Qatar Economic Review 2006(September) - QNB

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The other leading educational institutions represented in Qatar are Washington based GeorgetownUniversity’s Welsh School of Foreign Services, Texas A&M University which offers engineering degreecourses, Carnegie Mellon University which offers undergraduate programmes in computer science andbusiness, Canada based College of North Atlantic and Canadian Bureau of International Education,among others.Asian Games CityAs part of Qatar’s infrastructural obligations for hosting the Asian Games in December 2006, it isnearing completion of the construction of an estimated $700 million ‘Asian Games City’, that will provideadditional sporting facilities and accommodation for athletes and officials.HotelsQatar’s hotel room capacity in the luxury sector is set to triple by an additional 9,318 rooms in the comingyears, as a result of various up-coming projects (Table 3.14).Table 3.14Upcoming Hotels in Qatar(2006 - 2008)HotelRoomsWestbay Resort 350Millenium 225Hilton Doha 320Marriott Courtyard 200Shangri-La 272Rotana 277Al-Sharq Village Resort & Spa 160Dubai Towers Doha 424Movenpick Suites & Residence 349Renaissance 259Al Maha Sofitel 300Barjeel Tower 284Almana Suites 350Merweb Corniche 204La Cigale 240Al Jaidah 496Retaj Tower 462Bavaria Suites 2118Le Mirage 186Qatar Silouette Tower 351Al Jazeera Tower 369Sports City 120Golf Course 150Digital Sports 250Oasis International 346Ramada Extension 256Total 9,318Source: Qatar Tourism Authority.KEY ECONOMIC SECTORS 30
4. InflationInflation in Qatar has witnessed a slight increase in recent years, averaging 3.9% over the past five years(2001-2005), compared to an average of 3.3% in the preceding five years (1996-2000). This increase ininflation over the past few years can be primarily attributed to the sustained increase in housing costsand the weakness of the US dollar, to which the Qatari Riyal is pegged.Figures released by the Planning Council for year 2005 shows a continuation of the upward trend ininflation as the overall general index increased by 8.8% (Table 4.1), compared to an increase of 6.8%in 2004. The main inflation driver in 2005 was the housing sector, which witnessed a steep increase by26.2%, after an increase by 16.2% in 2004 and a rise by 18.0% in 2003. The supply gap in buildingmaterials in recent years has led to a premium surcharge and has resulted in a huge increase inconstruction costs, which has subsequently partly triggered rent hikes. Among the other groups ofcommodities and services, the group food, beverages and tobacco, which has a relatively high weighton the consumer price index, witnessed an increase of 3.1% in 2005, with the group medical care andmedical services increasing by 4.5%. The group garments and footwear declined by 2.7% in 2005.QNB forecasts inflation to remain high in 2006 at over 8.0%, given the current indicators that point to thefact that rent hikes in recent years is triggering price hikes in other commodities and services.Table 4.1Consumer Price Index(2001=100)Groups of Commodities andServices2003 2004 2005Index%Change Index%Change Index%ChangeFood, Beverages and Tobacco 100.86 -0.35% 104.22 3.33% 107.48 3.13%Garments and Footwear 96.77 -1.56% 104.60 8.10% 101.81 -2.67%Housing 120.07 18.00% 139.55 16.22% 176.19 26.25%Furniture, Textiles and HomeAppliances98.61 1.52% 101.91 3.35% 106.67 4.67%Medical Care and Medical Services 100.36 2.61% 98.93 -1.42% 103.34 4.46%Transport and Communications 92.59 -8.38% 95.98 3.66% 99.70 3.88%Education, Culture and Recreation 99.35 3.60% 102.27 2.94% 102.16 -0.10%Miscellaneous Goods and Services 105.98 0.70% 110.34 4.11% 114.89 4.12%General Index 102.51 2.26% 109.48 6.80% 119.13 8.81%Source: The Planning Council.The Planning Council had conducted a Family Expenditure Survey (FES) of households in 2000/01,so as to better reflect the spending patterns of consumers, assigning the new base year at 2001(2001=100). The previous Family Expenditure Survey was conducted in 1987/88, with the base year at1988 (1988=100). The Consumer Price Index is based on the FES of households.The new weights for the groups of commodities and services on the Consumer Price Index (CPI),based on the FES conducted in 2000/01 shows that the group Transport and Communicationsnow forms the largest part of household expenditures, with a weight or part of total expendituresat 23.4%, compared to 19.3% in 1987/88 (Table 4.2). The group Housing has also gained inrelative importance and now accounts for 20.7% of total expenditures, from 12.4% in 1987/88.The percent spent for Food, Beverages and Tobacco declined to 18.1% in the new CPI, from a relativeimportance of 28.7% previously.INFLATION 31
Page 1: HEAD OFFICEQatar National Bank SAQ,
Page 5 and 6: Sovereign Ratings: State of QatarQa
Page 8 and 9: Economically Active Population by G
Page 10 and 11: 2. The Economy of QatarQatar’s ec
Page 12 and 13: The Non-Oil and Gas SectorThe Non-O
Page 14 and 15: 3.Key Economic Sectors3.1 The Oil S
Page 16 and 17: Blocks 1, 3, 4, 7 and 14 (Offshore)
Page 18 and 19: 3.2 The Natural Gas SectorQatar’s
Page 20 and 21: 2. Qatar Liquefied Natural Gas Comp
Page 22 and 23: QatargasTable 3.10LNG Summary (Mtpa
Page 24 and 25: Al Khaleej Gas ProjectA Development
Page 26 and 27: Qatar Steel Company (QASCO)QASCO is
Page 28 and 29: Ras Laffan Ethylene Cracker (RLEC)T
Page 32 and 33: Table 4.2Weightage on the ConsumerP
Page 34 and 35: Qatar’s principal export items in
Page 36 and 37: In 2005, Qatar’s main import trad
Page 38 and 39: 6. Monetary PolicyThe monetary mana
Page 40 and 41: 7. Banking SectorThe Qatari banking
Page 42 and 43: TABLE 7.2Balance Sheets of Qatari B
Page 44 and 45: The Services sector recorded a grow
Page 46: 2005/06 BudgetPreliminary data on g
Page 49 and 50: The DSM market capitalisation decli
Page 51 and 52: 11. Investment IncentivesQatar welc
Page 53 and 54: 12. Qatar National BankQatar Nation
Page 55 and 56: 1APPENDIXQatar Statistical SummaryT
Page 58: QNB Branches and OfficesHead Office

Qatar Economic Review 2006(September) - QNB

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