and the ball is still grow-ing. So if you are interested inthis very robust economy, aneconomy that has big potentialfor the future and you are look-ing for a partner to go with, apartner that is well established,

UDC will give you a chance tocatch up on all of these oppor-tunities.”

Through its company QatarCool, UDC has established it-self as a global leader in the en-ergy and utilities sector, andthrough its other subsidiariesand partnerships – especiallythose related to flagship pro-ject The Pearl-Qatar – UDChas made an enormous contri-bution towards diversifyingQatar’s economy and attract-ing new kinds of investment.

Qatar’s election as WorldCup 2022 host brings myriadnew opportunities, upon whichUDC fully intends to capital-ize. From district cooling to ce-ment production for new hotelsand real estate projects, UDCis more than ready to tackle thechallenges ahead.

“The companies created byUDC have more potential be-cause they are all linked to

growth and everybody agreesthat 2022 is bringing huge op-portunities of growth – agrowth that has already beenplanned,” says Mr. Sholy. “Nowwhat will happen is that insteadof doing it in let’s say 20 years,now they have to do it in 10years, so the potential is evengreater. Of course there are chal-lenges, but this country hasproven its ability to meet thechallenges it aims at: look at themilestone of the 77 million tonsof gas production capacity –they announced it and achievedit in 2010 like they said theywould.

“The World Cup 2022 is goodnews for everyone and espe-cially for us because we will seehigh returns for all these com-panies. We are involved in everysector that exists. Our visionnow is to continue to expandour horizons and become morecreative and more innovative, to

look and identify other oppor-tunities that we believe will playan important role towards thedevelopment of the country.”

Backed by a board with someof the most influential busi-nessmen in Qatar, an 11-yearhistory of growth, ample liq-

uidity, partnerships with lead-ing international players, andseemingly endless inspirationfor the future, UDC is trulyshaping Qatar into one of theworld’s most attractive and sta-ble destinations for both visitorsand investors.

UDC embodiesQatar’s opportunities

KHALIL SHOLY, President and Managing Director of UDC

The company has identified and pursued some of the country’s most exciting projects in a wide range of sectors

Qatar’s heritage manifested Qatar Coolopens world’slargest plant

The Pearl-Qatar is a bold real estate project that blends Qatar’s culture and splendor with Mediterranean glamour

The Qatar District CoolingCompany, known as QatarCool, is behind the largest dis-trict cooling plant in the world.The plant, located at UDC’siconic multibillion-dollar off-shore development The Pearl-Qatar, has a capacity of 130,000tons and serves around 40,000residents through a 55-milenetwork of underground pip-ing. The company also has twoother plants connected to 17miles of pipes under West Bay,the financial district of Doha,serving 47 high-rises.

“This is the first time thishas been done in Qatar,” saysFayad Al Khatib, CEO of QatarCool. “We have been very for-tunate to share technologieswith other providers and tech-nology developers all over theworld, which enabled us to de-velop projects over the scale wedo. We face a unique challengehere as we have to developlarger-scale projects comparedto other parts of the world.”

District cooling provideschilled water from a coolingplant through a network ofpipes to multiple residential, in-dustrial and commercial build-ings for air conditioning use.Compared to conventionalcooling systems, district cool-ing uses 40% to 60% less ener-gy. “We save about 250 milliontons of carbon dioxide a year,”says Mr. Al Khatib. “The equiv-alent of trees planted out ofour energy saving are about35 million trees annually.”

Qatar Cool won two in-dustry awards in the U.S. atthe International District En-ergy Association (IDEA) con-ference last year for its energysaving efforts.

“We are setting benchmarksin terms of approaching solu-tions,” says the CEO.

“We are gaining a lot of ex-perience locally and as a resultwe can be a major exporter oftechnology and know-how inthe future.”

HERE, VISITORS AND RESIDENTS CAN ENJOY WORLD-CLASS DINING,SHOPPING ANDACCOMMODATIONSWITH STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITIES

PORTO ARABIA’S 400-SLIP MARINA,SURROUNDED BYELEGANT RESIDENTIALTOWERS, IS DESTINEDTO BECOME ACRUISING BASE FORTHE ENTIRE REGION

Rising elegantly from Doha’sWest Bay, The Pearl-Qatar

offers an unsurpassed lifestyle experience

District cooling is an environmentally sustainablesolution to air conditioning needs and Qatar Cool’sefforts in the sector are breaking new ground

Qatar Cool’s record breaking plant is connected to 55 miles of underground piping that helps to keep 40,000 TPQ residents in air-conditioned comfort

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