Qatar’s Economy

Business in Qatar Should one do business in Qatar? Qatar is a small country in the Middle East. I’ve come to realize that Qatar, just like any other country has it’s poor and plentiful sides. Qatar is a small country with immense expectations for future business with other countries. Let’s start by looking at Qatar’s political and economic standpoint. While Qatar is more of a conservative society than others, it has set out on a path towards economic modernization and political stability. Amir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has been the chief of state since 1995 and has led Qatar to becoming more open to global markets.

He is a strong advocate to having relations with the United States as well. In 2003 and 2004 the economy of Qatar was growing and expected to continue growing. According to Douglas Walter, author of Consider Qatar, stated that Qatar’s economy is driven by revenues from natural gas and oil resources. Qatar has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, with as much oil to last as long as 200 years, that was said in 2005. I can only imagine how much oil it has now. Qatar is striving to make itself more attractive for investments and trade with other countries.

With the importance of foreign trade on the economy of Qatar, export taxation is a primary source of funding public spending and development in Qatar. In 1994, Qatar succumbed to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which is now known as the World Trade Organization. They have built its trade and investment state so that they are following their obligations to the World Trade Organization by reducing tariffs, removing unnecessary restrictions and barriers to trade, and providing foreign investor more opportunities.

The United States is still trying to get Qatar to become part of the Free Trade Agreement. It seems like doing business in Qatar, is easier than some countries. Some companies that do business with Qatar have reported that going through customs is not a hassle. Qatari companies and customers seem eager to work with Americans and like buying U. S. Made products and services. Qatar has a stable currency, and the country inflicts no foreign exchange controls.

Qatar permits up to 100% of foreign ownership in agriculture, manufacturing, health, education, tourism, power and projects involved in the development of natural resources, pending approval from the government. Qatar is also a member of various international financing bodies. It levies no taxes on the individuals’ income and no fees on exports, whereas he fees on imports are exceedingly low and are estimated at 4 percent. Qatar is also famous for its banking market. There are no restrictions on transferring capitals overseas, which make the whole of Qatar a free trade zone.

The issuing of law No. (1) in the year 1980 regulating industry in Qatar provided for incentives for local investors in the industry field and in addition to the promotional incentives regulated by law No. (19) in the year 1995 which facilitates the process of obtaining industry licenses and unifies the executive bodies that grant promotional incentives. U. S. exports to Qatar in 2004 totaled $423 million. Within the p of five years, U. S. exports to Qatar have increased by over 200%. All indicators – the growing strength of the U. S. Qatar geopolitical relationship, growth in the world demand for natural gas, and Qatar’s successful economic reform and diversification strategy among others – strongly suggest significant growth in future U. S. exports to this market. Qatar has its own specific rules when it concerns other countries operating in this country. There are several services that are available for interested parties looking to do business within Qatar, such as legal, financial, tax matters, business counseling, company background checks, and feasibility studies.

Now there is not any personal income tax within Qatar, but foreign-owned companies must pay tax on corporate income. One downfall to this is that U. S. Companies wanting to do business in Qatar will have double taxation. Now with labor in the country of Qatar, all non-Qataris must have a valid work permit issued by the Department of Labor to work in Qatar. Qatar has a new labor law which aims to balance the rights of employers and employees, also institutes hiring priority to Qatari nationals.

It gives the employers obligations that the employment contract must be in writing, the recognition of the concept of end-of-service benefits, and limitations on how many hours can be worked per week. Now seeing a country prosper with it’s oil and natural gas revenues and to see how beautiful the country actually is, who wouldn’t want to do business in Qatar. I’ve been there and can see how a U. S. Company could become a success over there. I’ve been to several places in Doha and have seen familiar places, such as Apple-bees, Chili’s, and Fuddruckers.

With Qatar’s great relationship with the United States, it couldn’t hurt for a company to open up over in Qatar and bring more to the country that is striving. Works Cited “Qatar Now. ” N. p. ,n. d. Web 21 Nov. 2012 http://www. diwan. gov. qa/english/qatar/Qatar_now. htm “Rules of Business in Qatar-Export. gov” N. p. ,n. d. Web. 21 Nov 2012. http://www. export. gov/middleeast/country_information/qatar/considerqatarguide. pdf “Grasp, Rules of Business in Qatar” N. p. ,n. d Web. 21 Nov 2012. http://graspcorp. co. uk/en/about/about-qatar/