Qatar economy up 15% Qatar's economy galloped by more than 15 per cent in the first quarter of this year to extend the rapid growth trend that turned the tiny Gulf country into one of the wealthiest nations, official figures showed yesterday. From around QR73.1 billion (Dh73.8bn) in the last quarter of 2007, the country's gross domestic product surged to QR84.3bn in the first quarter of this year, an increase of nearly 15.3 per cent, figures by the Qatari Planning Council, the country's official statistics agency, showed. The report attributed the surge to higher oil prices and a rapid growth in the country's liquefied natural gas exports, which have allowed Qatar to amass huge wealth and record the highest growth rates in the region over the past few years. "The continuous increase in the price of crude oil and steadily increasing production of LNG pushed the energy related sectors upwards, while positively affecting the rest of the economy," the report said. "Strong growth was recorded across the whole economy. The contribution of the mining and quarrying industry still dominates Qatar's GDP representing 60.6 per cent of the total GDP," it added. The figures showed government services were the second largest component of the GDP, with a value added of around QR9.8bn or 11.6 per cent. The sector recorded the highest growth of around 62.7 per cent in the first quarter. Finance, insurance, real estate and business services accounted for 9.1 per cent, while manufacturing stood at around 5.8 per cent of the GDP. "These figures remain provisional and will be revised as new data becomes available," the report said. In 2007, Qatar's GDP leaped by around 19.5 per cent and growth is projected to be even higher this year because of soaring oil prices and LNG sales. © Emirates Business 24/7 2008

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