Qatar Chamber has issued its monthly economic newsletter for June 2020 which highlighted the most prominent trends in the Qatari economy, as well as statistics related to foreign trade and trade of the private sector.

The report, prepared by QC's Researches & Studies Department, featured views of the business community on the issuance of the Public-Private Partnership Law which emphasized that the private sector is a real partner of the state in implementing many development projects.

It also outlined the advanced rankings of Qatar in many international development indicators. According to the Arab Monetary Fund, Qatar topped the Arab countries in the participation of woman in labour force with about 58%, followed by Kuwait with 49.3%.

Qatar also ranked 1st in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and 27th globally in Global Peace Index for 2020, which is issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace in Sydney, Australia, maintaining its superiority in the global index ranking. It also ranked 1st in the Arab world and 16th globally in the Societal Safety and Security index, making Qatar one of the 20 safest countries in the world.

Commenting on this ranking, the QC's newsletter said that this accomplishment stressed the country's leading position worldwide in safety, noting that it is corresponding with the QNV 2030 and its main strategy in maintaining security and safety, therefore enhancing investment climate.

Qatar also ranked 31st globally in the economic freedom index among 168 countries, according to the 2020 Index issued by the Heritage Foundation in Washington in Global Finance Magazine.

The newsletter included a report on the states foreign trade for April and trade of the private sector according to the certificates of origin issued by the Chamber.

According to the figures of The Planning and Statistics Authority for April 2020, the total value of foreign merchandise trade statistics amounted to QR 19.3 billion.

In April 2020, the total exports of goods (including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports) amounted to around QR 11.8 billion, while the Qatari imports during the same month amounted to about QR 7.5 billion. Therefore, the foreign merchandise trade balance, which represents the difference between total exports and imports, showed a surplus of QR 4.3 billion.

In April 2020, China was the leading country of origin of Qatar's total foreign trade (imports + exports) with about QR 2.8 billion, a share of 14.5% of the total foreign trade. According to the certificates of origin issued by the Chamber in April, the private sector's exports reached QR 572 million.

The report said that as for the private sectors trade according to the certificates of origin issued by the chamber for exporting companies, exports through the "General Model" certificate of origin form constituted the largest value at QR 298 million, followed by exports through GSP a total value of about QR 178 million and GCC model with a value of about QR 45 million.

Exports through the Unified Arab certificate came in the fourth place with a value of QR 43 million, followed by the Unified GCC Certificate of Origin to Singapore which amounted to QR 8 million.

It also highlighted that the consequences of the blockade and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have demonstrated the real capabilities of the private sector and its eligibility to implement major development projects within the framework of the objectives of economic diversification and attracting domestic and foreign investment.

The report also said that many reports expected that many different industrial sectors, such as chemicals, plastics and petrochemicals, are expected to achieve significant expansions during the next few years in parallel with the continuous increase in the production of LNG from the North Field during the upcoming years. These reports also pointed out to the development of the industrial sector in the country during the last few years, and its remarkable successes despite the regional and international economic challenges and variables.

The newsletter also highlighted a study conducted by the QC's Food Security and Environment to identify the production inputs required for plant and animal farms during the current phase, which should be included in the state's food security concerns and strategies.

Source: QNA

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Nabeela

Content Writer

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