Doha: Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Financial Centre Yousuf Mohammed Al Jaida (pictured) expects the markets to witness a strong growth after the decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Al Jaida participated in a session on the investment in traditional markets compared to emerging markets, held within the activities of Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg. The session brought together experts, officials and specialists in the financial and investment sector.
Al Jaida noted that the whole world, and the Middle East in particular, experienced very difficult times during the coronavirus pandemic, especially the measures imposed to confront the outbreak of the disease, including closures and travel restrictions.
He added that the countries that acted and responded to the crisis early, including the State of Qatar, succeeded in overcoming the crisis faster in terms of returning to normal life.
On the economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, Al Jaida indicated that the State of Qatar and some other countries in the Middle East will be able to get out of this crisis faster than other countries, thanks to the financial policies it followed during the crisis, in addition to the rapid pace of vaccination.
He said that the State of Qatar has pumped QR75bn into the economy to alleviate the crisis, in addition to billions of riyals that have been pumped into the financial system and the stock market, and loans of billions that have been granted to small and medium-sized companies. All these steps helped get the economy back on track.
Al Jaida noted that that the State of Qatar was able to vaccinate about 65 percent of the population, hoping that things will return to normal in Qatar and that all restrictions will be lifted by September.
With the plans in place, the 2022 World Cup which Qatar will host next year will be the first fully vaccinated tournament of its kind, he continued, hoping that it will be done on time, and believed that by this time the economy will most likely have begun to return to normal, in the fourth quarter of 2022.
On the other hand, Al Jaida pointed to plans to expand the production of natural gas, to make Qatar the largest LNG exporter by about 126 million tonnes annually. He said that these plans will put the economy back on track and will establish it on solid ground, looking forward to achieving positive GDP growth in 2022, compared to 2020.
In conclusion, Al Jaida emphasised that creating more job opportunities, attracting foreign direct investment, and continuing government spending in the local economy will help the State of Qatar to be a preferred destination compared to other countries in the region, stressing that there is great competition with regard to attracting foreign direct investment.
