Qatar witness marginal increase in inward foreign investments
Overseas loans and trade-related short-term financial instruments largely helped Qatar in covering the decline in inward foreign direct investment (FDI).
In fact, Doha witnessed a marginal increase in total inward foreign investments, according to official figures.
FDI into Qatar has been dwindling during 2012-14 with the sharpest fall in 2014, while portfolio flows into the country though remained positive in 2012 and 2013 also saw decline in the same year.
However, a substantial inflow of other foreign investments helped Qatar report an increase of QR1.6bn in total foreign investments to QR525.7bn in 2014, it said.
Qatar's inward FDI stood at QR141.1bn in 2014, QR152.4bn in 2013, QR162bn in 2012, QR172.9bn in 2011, QR165.7bn in 2010 and QR129bn in 2009.
In the case of foreign portfolio investments, it was QR78.6bn, QR83bn, QR72.5bn, QR45.5bn, QR49.6bn and QR42bn in the corresponding years respectively.
Foreign other investments were valued at QR306bn, QR288.7bn, QR324.3bn, QR171.1bn, QR158.5bn and QR189.1bn in the years in review, MDPS said.
More than 90% of the inward FDI was accounted for by the oil and gas and associated downstream manufacturing and other activities such as transportation and marketing.
In terms of the book value of investments, manufacturing activities accounted for 52% of the total value of FDI, followed by mining and quarrying (38%) and financial and insurance activities (4%) at the end of 2014.
In 2014, 38% of Qatar's outward FDI went into financial and insurance segment, 32% in transportation, storage, information and communication; and 19% in the real estate.
Highlighting that Qatar had FDI abroad in about 80 countries; MDPS said 29% of it went to the European Union, 26% to the GCC, 18% to other Arab countries and 11% to Asia.
Courtesy: gulf-times.com
Asia is the future of world, offering high business potentials. And only 11% investment by Qatar into Asia, is just too small. Honestly its investment portfolio is lopsided towards Europe and GCC (55%), both of which are volatile markets, having very low growth prospects.
Since most of the fund managers are from West and GCC, more investments are directing towards them.
The govt. needs to set up a body to explore vast opportunities in Asia, in order to well spread the investment risk and maximized returns.