Qatar Economy Watch

February 2023

Overview

Qatar has experienced a decade of rapid transformational change culminating in the FIFA World Cup 2022. Leading up to the tournament, Qatar has been the centre of the world’s attention, with over one million fans visiting the country. Now the tournament has ended, many are asking: What is next for Qatar?

This edition of the Qatar Economy Watch provides an overview on the economic outlook and some of the key priorities in Qatar. These include efforts to sustain economic growth and diversification, increase FDI and localise industries. It will be important to attract and retain skilled talent and tap into the FIFA World Cup’s tangible and intangible legacies. Download the report here.

The key sections this report covers are the following:

Economic development
Human development
Tangible and intangible legacy

Economic development

North Field expansion presses ahead
Non-oil economy enters a new phase
The population rebalancing creates opportunities
Inflation is expected to moderate substantially
Taking stock of the deals and restructuring landscape
Attracting FDI and localisation of production
Advancing sustainability and continuing efforts to green the economy
Continuing investment in food security
Utilisation of Tax incentives and alignment with international tax initiatives
Qatar's Double Taxation Treaty network and Foreign Direct Investment

Human development

Enhancing training is at the heart of closing the skills gap

Tangible and intangible legacy

Qatar is well positioned to leverage its expertise in sporting event management
Investing in tourism and culture enhances the attractiveness of Qatar as a destination
Continuing to transform the transportation sector and opportunities to go green
Qatar as a home for aviation excellence and expanding logistics capabilities
Labour reforms

Conclusion

Qatar has done very well in advancing its economy in the past years - despite unique circumstances - based on a clear vision. Going forward, the global, regional, and local dynamics will create more need to accelerate Qatar’s national transformation journey. From one end, Qatar’s global positioning today has set high expectations of what Qatar can do next, among the international community, to expand its brand and attract FDI. Regionally, the GCC will most likely escape the global slowdown given high oil prices and moderating inflation. We also expect the momentum of a non-oil economy to continue in 2023, with more push towards advanced and industrial manufacturing, tourism and culture, aviation and logistics, green economy, and sports. Most neighbouring countries are pushing similar agendas to drive non-oil growth with the competition for local talent intensifying. Locally, the private sector in Qatar has continued to mature and play an active partnership role with the Public Sector - through national cross cutting programs such as In-country Value, PPP, National Upskilling, Single Windows, and many others.

We are very excited for what is coming next in Qatar and the momentum created after the FIFA World Cup. The 2023 outlook for Qatar and the GCC region appears more upbeat in comparison to the rest of the world. Investing in skills development among the national workforce, supported by the new laws and regulations, should remain at the top of the agenda in order to reach the ambitions of the Qatar National Vision 2030.