Qatar Today July 2015

inside this issue July 2015 / Vol. 41 / Issue 7

COVER STORY

35 READY FOR BUSINESS

Is the new Commercial Companies Law a game changer? Is this new iteration worth the long wait? How should businesses prepare for the impending change? These and more questions are answered as Qatar Today talks to businessmen, lawyers, analysts and forums to gauge the reaction to the new law that was issued on June 16.

30 “MILES TO GO BEFORE WE SLEEP...”

Qatar’s economy has gone through positive changes in the last two decades and its growth is based on building a robust diversified economy, and supporting the growing role of the private sector in increasing production, says Qatar Stock Exchange Chief Executive Officer Rashid Ali Al Mansoori.

42 HONOURING THE BEST IN BUSINESS

The first Qatar Today Business Excellence Awards paid tribute to top performers at the Qatar Exchange and recognised those business houses and leaders that have made a mark on society, either through their social commitment or exemplary leadership qualities.

62 ECHOES OF THE AMERICAN BALLOT

Dr John Hudak, Governance Studies Fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington, DC, tells us how the presidential elections in the United States in 2016, and some of the prospective candidates, could impact the Middle East.

inside this issue July 2015 / Vol. 41 / Issue 7

24 NEW INVESTMENTS TO BOOST QATAR UTILITIES

Requirements for water and power in Qatar are expected to rise sharply in the coming years, with water demand forecast to increase by more than 50% by 2022. How is Qatar preparing for this?

26 A NEW ERA FOR ENERGY VALUE CHAIN BEGINS

The world’s leading commodity trading houses are stepping up their investments in the energy supply chain, buying upstream, midstream and downstream physical assets such as oil fields, storage tanks, refineries, and even retail marketing businesses and power plants in a bid to diversify margins.

66 THE MAKING OF A LEGACY

Qatar Today sits down for a chat with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Qatar University’s new College of Medicine to learn about how they are building an international curriculum from the ground up.

69 GPS REWARDS SCHOOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE ACTIONS

Amidst a standing ovation from hundreds of students, Ali Bin Abi Taleb School received the Eco-School of the Year award at the conclusion of the second edition of Green Programme for Schools.

78 ATTRACTING THE BEST EDUCATORS

Doha will be hosting one of the biggest international education fairs in October 2015, the Qatar Global Education Fair, and Qatar Today talks to the organisers,BMI, to understand why there is so much fuss about this particular education fair that will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2017.

and regulars 12

NEWS BITES

15

BANK NOTES

18

REALTY CHECK

19

O&G OVERVIEW

72

TECH TALK

74

AUTO NEWS

76

MARKET WATCH

84

DOHA DIARY

from the desk

It is the peak of summer and, just like the pervasive heat, Doha suffers an additional burden. Something that we cannot ignore as a natural misfortune. The small fires that raze apartments or just ruin a room of a house are increasing in number every year and, unlike the Doha heat, this issue can be reformed, maintained and controlled informatively.

Doha News and social media channels have kept us abreast of some of the fire incidents in the neighbourhoods and, while many were lucky to have escaped without any loss of property or lives, others have been entangled in getting some form of compensation from owners of the property after having reported the mishap.

And like it is said that no news touches you until it happens to you, we have had a major fire incident affecting one among us, raising our awareness on the futility of the matter of fire safety in Doha and the consequent litigation. While the fire and safety departments here have been reacting quickly to the fire incidents, the same cannot be said about precautionary maintenance being implemented by the property owners or, in some cases, faulty construction methods being executed.

Many of the real estate agents operating within the country resort to middlemen to handle the contractual matters and many legal questions are left unanswered. The real estate agent who had rented out a part of the villa for one of our employees refused to compensate him or even help him replace the furniture that was destroyed by the fire caused by an AC short circuit, arguing that ACs are not to be run continuously in the absence of the tenants. He finally agreed to look into the matter after being given the alternative of having the incident publicised in all the daily newspapers.

We can either ignore this incident as an isolated mishap or choose to prevent such incidents by involving experts to help take corrective actions. While we choose to tackle it the way we know, by doing an investigative story on the standards of construction and fire safety, in our next issue, we caution all our readers to take precautionary measures and be safe this summer.

This issue, meanwhile, talks about another pertinent matter: the way business is done in Doha and the new Corporate Law that heralds change. Hear from lawyers and businessmen on this impending law, in our cover story.

We would also like to use this medium to thank all our well-wishers for supporting us at the Qatar Today Business Excellence Awards, especially our friends from the media and the important partners of our event. Read about this successful event this issue along with an indepth interview with our guest of honour, Rashid Al Mansoori, the CEO of Qatar Stock Exchange.

Examples of home-grown entrepreneurship are always inspiring and are not to be ignored and Al Emadi Enterprise is one such success story that we have focused on. Dr John Hudak, Governance Studies Fellow at the Brookings Institute, tells us how the presidential elections in the United States in 2016, and some of the prospective candidates, could impact the Middle East.

The country’s flagship education institute Qatar University, opens a new stream of education and we follow the educators to understand its scope. All this and more will make sure that summer is not as dull in Doha as we perceive.

Happy Reading.

SINDHU NAIR Managing Editor

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF YOUSUF JASSEM AL DARWISH CHIEF EXECUTIVE SANDEEP SEHGAL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT ALPANA ROY EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR SINDHU NAIR DEPUTY EDITORS V L SRINIVASAN IZDIHAR IBRAHIM SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS AYSWARYA MURTHY ABIGAIL MATHIAS KARIM EMAM ART SENIOR ART DIRECTOR VENKAT REDDY DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR HANAN ABU SAIAM ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR AYUSH INDRAJITH SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER MAHESHWAR REDDY NIBAL N BOUKHOUZAM PHOTOGRAPHER ROBERT F ALTAMIRANO MARKETING AND SALES BUSINESS HEAD FREDRICK ALPHONSO MANAGER – MARKETING SAKALA A DEBRASS ASSISTANT MANAGERS – MARKETING HASSAN REKKAB MATHEWS CHERIAN DENZITA SEQUIERA SONY VELLATT A H M IRFAAN ASSISTANT EVENTS MANAGER JASMINE VICTOR

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HAS SECURITY BEEN TIGHTENED IN DOHA AFTER THE RECENT ATTACKS IN SAUDI ARABIA AND KUWAIT? JUNE 2015 QATAR TODAY POLL

The Qatar Today Top 10 – a spotlight on Qatar Inc is a clear indication of Qatar’s prospering economy and kudos to Qatar Today for its impartial coverage of the report. The companies both, public and private, should respond to the government’s initiative and involve people by coming out with more Initial Public Offers.

40 YES

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Figures in percentages

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THE WINNING ENTRY FOR LAST MONTH'S QT POLL WAS SENT FROM

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The message from Ms Dana Haiden, who is heading Vodafone’s Corporate Social Responsibility wing, in her interview with Qatar Today is loud and clear.

CSR is not to gain mere publicity and is for a noble cause. It’s time for every company to emulate her and take CSR seriously.

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affairs > local THE WASHINGTON POST WITHDREW ITS ARTICLE ON QATAR’S MIGRANT WORKER DEATH TOLL AFTER ADMITTING THAT THE NUMBERS IN THE INFOGRAPH DIDN’T REPRESENT WORLD CUP CONSTRUCTION-RELATED DEATHS AND THAT IT COULDN’T INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE FIGURES.

EMIR AT WORK

Kafala changes likely by year-end The Government Communications Office released a statement to clarify the legislative process surrounding changes to the labour law and assure the public of speedy implementation.

14 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

I

n the first official statement since the proposal for changes were announced in 2013, the Government Communications Office has said that a final draft law amending the kafala sponsorship system is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Issued under the directive of the newly appointed director of the office, Saif bin Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, the statement said that Qatari authorities have made “measurable progress” with regard to labour practices in Qatar and that the new legislation represented “significant reform of the kafala labour contract system”. The office then provided a breakdown of the process of issuing laws in Qatar which begins with the cabinet drafting a law

AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANI

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani heads a meeting of the Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment at Al Bahr Palace. Also present were HH Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani, HE Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, HE Minister of Finance Ali Shareef Al Emadi, and other members of the council.

which is submitted to the Shura Council for review. The council, comprised of 30 Qatari citizens, sends the draft back to the cabinet, with its recommendations on the proposed law and policy, for further discussion.

The Office said that HE the Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani recently met with members of the Shura Council to discuss their recommendations. The statement conceded that the reform of the kafala system was “just one step in a longer journey, and in the months ahead the Government will be looking at further reforms to the labour practices in our country”.

THE WIDENING GAP BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA ERNST & YOUNG’S REPORT ‘HOW WILL THE GCC CLOSE THE SKILLS GAP?’ PAINTS A DIRE PICTURE OF THE EMPLOYABILITY OF GCC-EDUCATED GRADUATES, PARTICULARLY NATIONALS.

53%

OF EMPLOYERS RANK LACK OF WORK EXPERIENCE AS AFFECTING NATIONALS’ EMPLOYABILITY, WITH ONLY

30%

OF GCC STUDENTS HAVING GAINED ANY WORK EXPERIENCE

IT’S OFFICIAL Barcelona football legend Xavi Hernandez signs a ball after signing a two-year contract with Qatar’s Al Sadd team in Doha on June 11.

AFP PHOTO / STR

ACCORDING TO EMPLOYERS, COMMUNICATION SKILLS

36%

AND REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

22 %

ARE FURTHER CHALLENGES TO RETENTION IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR

16%

Communities in North Qatar host Darb Al Salama

O

OF EMPLOYERS BELIEVE THAT ONLY CURRICULA ARE CURRENTLY ALIGNED WITH PRIVATE SECTOR NEEDS, WITH THE LOWEST LEVELS OF SATISFACTION IN OMAN AND QATAR AND THE HIGHEST IN THE UAE.

STUDENTS IN QATAR WHO BELIEVE THAT THEIR EDUCATION IS EQUIPPING THEM WITH THE RIGHT SKILLS AND TRAINING FOR THEIR CHOSEN CAREER

STUDENTS IN QATAR WHO FEEL THEY KNOW WHAT QUALIFICATIONS THEY NEED TO WORK IN THEIR PREFERRED INDUSTRY

ver 12,000 school students and parents from youth centres and schools across the northern communities and Doha participated in the Ras Laffan Community Outreach Programme road safety initiative, ‘Darb Al Salama’. The initiative aims at improving road safety in Qatar’s northern communities and is organised in partnership with the Ministry of Interior, Traffic Department, Qatar Red Crescent, and Community Policing Department. The programme uses a mix of experiential and computer-based driver education software to help change driving and road safety behaviour, with the long-term vision of reducing fatalities and serious injuries resulting from road accidents. To date ‘Darb Al Salama’ has visited Al Thakhira, Al Khor, Simaisma, Al Shamal and Al Kaaban Youth Centre.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 15

affairs > local

Work begins on Qatar’s Solar Map

QFIS BUILDING SHORTLISTED FOR GLOBAL AWARD

Q

The Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies complex in Education City, built over three years, has been shortlisted for the prestigious title of 2015 World Building of the Year in two categories – religion and higher education. The upcoming Al Maha Center for Children and Young Adults and the new Qatar Courthouse also made the cut in the “future projects” category. The winners will be announced at the World Architecture Festival to be held in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, between November 4 and 6 this year.

atar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) will install 13 devices across Qatar to measure radiation and develop a solar map that will show the amount and intensity of solar radiation in various areas in the country. This map, which will be ready in a year, will help identify the best locations for installing solar cells for power generation.

QIPCO extends partnership with British racing

I

16 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

FIVE NEW HOSPITALS PLANNED

AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS

n the biggest and longest sponsorship that British equestrian racing has ever seen, Qatar Investments & Projects Development Holding Company has extended its partnership with the British Champions Series, British Champions Day, Guineas Festival and Ascot until 2024, reportedly for £50 million (QR285 million).

THE GOVERNMENT HAS ALLOCATED FIVE PLOTS OF LAND FOR NEW HOSPITALS WHICH WILL BE BUILT AND OPERATED

BY PRIVATE SECTOR ENTITIES, A LOCAL ENGLISH DAILY HAS REPORTED. THE PLOTS, MEASURING BETWEEN 10,000 SQ.M. AND 40,000 SQ.M., ARE LOCATED TO THE EAST OF QATAR UNIVERSITY AND IN THE AIN KHALID, ABU HAMOUR AND AL FUROUSH AREAS. THE TARGET SPECIALTIES FOR THE NEW HOSPITALS INCLUDE GYNAECOLOGY, PAEDIATRICS, PSYCHIATRY, SECONDARY MEDICAL CARE AND LONG-TERM MEDICAL CARE.

RAMADAN KAREEM DubaiSat-2, an earth observation satellite owned and operated by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, captured a one-meter resolution image of Mecca from outer space.

business > bank notes “We anticipate that both the retail banking and corporate banking segments in GCC will continue to exhibit growth – as long as falling oil prices don’t hinder government spending. The countries with the lowest growth rates in 2014 have a higher chance of witnessing strong growth in 2015.”

DR REINHOLD LEICHTFUSS Senior Partner and Managing Director Boston Consulting Group

WHERE QATARI BANKS STAND AMONG THEIR GCC PEERS Assets (2014)

Net profit ($ '000) (2014)

Rank

Qatar National Bank

113,614,471

2,889,461

1

Commercial Bank of Qatar

31,772,623

533,026

17

Qatar Islamic Bank

26,402,875

458,393

22

Masraf Al Rayan

22,003,920

554,173

28

Doha Bank

20,746,583

373,258

31

Al Khalij Commercial Bank

14,077,493

154,645

35

Qatar International Islamic Bank

10,548,751

226,873

39

Barwa Bank

10,059,032

176,191

40

Bank

QDB launches new entreprenership programme

Qatar Development Bank has announced the launch of the Home-based Business National Programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA), Social Development Centre (SDC) and Qatar Chamber.

T

his is aimed at improving the quality of all home-based businesses and also registering them in a proper format so that they can be funded be through “Al Dhameem” programme in which 14 Qatari banks are partners. The reason for the spurt in home-based businesses has been high rental costs.

“This programme will enhance the economic and social empowerment of the Qatari family,” says the bank’s Executive Director of Strategy and Business and Development, Hamad Khamis Al Kubaisi, adding that they were still working out the modalities of the programme.

BARWA BANK TO RAISE

QR7.28 BILLION Shareholders of Qatar’s Barwa Bank IPO approved plans for a QR7.28 billion ($2 billion) senior unsecured sukuk programme that could be issued in various currencies, according to a Reuters report.

The Islamic bank did not specify a timeframe or size for a potential debut deal. The bank also received approval to pay a cash dividend of 10% to shareholders, the report said.

Earlier, a survey was conducted which showed that over 95% of the home-based project owners are women. While 46% of the owners had current jobs and 43% did not have jobs at all.

The survey further showed that 28% of these owners work in food catering, 26% in handicrafts, 24% in sewing and 8% in business.

As much as 65% of the projects were established as hobbies while 18% were started as “source of income.”

One third of the 585 respondents cited financial issues as the main reason for failure of their ventures, while 25% cited domestic problems, the survey said.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 17

business > bank notes

A redefining moment Thirteen years may be short time for Dr Raghavan Seetharaman, the group CEO of Doha Bank, but the organisation certainly has come a long way under his stewardship during these years. The bank has been growing steadily over the years and plans are underway to expand the bank’s global footprint while consolidating itself in the domestic market, he tells Qatar Today.

T

he Q1 2015 results are a testament to Doha Bank’s unsatiated appetite to grow: Net profit was QR420 million, an increase of 5.2% compared with QR399 million during the corresponding period in 2014. The total equity announced was QR10.7 billion and return on average shareholders’ equity stood at an impressive 19.7%.

In a free-wheeling interview, Dr Seetharaman discusses the impact of oil prices on the GCC banking sector, how digitisation of banking services will make the banking experience better for customers, paperless banking, future plans including the recent opening of a Doha Bank branch in Mumbai in India, among others.

18 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

Which sector will the newly opened branch in Mumbai target to develop business in the coming years?

We will be focussing on corporate, retail, treasury, trade finance and project finance to develop our business. Some of the key products and services include comprehensive NRI 4-in-1 account packages, privileged status for HNIs, credit passportability, project finance/ advisory services to link GCC markets, ECBs, and unique deposit/investment products for non resident Indians.

All these products would be appropriately supplemented by technology-driven solutions such as digital account opening, Tablet banking, best-in-class mobile as well as phone banking solutions with SMS alerts, robust Internet banking

solutions, instantaneous e-remittances from GCC to India, online payment integration with utility services and a dedicated India Desk across all Doha Bank overseas locations to service its customers.

What measures will Doha Bank take in India to meet the challenge from the competitive retail banking operations with already established banks?

As a leading bank in the Middle East with a global footprint, Doha Bank has got some unique selling points for the strong nonresident Indian community. Doha Bank is establishing itself in India as “The Bank of Gulf Indians.”

We will take care of the banking needs of this niche segment in the home country (India) as well as the host country (GCC).

We are offering tailor-made solutions to the NRIs with competitive pricing, best exchange rates, free online instant remittances to India and within India backed by seamless service leveraging our network, gulf experience, partnerships and latest technology.

Do you agree with the reports that say GCC banks will be under pressure in funding liquidity due to falling oil prices? If it is true, what should the banks do to avoid such a situation?

The fall in oil prices is going to impact growth in the GCC region and the liquidity as well. Liquidity in both the government and private sectors will be affected. Deposit mobilisation will be challenging for the banking sector. Banks have to strengthen their relationships with major customers to procure major deposits.

What is the reason behind major Qatari banks, including yours, announcing plans to raise funds through issuance of Tier -1 capital instruments and others?

The Basel III framework focused on improving banks’ resilience by elevating liquidity and capital standards. Accordingly, to improve their capital position banks planned to approach capital markets.

Additional Tier 1 instruments as introduced by Basel III as a new capital category gave an option to the banks to raise capital at an optimal rate yet strengthen the capital base. The major driver of the issuance within Qatar and other markets seems to be investor appetite for a debt-like instrument yet participation in the equity of the bank with high yields.

The yields are high but still lower than dividend yields of the shares, hence, a cheaper form of capital for the bank, satisfying both bank and investor requirements. The instrument also expands the market and liquidity horizon for issuer banks.

Can you describe how your bank is increasing focus on customer experience to gain the edge over your competitors?

On the retail front, customer retention focus is done through a number of relationshipdeepening measures through cross-selling.

We have recently launched Tablet Banking to acquire new customers. We will continue to market personal loans, the most suitable retail lending product in the Qatari market space with product innovation.

We will focus on high-income Qataris to attract big-ticket stable loans and

“As a leading bank in the Middle East with a global footprint, Doha Bank has got some unique selling points for the strong non-resident Indian community. Doha Bank is establishing itself in India as 'The Bank of Gulf Indians'.” improved focus on rental income loans and loans against deposits. We will also focus on cross-border housing loans, especially in the UAE and India, as well as leverage digital marketing through online marketing, online calculators, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM), database marketing, online lead generation, etc, for improved penetration.

What are the latest trends taking place in the digitisation of banking services in Qatar as well as in the GCC region?

Internet usage in the GCC is relatively high, with 82% penetration in Qatar. GCC countries are already well positioned to take advantage of their customers’ positive attitudes toward Internet use. In the next five years, online services are expected to triple and online sales to new customers to increase five-fold, which is going to benefit the banking industry.

In June 2014, the United Arab Emirates Banks Federation announced the launch of a Mobile Wallet project, which incorporates the facility for smartphones to be used for cashless payments at merchants and retailers in the UAE. The Mobile Wallet services will be offered through mobile applications in 2015. Banks’ strategic ties with the payment industry have enhanced in recent years and have resulted in offerings such as digital wallet and tablet banking for the benefit of the customer.

Digitisation is also helping banks to offer round-the-clock services to customers without increasing capital costs of setting up full-fledged branches. Setting up electronic branches (small branches) with longer hours at more popular locations is a better solution for banks than buying/ renting stand-alone locations. Digital banking allows banks to migrate day-to-

day transactions to e-channels, reducing transaction costs. It allows banks to use branches for high-value advisory services.

With e-commerce and m-commerce gaining popularity, what steps should Qatari banks take to grasp the opportunity?

Retail banks are facing disruption in areas such as technology – where digital is reinventing banking; consumer – customers are redefining the rules of the game; competition – every bank must learn to innovate. Banks in Qatar also need to ramp up their strategies to adapt to this change.

Doha Bank recognised the emergence of e-commerce and m-commerce by being the first and to date the only bank in the country with an e-commerce portal, Doha Souq.

Doha Bank also maintains one of the largest market shares in the e-commerce payment gateway processing space. One of the many firsts for the bank was introducing m-commerce using debit cards. Banks should equally work with regulators, that is, ICT & Qatar Central Bank (QCB) to set an e-commerce roadmap that is conducive to the changing demands of consumers.

Qatari banks are already working various tie-ups in the payment industry and telecom operators and should continue to explore new such tie-ups to provide various services to customers. The e-commerce value chain is different from actual physical commerce, and each element needs to be modified to capitalise on this growing trend.

Banks should also come up with innovation in products such as tablet banking which Doha Bank has introduced recently for the benefit of customers.

What is the future for online banking in Qatar when we can see paperless banking in the coming years?

Online banking is evolving every day with the emergence of smartphones. This is the ultimate way to serve customers and stay connected to your customers anywhere anytime. At this pace, paperless banking is no longer a dream, it’s a reality getting clearer day by day.

Steadily, digital forms are replacing the printed forms, viz. statements, online forms, etc. We are already seeing paperless banking coming up in Qatar’s retail segment on account of m-commerce and e-commerce developments, though it may take some time to achieve 100%. Once the digitisation factor is also adopted in the corporate segment, then paperless banking can be fully achieved QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 19

business > realty check “Quite frankly, I don’t think that even if the FIFA World Cup 2022 is taken away from Qatar, it would have an impact on the real estate market. People working on the various infrastructure projects at all levels would still require accommodation, roads, hospitals, schools and offices to work from.”

EDD BROOKES General Manager DTZ, Qatar

QIA invests in Vietnam and Hong Kong

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) reportedly became the new owner of the tallest building in Vietnam in an $800 million deal.

T

he QIA has accepted the $800 million price set for the acquisition of the Keangnam Landmark 72 tower in Hanoi, according to English-language newspaper The Korea Herald, which cited “investment bankers and news reports.” The complex, consisting of one 329-meter office tower and two 48-storey residence towers, opened in October 2011.

The newspaper also said the QIA has also “gained exclusive rights for the ensuing negotiations.” The Doha-based company, which specialises in domestic and foreign investment, is one of the two

Award for Alfardan Properties Alfardan Properties was named winner of the "Luxury Residential Real Estate of Qatar Award" during the 2015 Luxury Lifestyle Awards at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dubai.

The annual awards is an international ceremony which honours companies and brands in the luxury segment for exemplary initiatives and achievements.

Alfardan Properties was honoured for living solutions which focus on luxury, sophistication and affluence. The company received a certificate of recognition and a Golden Crown Award symbolising its leadership in satisfying sophisticated and demanding luxury real estate clients.

20 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

interested investors, besides Goldman Sachs, that have publicised their plans to acquire the 72-storey building.

Hong Kong: The QIA has also bought a stake in Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s electric utility by paying QR4.37 billion ($1.2 billion) to boost its investments in Asia.

It will acquire a 19.9% interest in HK Electric Investments & HK Electric Investments Ltd., controlled by Li’s Power Assets Holdings Ltd. Through the deal, HK Electric will allow Power Assets to retain control of the utility, which supplies electricity to about 568,000 customers in the city.

Ruling family buys another home in London?

The UK media reports suggest that the Royal family has bought one of London’s grandest family homes for over £40 million ($61.9 million).

B

ritish papers reported that the Al Thani family purchased the six-storey listed Victorian townhouse close to Park Lane from businessman David Meller. Following on a raft of deals through which the Qataris have acquired a chunk of London’s exclusive Mayfair suburb, local property agents in the capital have dubbed the area "Little Doha".

An unnamed real estate specialist told the London Evening Standard: “The [Park Lane] house is huge but is just one piece of the jigsaw. It is part of the assembly of a much bigger estate in north-west Mayfair. The Al Thani family is looking to build a vast luxury dormitory where you might have an aunt living in one property and a cousin in another,” the specialist said.

business > oil&gas

“In essence, the sole market which has all the sets of financial and technological tools is the U.S. market, which has become the key regulator, and the oil prices in the U.S. have set the tone of the global oil industry.”

IGOR SECHIN President Rosneft

Qatar's LNG to last for 138 years

Qatar has sufficient gas reserves to maintain production at current rates for some 138 years, according to a Qatar National Bank report.

T

he Gulf nation remains the third largest producer of natural gas in the world after the US and Russia with 5.1% of global production. Qatar is also the world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas with 31% of total global exports in 2014.

The report says that Qatar’s domestic energy demand is expected to rise strongly as the population grows rapidly due to the influx of expatriates being called in to work on the country’s large infrastructure programme.

The QR37.5 billion ($10.3 billion) Barzan project is expected to come online in the near future and will meet rising domestic demand to a large extent, the report says, adding that the first production from Barzan is expected during the second half of this year.

OPEC REVENUES FALL BELOW $1 TRILLION IN 2014 The 2014 crash in oil prices caused the combined oil earnings of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ 12 members to drop 11% from QR4.04 trillion ($1.112 trillion) in 2013 to QR3.62 trillion ($993.3 billion) in 2014. It is the first time the group’s revenue has fallen below $1 trillion since 2010.

The organisation’s Annual Report 2014, released on June 16th, showed the financial damage done to the industry by the precipitous fall in the global average price of oil from late June 2014, when it was around $115 per barrel, to the end of the year, when it was under $60. And members’ combined current account balance fell by 35% to QR995.90 billion ($273.6 billion) due to a drop in exports and an increase in imports.

SOUTH PARS GAS PRODUCTION UP BY 35% The South Pars gas production increased by 35%, a turning point in the development of the gas field, says Mehdi Yousefi, Managing Director of Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ). It would increase by 100 million cubic meters this year, he says.

South Pars contains 40 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. It covers an area of 9,700 sq km. Of which, 3,700 sq km are in Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 sq km are in Qatar’s territorial waters. The gas field is estimated to contain about 8% of the world’s reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.

The main phase of South Pars gas field came onstream in March this year, increasing Iran’s gas production by 100 mcm per day.

OPEC’s May output highest since Oct 2012 OPEC kept its foot on the gas pedal and pumped about 31.11 million barrels per day in May, or 180,000 barrels more per day than in April, which is the group’s highest monthly production volume since October 2012, according to Platts.

S

audi Arabia led the pack by adding 150,000 bpd in production last month, boosting its total production to 10.25 million bpd in May. Angola also saw its output jump by 70,000 bpd last month while Iraq recorded a 50,000 bpd production hike. Smaller production increases also came from Angola, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

Platts says the extra production was partially offset by a 90,000 bpd production decline in Libya that pushed daily production in that country down to 430,000 bpd. Iran, Kuwait, Nigeria and Qatar also saw their production dip slightly in May. QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 21

business > viewpoint

Cost-cutting remedy for oil price

The recent severe decline in global oil prices has pushed many government budgets into a deficit position, leading to budgets being refocused on key strategic activities and projects across government departments and government-related entities (GREs).

impact?

R

educed budgets for non-critical items and projects can create pressure on organisational cost bases and procurement.

In the GCC region, the burden of this can extend to many private sector companies who have exposure to government projects, and in particular in the real estate and construction sector (and related supply-chain sectors) where a significant proportion of projects are ultimately undertaken for GRE developers.

Therefore, both GREs and their private sector suppliers are directly impacted – reduced budgets (effectively the "revenue" of GREs) leads to less procurement, which severely impacts the revenue of private

sector companies, and both types of entity face significant pressure to balance budgets and/or maintain profitability.

Short term no use Short-term direct cost-cutting is often not sustainable, and can be highly damaging to organisations over the longer term.

While the natural response to such a circumstance is to seek to reduce operational costs, this often targets areas such as staff costs (i.e. number of employees and remuneration packages) and perceived "discretional" cost items such as marketing and capital expenditure.

Whilst cutting costs in such areas can deliver short-term savings, they are often not sustainable and loss of key talent and under-investment in business infrastructure can have a serious negative impact on an organisation over the longer term.

Therefore, despite the high levels of pressure to reduce costs quickly, senior management teams should avoid making impulsive, short-term decisions. They should instead seek to adopt a longer-term strategic approach to optimising their organisation’s cost base through achieving commercial and operational efficiencies in addition to direct removal of costs.

Holistic approach Management teams should seek to review every aspect of their organisation in order to take a holistic approach to optimising its cost base.

Rather than simply removing identifiable overheads, which risks inadvertently damaging the organisation, processes and systems across the entire organisation

22 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

The seven areas of focus during a cost-cutting review Organisational strategy

Treasury management

Does the organisation understand the new strategic realities regarding limitations on available funds?

Is working capital being managed optimally, and are there any ‘quick wins’ that can be generated from better cash management (e.g. collecting receivables faster, negotiating more favourable payment terms with suppliers)?

Is cost optimisation aligned to the organisation’s overall strategy, and does the strategy need to be amended to accommodate it?

What structural barriers to implementation exist within the organisation?

Is the organisation’s capital base structured efficiently?

Are borrowing terms and conditions comparable to market rates?

Processes and controls

People

What are the gaps in current process controls?

Are the organisation’s employees ‘right for their roles’?

Are processes and controls clearly documented and articulated to staff?

Are they aligned to organisational strategy?

Procurement efficiency and outsourcing Can centralisation/streamlining of procurement drive purchase cost savings?

Conversely, could decentralisation of procurement to divisions improve focus and efficiency?

Does the organisation outsource functions appropriately?

Organisational structure Does the documented organisational structure reflect reality?

What is the optimum head-count and can underutilised and/or redundant-resources be identified?

Is decision-making authority delegated appropriately?

should be reviewed and streamlined with more efficient operational processes. Only then can truly redundant overheads be identified and removed without negatively impacting day-to-day operations.

Support needed Management teams may require support to define and implement the most appropriate cost optimisation strategy.

The key areas to be considered are often diverse and complex even in isolation, and should be addressed as part of a comprehensive and integrated project. The focus should be on three specific directions across all individual areas: 1. Quick wins These focus on a short-term (up to three months) implementation timeframe which seeks to rapidly implement sustainable initiatives to demonstrate progress to external stakeholders. This may typically include: a. Improving cash flows through better

BY ADAM CHARLESWORTH Assistant Director of Reorganisation Services Deloitte

What key skills gaps exist and where?

Is the organisation compliant with local regulations, and what impact would reducing costs have on compliance (e.g.

‘Nationalisation’ considerations)?

Technology Do the IT infrastructure systems adequately support organisational need?

Are staff sufficiently ‘technologically literate’ to use technology tools available?

These key areas must be considered together as part of a coordinated cost optimisation strategy rather than in isolation to arrive at the optimal solution. Organisations must also be aware that implementation of long-term performance improvement takes time and requires a cultural change led from the top. Implementation must be undertaken with long-term strategic goals in mind.

working capital management; b. Removal of non-critical expenditure from budgets; c.

Reduction of easily identifiable redundant staff overheads; and d. Disposal of surplus assets to generate cash and drive improved assetutilisation overall.

2. Tactical considerations These are typically undertaken over three to six months, and focusing on longer-term commercial and operational initiatives to improve margins and operational efficiency and to reduce costs. This may typically include: a. Customer and supplier strategies to improve margins and terms; b. Defining departmental strategies and budgets; c. Outsourcing of internal functions to improve operational efficiency; and d.

Developing bespoke performance management tool kits.

3. Strategic considerations These focus on long-term, organisationwide structural initiatives to drive evolutions in business processes over a twelve to twenty-four month period. This may typically include: a. Aligning the organisation’s cost base with its long-term strategy; b. Refining and improving organisational charts and delegation of authority matrices; c.

Longer-term capital efficiency improvements and technological system evolution; and d. M&A options and structural solutions.

Organisations must nominate a senior "sponsor" for any programme of this scale in order for it to be successful. In addition, the optimal solution may require significant up-front investment, which can appear counter-intuitive in a "cost saving" environment – articulating the benefits of such investment to key stakeholders and decision making will be critical to success QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 23

affairs > arab snippets

24 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

T E R RO R ST R I K E

Kuwaiti security personnel and medical staff carry a man on a stretcher at the site of a suicide bombing that targeted the Shiite Al-Imam al-Sadeq mosque during Friday prayers on June 26, in Kuwait City. An Islamic State affiliated group in Saudi Arabia, calling itself Najd Province, said militant Abu Suleiman Al Muwahhid carried out the attack and claimed the mosque was spreading Shiite teachings among Sunni Muslims.

AFP PHOTO / STR

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 25

investment > viewpoint

New investments to strengthen Qatar utilities Requirements for water and power in Qatar are expected to rise sharply in the coming years, with water demand forecast to increase by more than 50% by 2022.

26 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

“The Mega-reservoirs project will increase potable water storage capacity to about 3.5 billion imperial gallons per day, ensuring seven days of unrestricted water supply.”

T

ENG. ESSA BIN HILAL AL KUWARI President, Kahramaa

he Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA) estimates that the daily demand will rise to 482 Million Imperial Gallons per Day (MIGD) by that year, up from the present level of 308 MIGD. The surge in usage will also fuel demand for electricity, with the increase in water requirements to be met through desalination.

The state’s per capita water usage is already among the highest in the world due to a growing population and an expanding industrial base. Its population rose 8.7% year-on-year in April to reach 2.3 MIGD, an increase of 187,000 over the last 12 months, according to a report from Qatar National Bank. Population growth for 2015 is expected to ease somewhat to around 7%, but the recent expansion, coupled with a large ramp-up in spending on major infrastructure projects, is putting increasing pressure on the country’s utilities.

New projects To address the issue, KAHRAMAA is rolling out a series of projects over the next few years to strengthen utilities infrastructure and upgrade distribution networks to reduce losses during supply and transmission.

One of the country’s flagship developments is a mega-reservoirs project, which will be among the biggest water schemes ever undertaken by KAHRAMAA. Ground was broken on the first of five reservoirs in mid-May, the initial stage of a QR17 billion ($4.6 billion) project to enhance the country’s water security.

“The Mega-reservoirs project will increase potable water storage capacity to about 3.5 billion imperial gallons per day, ensuring seven days of unrestricted water supply,” Eng. Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari, President of KAHRAMAA, told OBG. “This can be extended to up to four weeks with controlled consumption. It will also help

to ensure water supply reliability, as well as security,” he added.

Facility D project Another major project in the pipeline is a new power and desalination plant in Umm Al Houl.

On May 25, final contracts were signed for the construction and operation of the plant, with the $3.2 biliion independent water and power project awarded to K1 Energy, a consortium between Japan’s Mitsubishi and Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco).

When fully completed in 2018, the plant – known as Facility D and located some 20 km to the south of Doha - will produce 2400 MW per day of electricity and 130 MIGD of water.

The agreement follows an international tender issued last year by KAHRAMAA, which signed a power and water purchase agreement (PWPA) with K1 Energy and partners Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC), Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Foundation. The PWPA will have a 25-year term, according to a statement lodged with the Qatar Stock Exchange, and the project will help to boost the country’s installed daily power generation capacity to 11,000 MW and water production to 535 MIGD. Spanish firm ACCIONA Agua has already been commissioned to provide technical services for the development and another project, the Ras Abu Fontas A3 desalination plant - an independent water project that will produce 36 MIGD. Both projects, worth an estimated $525 million, will utilise reverse osmosis membranes to purify seawater, the first time such technology has been used in a large-scale processing facility in Qatar. In the statement submitted to the Qatar stock exchange on May 25th

by QEWC, the joint venture partners said that 85% of the funding for the Facility D project would be sourced from local and international commercial banks and export credit agencies, with the balance coming from shareholders’ equity

BY OLIVER CORNOCK The author is the Regional Editor of Oxford Business Group.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 27

oil & gas > viewpoint

A new era for

energy value chain begins The world’s leading commodity trading houses are stepping up their investments in the energy supply chain, buying upstream, midstream and downstream physical assets such as oil fields, storage tanks, refineries, and even retail marketing businesses and power plants in a bid to diversify margins.

D

riven by rising competition, new transparency regulations and adverse conditions, trading firms are evolving from the light-on-asset firms they used to be into vertically integrated energy companies with large ownership interests across - and greater control of - the energy supply chain.

Always known for operating in a cut-throat, low-margin environment, commodity trading firms have seen pressure on arbitrage margins accelerate in recent years as their superiority of market knowledge has been eroded by the dissemination of market-relevant information and data, while the number of new players entering the business has increased rapidly over the past decade; in Geneva alone, the number of commodity trading firms doubled to about 400 between 2006 and 2011. This in turn has pushed up the need to deploy more capital to generate the same or even smaller returns – a proposition that industry executives say is neither attractive nor sustainable.

In response, trading firms have turned to a trading-plus-asset strategy, investing up and down the value chain.

Growing list of deals The list of deals initiated by trading firms in recent years is long and growing. In 2014, Vitol bought a power plant in Northern England from oil refiner Phillips 66 and completed the acquisition of an oil refinery

28 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

and petrol station network in Australia from Shell for $2.6 billion (QR 9.46 billion).

The transaction followed Vitol’s buyout of Shell’s downstream assets in Africa in a deal first announced in February 2011.

Competing trader Trafigura meanwhile spent about $800 million (QR2.91 billion) in 2013 on two petrol station and oil import terminal companies in Australia.

Similarly, trading firms Mercuria and Gunvor have adjusted their strategies and invested in different types of assets along the energy value chain. Mercuria in 2010 bought a coal concession in Indonesia and, a year later, entered into a financing and partnership agreement with US coal producer Bowie Resources, while also acquiring a 5.7% stake in Optimum Coal Holdings of South Africa. Gunvor in 2012 acquired two refineries, one in Antwerp, Belgium, and one in Ingolstadt, Germany, from insolvent Swiss refiner Petroplus.

Trading companies are pursuing their strategies at a time when a rising number of international oil companies (IOCs) are under pressure to sell downstream assets to place a stronger focus on upstream activities in order to maximise returns, thus creating significant opportunities for independent commodity trading firms to gain market share and increase their footprint. Apart from Shell’s asset sales in Australia and Africa, oil majors such as BP, Statoil and Total have also divested assets, especially downstream, to shore up finances.

Extracting value For trading houses, buying up assets such as oil fields, fuel distribution networks, refineries and power plants in many ways is a logical extension to their existing business model. It ensures ongoing demand for oil, gas and other commodities that sit in their storage facilities to serve their refineries, distribution networks and power plants, while investments in upstream assets guarantee product volumes for trading. The thinking behind this strategy is that by integrating market-related supply with efficient distribution, value can be extracted out of that proposition.

In addition, trading firms are seeking to extract greater value from the assets they acquire by driving greater efficiencies and cost benefits from the integration into their unique portfolios. There is another benefit that’s arising from the acquisition of physical assets along the value chain. The new ownership positions are providing trading firms with unique insights into factors behind market price formation - information that in turn can be used to their advantage.

Opportunities for trading companies to pick up assets along the energy value chain are also arising from other developments.

Trading companies’ more active posture in the up-, mid- and downstream sectors comes at a time when investment banks are scaling back their activities to comply with new and upcoming regulation in the US and UK. As a result, banks, which became heavily involved in physical commodities trading over the past decade, are selling more and more of their physical assets.

Competition As trading firms evolve more into vertically integrated energy companies, they are increasingly finding themselves locked into competition with emerging national oil companies (NOCs), which are seeking to secure new resources by buying up productive overseas assets on the one hand, and to gain access to international know-how and technology on the other.

The transformation of NOCs into heavyweights with global reach has had several important implications for trading firms. Not only do NOCs increasingly acquire assets abroad, they also continue to control their own vast domestic resources with little or no access to international players, while selling their output and products directly to their customers. As a result, NOCs today control a significant size of the tradable oil market, which in turn is limiting the business opportunities for trading firms. The acquisition of productive assets is one way

for trading houses to secure a greater market share.

As trading firms’ business models are changing, so are their funding requirements.

Companies’ expansion strategy has meant that firms have had to raise funds beyond their existing balance sheets and secure longerterm capital and financing - at a time when the risk appetite of traditional trade finance banks has crumbled in the face of new regulations and higher capital requirements.

Challenges As trading companies are pursuing their new strategies, they are also likely to face a number of other challenges.

Financing and transaction costs will increase as new regulations such as Basel III or the Dodd-Frank Act come into force. Also, due to firms’ greater market concentration resulting from their expansions, the regulatory burden and compliance obligations on them may increase, with the result that regulatory approvals and clearance from competition authorities will be required for future merger and acquisition transactions. At the same time, the ownership of physical assets in key energy-producing and/or transit countries such as Libya, Iraq, Ukraine and Nigeria makes trading houses more vulnerable to risk factors such as resource nationalism, sanctions or increased instability. Meanwhile, different kinds of risks are arising for trading firms investing in North American shale assets. Located in politically stable, wellregulated environments, the challenge here will be the technical complexity and geology of the developments.

But the challenges don’t end there. With oil prices at two-year lows and other commodity prices also receding amid sluggish global economic conditions and slowing growth in China, trading firms will be watching closely to determine their next moves. While trading firms tend to be price indifferent because they’re not speculating in any direction, lower commodity prices potentially impair the value of their assets - and their business. However, at the same time the lower values may create new deal opportunities.

When asked during the 2014 Gulf Intelligence Energy Markets Forum whether trading firms will successfully extract more value from the downstream assets they have acquired from IOCs, more than half of all respondents comprising senior energy industry officials and executives agreed, while 25% didn’t believe they would and the remaining 20% said it was too early to say.

The new era for trading firms has only just begun

BY SEAN EVERS Managing Partner Gulf Intelligence

ABOUT GULF INTELLIGENCE Gulf Intelligence facilitates knowledge exchange and networking between stakeholders in the Energy, Healthcare and Banking & Finance sectors across the Gulf region. The strategic communications firm, headquartered in Dubai and operating in Qatar and Oman, prepares and positions clients as Thought Leaders in their industry utilising a range of dynamic platforms that ensure a direct and tangible engagement with stakeholders. www.thegulfintelligence.com QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 29

affairs > world view

T H E C O LO U RS O F LOV E

An activist shares the good news over the phone, standing in front of the specially lit-up White House. On June 26 the US Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage is a constitutional right, a landmark decision in one of the most keenly awaited announcements in decades that sparked scenes of jubilation.

AFP PHOTO/MLADEN ANTONOV

30 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 31

markets > listening post

“MILES TO GO BEFORE WE SLEEP.....”

32 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

QATAR’S ECONOMY HAS GONE THROUGH POSITIVE CHANGES IN THE LAST TWO DECADES AND ITS GROWTH IS BASED ON BUILDING A ROBUST, DIVERSIFIED ECONOMY AND SUPPORTING THE GROWING ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN INCREASING PRODUCTION AND INVESTMENT, SAYS QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE (QSE) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RASHID ALI AL MANSOORI.

BY V L SRINIVASAN

H

owever, he says the role of the private sector as one of the pillars of diversifying income sources has not thus far reached the desired level and much remains to be done to develop it. The responsibility for doing so rests with both the government and the private sector. “Therefore, an efficient and well established capital market contributes to the growth of the economy since it facilitates efficient capital allocation, allocating funds to those projects and companies that generate the highest return,” Al Mansoori says.

QSE supports Qatar’s financial sector by offering a platform for the government’s privatisation programme, supporting familyowned companies, and offering a diversified range of products for local and international investors. QSE has initiated a dedicated SME Venture Market for many Qatari SMEs seeking corporate growth and expansion. In addition, QSE facilitates companies and the government to raise capital and offer investors an efficient platform for asset allocation (capital formation and capital allocation).

“Based on the above, we can see that the Exchange measures and controls the growth of the national economy. Thus, the Exchange is a barometer of the economy since it maintains the stock indices which are the indicators of the general trend in the economy,” he says.

The bourse can also benefit small investors through allowing them to participate in the growth of large companies, by buying a small number of shares. This will allow the public to mobilise their savings to invest in high-yielding economic sectors. In the last three years after he joined QSE, Al Mansoori has initiated many changes in the day-to-day functioning of the bourse and they include bringing more transparency, encouraging new companies to go for Initial Public Offering (IPOs), and launching a second market for the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

The one area where he is yet to taste success is luring new companies to get listed on the Stock Exchange but he is leaving no stone unturned. Al Mansoori feels that there is a lot more ground to be covered to put QSE among the top bourses in the world and is working QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 33

markets > listening post towards achieving the goal.

“The MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which is tracked by investors with more than QR21.84 trillion ($6 trillion) in assets, has upgraded Qatar to emerging market status alongside Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa,” Al Mansoori says.

MSCI Emerging Markets is the most widely used index by investors in developing markets. Because much of the funds tracking the index are passive investors, inclusion in the index compels additional capital to be funneled to the markets it covers.

He says the upgrade will attract additional international investors, support the market liquidity and thus benefit listed companies and the other investors. “For example, we have already seen an increase in accounts opening with the Exchange by foreign institutions and gradually these will increase their investments in the market, especially the stocks that had been included in the MSCI EM index,” he avers.

Al Mansoori points out that analysts estimate Qatar could attract around QR3.64 billion ($1 billion) in total of additional foreign funds because of the MSCI decision. There has been a clear increase in interest in Qatar overall and its listed companies both before the formal inclusion and thereafter. This was evident when QSE held road shows in 2014 and 2015 where there was increased interest to meet the QSE-listed companies from a broader spectrum of investors including some who had not looked at Qatar in great detail previously.

“In 2013, the year prior to the reclassification, foreign institutions accounted for 22% of our trading volumes.

Last month (May 2015), that number was up to 29%. That’s a 30% increase notwithstanding the fact that overall volumes have doubled over the same period,” he explains.

On foreign firms getting listed on the QSE, Al Mansoori says that the bourse is an international exchange with strong domestic roots. “Regionally we are confident that QSE is now positioned and recognised as one of the leading exchanges, while globally we will keep working hard to establish ourselves as one of the most attractive stock exchanges for investors around the world taking advantage of our solid and advanced infrastructure and the fast-growing economy of our country.

“The increase of the FOL from 25% to 49% is positive for the Qatari market because it is an attempt to increase their share or exposure to the emerging markets index. This also indirectly opens up Qatar’s energy and banking system to more strategic investors, especially in view of the fact that Qatar is a rich country with immense wealth and its banking sector is a profitable one,” he says.

New listings He says new listings are the fuel of the Exchange and of trading. That’s why they encourage new listings on the QSE market and the Venture Market dedicated to SMEs. In the region, 80% of businesses outside of the oil industry are family-owned, and so

the QSE held various conferences, aiming at explaning listing.

“The government is also encouraging companies considering an IPO through various incentives and planning some state-owned entities to go for IPOs. Generally, the government selects profitable companies to privatise, because this is what encourages people to rush for a slice of the cake. Unlike some other countries that might attempt to privatise companies that are losing in order to shed responsibility for them, in Qatar it is about encouraging diversification and boosting the wealth of the country for the benefit of its people,” Al Mansoori says.

Citing the success of Mesaieed’s listing, which is likely to pave the way for more IPOs in Qatar in the near future, he says the government wants to use IPOs to develop the financial markets and promote the culture of stock investment among citizens. For its part, QSE provides any company wishing to list with enormous technical and operational support.

He says the government is planning to bring companies to the market in the coming years and in this regard he points out that Qatar Petroleum (QP) was contemplating a series of IPOs for its subsidiaries over the next 10 years. “The Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding IPO is not an isolated event but is part of a series of IPOs that QP intends to undertake during the next 10 years. This plan is within the context of the investment and savings programme that seeks to offer Qatari citizens the opportunity to share

EXCHANGE TRADING ACTIVITY Trading value during May 2015 increased by 62.66% to reach QR 13,602,461,205.55 compared to QR 8,362,277,149.02 during April 2015. Trading volume increased by 97.12% to reach 394,035,246 shares, as against 199,896,901 shares, while the number of transactions rose by 28.08%, to reach 139,246 transactions as compared to 108,714 transactions during April 2015.

Percentage %

April 2015

May 2015

-0.96%

12,164.48

12,048.26

The Index

28.08%

108,714

139,246

No. of Transactions

97.12%

199,896,901

394,035,246

Volume of Shares Traded

62.66%

8,362,277,149.02

13,602,461,205.55

Value of Shares Traded (QR)

34 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

Trading Data May 2015

the country’s current and future wealth,” he says.

It is not that the QSE officials are satisfied with the developments. They are implementing several initiatives to boost and maintain liquidity in the market. Of particular note is the recently implemented liquidity provision scheme which allows for both exchange and issuersponsored programmes. They are also working hard to encourage further IPOs, advising both government and corporate entities on the benefits of listing.

“The MSCI upgrade has had a positive impact on our liquidity and we believe our other initiatives will further boost our performance in the months to come. Our average trading turnover has increased by over 180% y-o-y and we continue to see burgeoning interest in index constituents.

As to the proposed stock split, we believe that this will go through as it is supported by senior decision makers, the regulator and ourselves. However, I cannot give you a specific date for its implementation because it is subject to regulatory approvals,” Al Mansoori says.

Crisis may not come from within the market or from the region but from troubled spots like the eurozone which is facing the gravest threat from economies like Greece besides stunted global economic growth in the next two years.

Still, QSE has drawn up priorities to stimulate liquidity and enhance the free float available for trading and attracting more family-owned firms to the market in the near future. The bourse is also seeking liquidity expansion and business

We expect to continue serving the local economy in terms of capital formation and capital allocation. We believe in the importance of a local exchange meeting the needs of local companies and local investors. At the same time we recognise the importance of international participation in our market and we will continue to offer easy access to foreign investors.”

RASHID ALI AL MANSOORI CEO Qatar Stock Exchange

12,800

12,600

12,334.06

12,400

12 ،200

12,540.10

12,515.86

12,195.04

12,522.30

12,366.92

12,457.17

12,285.45

12,207.64

12,443.42

12,443.49 12,471.89

12,409.13

12,399.49 12,228.83

12,282.17

12,279.17

12,250.21 12,048.26

12,123.22 12,000 11,902.07

11,800

11,600

31-05-15

30-05-15

29-05-15

28-05-15

27-05-15

26-05-15

25-05-15

24-05-15

23-05-15

22-05-15

21-05-15

20-05-15

19-05-15

18-05-15

17-05-15

16-05-15

15-05-15

14-05-15

13-05-15

12-05-15

11-05-15

10-05-15

09-05-15

08-05-15

07-05-15

06-05-15

05-05-15

04-05-15

02-05-15

01-05-15

11,200

03-05-15

11,400

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 35

markets > listening post diversification by taking various measures to enhance its competitiveness by listing foreign companies. QSE is the second in the region in terms of market capitalisation.

“We expect to continue serving the local economy in terms of capital formation and capital allocation. We believe in the importance of a local exchange meeting the needs of local companies and local investors. At the same time we recognise the importance of international participation in our market and we will continue to offer easy access to foreign investors,” he says.

According to Al Mansoori, the strategy will centre on continuing the groundwork laid in the cash market specifically, (i) improving liquidity further (ii) facilitating listing procedures and developing investment products and (iii) improving disclosure and transparency applications.

Venture Market for SMEs Recognising the importance of SMEs’ contribution to the nation’s economy, a SME Venture Market was launched in 2011. The transformation of SMEs into public listed companies has a significant positive impact on the economy as a whole.

Joint-stock companies are often created by a large group of founders willing to invest in large capital projects, while it is difficult for SMEs to do so on their own. “The creation of the venture market generates a strong motivation for emerging companies to look for a new source of funding by raising their capitals without having to face debt risks,” he says.

To encourage IPOs of SMEs QSE and Enterprise Qatar (EQ) jointly launched the SME Subsidy Programme marking the next stage in the development of Qatari SMEs, the QE Venture Market, Al Mansoori says.

Family-owned businesses The QSE is focussing on the importance of transforming family-owned businesses into joint-stock companies, as a first step towards incorporating them in the financial market. Such action would ensure their continuity and growth, while helping in developing the market, expanding its base and diversifying its sectors. This will also reflect the commitment of those FOBs to disclosure and transparency standards and regulations and to governance requirements to comply with the best global practices.

“On the other hand, if we look to the family-owned businesses, they need to be aware of the benefits of going public. In this 36 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

EQUITY TRADING SUMMARY Date: 24 June 2015

No. of Traded Companies

38

No. of Advanced Companies

22

No. of Declined Companies

II

No. of Unchanged Companies

5

No. of Transactions

2,822 Traded Volume

5,247,652 Traded Value (QR)

260,584,0I2.3I regard, we initiated an awareness campaign to educate family-owned companies about the benefits of being listed in order to address their hesitation to list in the market,” he says.

Future plan Based on its pivotal role, QSE has introduced various mechanisms to assist investors, including DVP, liquidity provision and DMA schemes.

In addition, it has introduced a number of new investment tools such as bonds and treasury bills, as well as assisted in licensing a number of banks as custodians, launching various new indices, and allowing banks to perform financial service activities in the market.

QSE embarked on cooperation with local asset managers some time ago, in order to develop a pipeline of ETF products.

“The QSE sees these as a natural progression, having listed equity and bonds already. The strategy is to provide investors with either long exposure or new ways of trading local index benchmarks, and also to provide access to markets that would otherwise have been difficult to invest in. ETF assets globally surpassed QR10.92 trillion ($3 trillion) last month and it’s an arena that we believe QSE has a big part to play in.

“We also plan to list REITS, real estate investment trusts, as real estate plays a big part in local life, and to provide economic exposure to large developments or properties via a ticket on the stock exchange has enormous potential,” Al Mansoori says.

The Exchange also plans to introduce corporate bonds as they have been a great success on the London Stock Exchange where every issue was heavily oversubscribed. The same can be replicated here to capitalise on the strength of local companies, he says.

Shares listed and bonds’ access can be provided to securities that would otherwise be locked up as long-term holdings, e.g., in portfolios of institutional investors. Other market participants on the borrowing side would benefit from the alternative pool of securities, for example if they would have commitments to make market in those securities or if they needed the securities to meet their settlement obligations (failed management). On the lending side, larger institutional investors (typically) would have the opportunity to get an additional return on their long-term holdings.

Lending and Borrowing is one of the key success factors of liquidity providing.

“All these initiatives require commitment from all stakeholders in the financial space in Doha, and we rely on the support of the regulators to move things quickly,” Al Mansoori adds

READY FOR BUSINESS

IS THE NEW COMMERCIAL COMPANIES LAW A GAME CHANGER?

IS THIS NEW ITERATION WORTH THE LONG WAIT? HOW SHOULD BUSINESS PREPARE FOR THE IMPENDING CHANGES? THESE AND OTHER QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED AS QATAR TODAY TALKS TO BUSINESSMEN, LAWYERS, ANALYSTS AND FORUMS TO GAUGE THE REACTION TO THE NEW LAW THAT WAS ISSUED ON JUNE 16.

BY V L SRINIVASAN AND AYSWARYA MURTHY QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 37

COVER STORY THE NEW COMMERCIAL COMPANIES LAW:

A GAME CHANGER?

“[WITH THE NEW LAW] THE PRACTICE OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES IN THE COUNTRY WILL EXPERIENCE A LEAP OF GREAT QUALITY IN THE NEAR FUTURE; IT IS AIMED AT ENCOURAGING THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.” HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani Minister of Economy and Trade State of Qatar

Q “IN THEORY, IT SHOULD NOW BE POSSIBLE, SUBJECT TO ALL DOCUMENTATION BEING IN PLACE AND CORRECT, TO INCORPORATE AN LLC WITHIN THREE OR FOUR DAYS OF SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION. IN ANY EVENT, THE MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND COMMERCE MUST NOW RESPOND TO AN APPLICATION TO REGISTER A COMPANY WITHIN 15 DAYS OF THE APPLICATION BEING PRESENTED.” Andrew Wingfield

Partner Simmons & Simmons Middle East

38 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

atar has been steadily removing obstacles that have been hindering new companies in kick-starting their operations. The first was to increase the foreign ownership limit (FOL) from 25% to 49%, and now the new Commercial Companies Law will replace the legislation enacted in 2002. The new law, which will come into force 30 days after its publication in the Official Gazette which is expected to be around early July this year, is already making news as businesses across the GCC region and elsewhere are keenly watching the developments. Companies will have six months thereafter to comply, where necessary, with the new provisions.

Besides offering a host of concessions, the new law is said to be a game changer as far as the functioning of commercial entities in the country is concerned.

HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Minister of Economy and Trade, says that with the new law, “the practice of commercial activities in the country will experience a leap of great quality in the near future; it is aimed at encouraging the private sector to play a vital role in achieving sustainable development.”

The Minister further explains that the new law takes into account the international standards that are being built by rating countries in terms of ease of starting and doing business or service, which will contribute to raising the classification of Qatar, and meets the economic and social variables requirements to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030.

Its implementation is expected to give a big thrust to the government’s economic diversification programme. “The main purpose of this new law is to enhance Qatar’s strategic international economic standing and growth and develop the business environment in order to promote foreign investment in the state in the

private sector,” comments Dani Kabbani, Managing Partner at Eversheds. “The new law has taken into consideration some of the advantages set out in other countries’ laws and amended the provisions to be further in line with international standards.

It aims at creating a more conducive environment for start-ups and business operation.” Describing the new Commercial Companies Law as an “important step forward” for Qatar as it seeks to diversify its economy and, in particular, stimulate the private sector, Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) Editorial Director Richard Thompson says that the advancement of the non-oil economy is the next stage of the region’s development and right at the heart of this is the need to stimulate private enterprise and support risk-taking entrepreneurs.

While Kuwait enacted its own version of the commercial companies law in 2012, after a quarter century of debates and discussions, the UAE issued a similar law in April, two months before Saudi Arabia opened its market to foreigners. Qatar issued the new law last month and with business-friendly legislation coming into force, the spillover of international investments that Saudi Arabia attracts is likely to flow into Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. The enactment of this legislation is crucial and comes at a time when Qatar is slipping in the World Bank rankings on ease of doing business. While it occupied the 45th rank in 2014, it has gone down to 50th position in 2015. This would send nothing but the wrong signals to potential international investors at a time when foreign direct investment is imperative for the country’s economic growth.

Peter Cook is Managing Director of the British Chamber of Commerce, which seeks to encourage British SMEs to set up shop in Qatar and take advantage of the country’s booming economy. He knows

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE NEW LEGISLATION FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE COMMERCIAL COMPANIES LAW, WHICH WAS ISSUED BY THE EMIR HH SHEIKH TAMIM BIN HAMAD AL THANI IN JUNE 2015.

PAID-UP CAPITAL

The previous requirement for a limited liability company to have a minimum paid-up share capital of QR200,000 on incorporation has been removed (Article 234).

It is now possible for shareholders to waive formally their pre-emption rights, subject to 75% shareholder consent at an extraordinary general assembly and approval from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (Article 195).

The old “Article 68” regime continues under Article 207 of the new law, but importantly only applies in relation to the incorporation of private shareholding companies, so it seems it is no longer possible to incorporate a public shareholding company under the new Article 207.

RIGHTS OF PERSONAL CREDITORS

As well as a personal creditor being able to benefit from the profit payable to a shareholder, the new law now allows creditors of shareholders to bring a claim before the competent courts to sell the shares of a shareholder in a company to recover sums owed to the creditor. The creditor may also request a seizure on such shares to guarantee their rights (Article 12).

COMPANY SUPERVISION AND PENALTIES

If the companies breach any of the provisions of the law, the Ministry may, after notifying and investigating the offender, issue a warning, prevent the offender from being a board member or manager indefinitely or for a specific period or impose a monetary fine of between QR 10,000 daily and QR1,000,000 in total. Such decision may be published and there is a right to appeal (Article 324).

For offences previously contained in Article 324, the fine has gone up from between QR10,000 and QR100,000 to QR1,000,000. An extra offence is also contained in relation to board members, managers or liquidators involved in preparing false financial statements or intentionally omitting material facts (Article 334).

For offences previously contained in Article 325, the fine has gone up from between QR5,000 and QR50,000 to QR500,000. An extra offence is also contained in relation to board members who obtain a loan or guarantee from the company in breach of the provisions of the law and anyone who approved such loan or guarantee (Article 335).

DISSOLUTION

A company will be dissolved if the shares are transferred to a number of shareholders which is less than the minimum set out in the law, unless such company converts to another form of company within six months of such transfer or if the number of shareholders is brought back to the minimum (Article 291).

that British companies will welcome many aspects of the new law. “The fact that the law is changing would imply that there are improvements worth making to the law to reflect the new economy and the new market conditions that prevail in Qatar.

Laws tend to be living creatures, and reflect characteristics of the economy of the time,” he says. “The old law was no doubt a good one back in 2002 but clearly it is no longer as good as it could be. I am pleased that one aspect of preparation of the new law is that the Qatar authorities have been consulting widely with business leaders to take their views into account. That is a really important step and gives business

confidence that any new law will try to address the concerns about the old law.”

True to that, the new legislation appears to be in response to the demands from the business community to expedite registration and renewal procedures. It is considered far-reaching and significant as it is expected to streamline, encourage and support the growth of commercial entities, particularly the SMEs, in the country and make their operations more effective and commercially viable. It is being talked about as equally beneficial to SMEs and large corporations, touching companies that are just starting up to large corporations that are listed on the stock

“ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS ONLINE WITH LITTLE PAPER WORK AND WITHOUT REQUIRING THE INVESTORS TO PHYSICALLY ATTEND TO THE PROCESS IS NOT YET AVAILABLE IN QATAR; WHEREAS BY COMPARISON TO THE US AND CERTAIN OTHER COUNTRIES, THE ELECTRONIC APPROACH APPEARS TO BE INCREASINGLY COMMON AND IS PROVING TO BE MORE FAVOURABLE WITH INVESTORS.” Charbel Maakaron

Corporate Partner, Squire Patton Boggs Founding member, American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 39

COVER STORY THE NEW COMMERCIAL COMPANIES LAW:

A GAME CHANGER?

TAKE NOTE, SHAREHOLDING COMPANIES DANI KABBANI SAYS SHAREHOLDING COMPANIES DOING BUSINESS IN QATAR WILL WANT TO PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO VARIOUS KEY CHANGES WHICH HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED BY THE NEW LAW RELEVANT TO THE ESTABLISHMENT AND GOVERNANCE OF SHAREHOLDING COMPANIES.  A public shareholding company must now offer its shares for subscription by the public

within 60 days of its incorporation, otherwise the company will expire by law unless the founders, within 30 days from the end of the deadline for offering the shares, amend the Articles of the company and convert it into any other form of company as set out in the law.

 A public shareholding company must now be listed within one year of its incorporation

or its conversion into a public shareholding company, otherwise it will automatically be converted to a private shareholding company. Further, upon listing, the company must provide its shareholder register to the depository; this is no longer optional.

 The regime for companies incorporated under the old Article 68 has been retained.

This regime continues under Article 207 of the new law, however only in terms of the incorporation of private shareholding companies.

 Pre-emption rights can now be formally waived subject to 75% shareholder consent

at an extraordinary general assembly and approval from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce.

 The previous six months' prohibition to submit a new application by the founders if the

initial application has been rejected has now been decreased to one month. This shows the intention not to delay the process.

 The previous limitation period of five years for a concerned person to request the

invalidation and liquidation of a public shareholding company established illegally has

“HOLDING COMPANIES MUST NOW ENSURE THAT ALL SUBSIDIARIES KEEP ALL NECESSARY FINANCIAL RECORDS AND THE HOLDING COMPANY MUST PREPARE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, A PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT AND CAPITAL EXPENDITURE STATEMENT TO BE PRESENTED TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY WITH NECESSARY EXPLANATIONS AND STATEMENTS AS REQUIRED BY INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS.” Dani Kabbani

Managing Partner Eversheds, Qatar

40 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

exchange. As Kabbani puts it, “The main advantage for SMEs in light of the new law is the deletion of the minimum share capital requirement for limited liability companies. This type of company is the most common for SMEs establishing in Qatar, with fewer regulations and no corporate governance requirements. As for large corporations, the changes introduced to shareholding companies, whether related to the incorporation, shareholders, board members and corporate governance, will strengthen their position and will grant advantages.”

A friend of SMEs and LLCs First and foremost among the many reliefs for those looking to start a business in Qatar is the waiver of the previous requirement for a Limited Liability Company (LLC) to have a minimum paid-up share capital of QR200,000. It is now left to the discretion of the shareholders who will decide about the capital of the company. This is easily the most widely appreciated change in the law. “This is great for entrepreneurs as it significantly reduces the entry barrier to start businesses. It also saves the cash they

have to be spent on customer validation and developing initial product prototypes,” says Ahmed Abdulwahab, Head of Incubation at Qatar Business Incubation Center. “Part of the learning at the Lean Startup Program is iteration, i.e. updating and improving on the Minimum Viable Product, and cash is needed for this.” Analysts also believe that this will enable local SMEs to compete with those in other countries in the GCC and the wider Middle East region.

Partner at Simmons & Simmons Middle East, Andrew Wingfield, says, “For first-time entrepreneurs and other businessmen, establishing a company should be that much easier without having to have QR200,000 in cash from ‘day one.’

In addition and helpfully it will be possible for an LLC to be incorporated with just one shareholder,” he says. He refers to the provision that the single-person company is no longer a separate corporate vehicle as it has been merged with the limited liability companies, which is now possible with one shareholder. “The provision prohibiting the object of a limited liability company to include banking, insurance, banking activities has been deleted although the

now been reduced to six months from its incorporation.

 Board meetings may now be held via modern communication tools and resolutions taken

by circulation are now admissible, provided all board members agree in writing to such decisions and provided they are submitted at the next board meeting and included in the minutes.

 The exemption for contracting works and public tenders carried out by board managers

where these are related to activities similar to the activities of the company or for having any direct or indirect interest in the contracts or projects of the company has been removed.

 It is now a “gross mistake” that will trigger the board members’ responsibility towards the company. The previous law referred only to “a mistake”.

 The new law no longer allows to set a lump sum payable to the directors. The board of

directors’ remuneration shall not exceed 5% of the net profits after deducting the legal reserves and distribution of at least 5% dividends.

 The nominal value of each share can now be between QAR1.00 and QAR100.  An expert appointed by the ministry will undertake the evaluation exercise of the in-kind contribution instead of a court-appointed valuer.

 Islamic Sukuk can be issued by public shareholding companies.  The new law increases the regulatory environment for shareholding companies and

introduces incumbent corporate governance obligations upon the board of directors, which shall be responsible for implementing such corporate governance rules. This move will afford further transparency and assistance in monitoring the board’s activities and enhance the growth of investor confidence. The minister will issue corporate governance rules to be applied by private shareholding companies whereas listed public shareholding companies on the stock exchange are bound by the Qatar Financial Markets Authority’s corporate governance rules which are already in place. This addition to the law will align the status of shareholding companies before their respective regulators and enhances the collaboration role of these different regulators.

prohibition still exists under the Qatar Central Bank Law,” Kabbani clarifies.

The hope is that the new law will ease up one of the aspects of starting up a business and complement some of the other efforts by the government to support SMEs. “The mandatory requirement to have commercial space, the difficulties in procuring financing from local banks, the restrictions on hiring or moving staff, are several other issues that SMEs often struggle to address. We are aware, however, of certain initiatives taken by the Qatari government to address those issues, namely the SME funding programme undertaken

by Qatar Development Bank,” says Charbel Maakaron, Corporate Partner at Squire Patton Boggs which is a founding member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar.

The new law also introduces friendlier publication requirements for foreigners, requiring publication to be made now in two local newspapers, at least one of which should be in the Arabic language, which leaves the possibility to publish in English newspapers. Publications should also be made on websites if available,

according to Kabbani.

Further up the ladder For holding companies and large shareholding companies too, there are provisions that provide some much-needed breathing space in some cases and tighter restrictions in others. “Holding companies must now ensure that all subsidiaries keep all necessary financial records and the holding company must prepare consolidated financial statements, a profit and loss account and capital expenditure statement to be presented to the general assembly with necessary explanations and statements as required by international accounting standards,” says Kabbani. He goes on to add, “Another important change is in relation to the conversion of companies to a public shareholding company (except for the conversion of private shareholding companies which is governed by other provisions). Whilst it was required for the company to have been registered for at least three years and must have achieved net profits that are distributable of not less than 10% of its capital within the two fiscal years preceding its request for conversion,

“LAWS TEND TO BE LIVING CREATURES, AND REFLECT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ECONOMY OF THE TIME. THE OLD LAW WAS NO DOUBT A GOOD ONE BACK IN 2002 BUT CLEARLY IT IS NO LONGER AS GOOD AS IT COULD BE. I AM PLEASED THAT ONE ASPECT OF PREPARATION OF THE NEW LAW IS THAT THE QATAR AUTHORITIES HAVE BEEN CONSULTING WIDELY WITH BUSINESS LEADERS TO TAKE THEIR VIEWS INTO ACCOUNT.” Peter Cook

Managing Director British Chamber of Commerce, Qatar

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 41

COVER STORY THE NEW COMMERCIAL COMPANIES LAW:

A GAME CHANGER?

“RED TAPE AND SLOW AND PAINFUL LICENCING AND REGISTRATION PROCESSES ARE AMONG THE BIGGEST BARRIERS AND PAIN POINTS TO SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES AND START-UPS. ANY INITIATIVE THAT REMOVES THESE PAIN POINTS IS TO BE WELCOMED, SO LONG AS IT IS REAL AND ENFORCED.” Richard Thompson

Editorial Director Middle East Economic Digest (MEED)

the only requirement in the new law is for it to have been registered in the commercial registry for at least two years. The new law however kept the Ministry’s discretion to impose other requirements. The definition of acquisition has been widened, steps have been established to protect minority shareholders in the event of acquisition, and new offences have been put in place.”

“THE MAJORITY OF QATARIS ARE KEEN TO INVEST IN THE COUNTRY AS QATAR WILL BE HOSTING A SERIES OF SPORTING EVENTS SUCH AS 2022 FIFA WORLD CUP, AND THE GOVERNMENT IS CREATING THE RIGHT AMBIENCE FOR THEM TO LAUNCH NEW BUSINESSES.” Hassan Yousef Al Hakeem

Chairman Al Hakeem Group of Companies

42 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

One-stop shop Wingfield says the new law reflects government’s commitment to speed up the incorporation process for LLCs and there are already in fact a number of government locations in Qatar which effectively offer a “one-stop shop”, meaning that it is now possible to apply for an LLC’s Commercial Registration, membership of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and the LLC’s Commercial and Signage Licences at the same place (but not the Immigration Card). In theory, this should mean it will be possible, subject to all documentation being in place and correct, to incorporate an LLC within three or four days of submitting an application. “In any event, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce must now respond to an application to register a company within 15 days of the application being presented,” he says. In case the registration is not done, the aggrieved party has the right to knock on the doors of justice and now the Ministry of Commerce and Economy will hear such cases and dispose of them within two weeks. Kabbani considers this system revolutionary for expediting the process of incorporation.

For example, once the new law is in force, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce would launch an online system whereby new companies can get their contracts with their respective clientele endorsed, along with approvals from the Ministry of Justice.

“Red tape and slow and painful licensing and registration processes are among the

biggest barriers and pain points to small and medium-sized businesses and startups. Any initiative that removes these pain points is to be welcomed, so long as it is real and enforced,” Thompson says. He also advises all budding entrepreneurs in Qatar to visit the Ministry of Economy and Commerce website or consult a commercial law firm to know more details.

This shift to electronic documentation and approvals has long been on the wish list of local businessmen. This is the first step towards the “ideal”, which negates the need to even visit a government office during the registration process. “One must acknowledge the Qatar government’s efforts in expanding its offering to the public through electronic means by making information and documents available to investors through the internet. However, establishing a business online with little paper work and without requiring the investors to physically attend to the process is not yet available in Qatar; whereas by comparison to the US and certain other countries, the electronic approach appears to be increasingly common and is proving to be more favourable with investors,” says Maakaron.

What’s unchanged The new law isn’t a complete overhaul, however, and many provisions have been retained. While the capital requirements have been relaxed, provisions in the existing law are still reflected in the new law, meaning that the management and shareholders of an LLC will have to take remedial action if losses amount to more than half of the company’s capital.

“It is important to appreciate that the new law does not bring about any changes to the general requirement for a company (subject to certain exceptions) to be owned 51% by a Qatari shareholder. Restrictions on foreign ownership of Qatari companies

are contained in the Foreign Investment Law and that law remains unchanged,” Wingfield points out. This is a deeply contentious issue; while many feel that it enforces accountability among a largely floating population, others like Maakaron feel it greatly influences the ease of setting up a business. “A foreign investor can establish a company in the US without requiring a local partner as is the case here in Qatar, which simplifies the process and removes a number of requirements that would otherwise be very time consuming, including, for example, drafting suitable articles of association or other partnership documents. By contrast, however, for a local investor establishing a business in Qatar, the process can be quicker and easier given the absence of certain requirements that would otherwise be required of foreign investors,” he says.

While we are on the topic, we should also note that the new law does not make any changes to the incorporation of companies in the Qatar Financial Centre or the Qatar Science & Technology Park, both of which have their own separate incorporation regimes and rules.

Another gripe of start-ups, particularly in the technology space, is that “the commercial law still requires companies to have an office space, so incubation is still vitally important”, according to Abdulwahab. Given the cost of office space in Qatar, incubators will remain very important for start-ups to grow, he opines.

In addition, the new law makes no change to the existing relatively attractive tax regime. Essentially, LLCs which are 100% Qatari-owned do not pay tax, whereas LLCs which have foreign ownership will have their profits taxed at the rate of 10% on the share of the foreign investors’ profits, Wingfield points out.

In the long term There is cautious optimism with regards to the immediate and long-term effects of the new law. “The immediate effects will most likely be demonstrated through shorter and easier establishment processes for setting up companies in Qatar. The longterm aspects, however, will be exemplified through improved corporate governance measures that the new law now requires not only for public joint stock companies, but also for private shareholding companies,” says Maakaron.

Kabbani feels it’s good that the new law has introduced a few new concepts although most of the essential features

and framework of the law have been maintained. “It is without doubt that companies incorporating in Qatari limited liability companies will appreciate the evolution of the law in terms of the share capital requirement. Investors would also feel more confident in dealing with listed companies. It is important to bear in mind that the new law anticipates that various regulations will be published to implement its operative provisions. We will have to wait and see how and if these further regulations might assist in the application of the new law.”

Cook too feels that the longer-term benefits are harder to envisage at this stage as only time will tell. “Definitely the new law will be helpful but to what degree is dependent on the market. The fact that markets and the global economy are evolving so fast will undoubtedly have an impact on business regulation in many countries, so we will need to see how the new law is affected by these.”

For him, the important aspect is for the Qatar authorities to continue to consult with business leaders and business groups on the effectiveness and efficiency of the regulatory regime. It’s a precarious balancing act between keeping up with the times and not frustrating businesses with frequent changes in regulation.

Stamp of approval Overall, the response to this provision on the law has been positive. “Such laws promote our country’s economy as it makes things easy for newcomers,” says Hassan Yousef Al Hakeem, Chairman of Al Hakeem Group of Companies. According to him, the majority of Qataris are keen to invest in the country and the new law will reduce the cumbersome process of registering a new company and, whether a Qatari or an outsider, will help in establishing new ventures. “Everyone wants to be part of one project or another,” Al Hakeem says.

While Cook wouldn’t be too quick to judge the ease of doing business here, which is influenced by so many other factors like the size of country, scale of economy, trade, a complex set of laws, systems, and regulations etc, he believes that Qatar has undoubtedly improved as a place to set up business in recent years. It has become a more progressive place for business and it’s apparent in its attitude to encourage new ventures, and the fact that the authorities are looking at bringing in a new law is the best evidence that they want to become even more attractive to business

“THE WAIVER OF THE MINIMUM PAID-UP CAPITAL IS GREAT FOR ENTREPRENEURS AS IT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES THE ENTRY BARRIER TO START BUSINESSES. IT ALSO SAVES THE CASH THEY HAVE TO BE SPENT ON CUSTOMER VALIDATION AND DEVELOPING INITIAL PRODUCT PROTOTYPES.” Ahmed Abdulwahab

Head of Incubation Qatar Business Incubation Center

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 43

HONOURING

THE BEST IN BUSINESS

THE FIRST QATAR TODAY BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS PAID TRIBUTE TO TOP PERFORMERS AT THE QATAR EXCHANGE AND RECOGNISED THOSE BUSINESS HOUSES AND LEADERS THAT HAVE MADE A MARK ON SOCIETY, EITHER THROUGH THEIR SOCIAL COMMITMENT OR EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP QUALITIES. 44 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

The Qatar Today Top 10 companies which won the QATAR TODAY BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS 01

Widam Food Consumer Services

02

Medicare Group Healthcare

03

Masraf Al Rayan Financial

04

Gulf International Services Consumer Services

05

Islamic Holding Group Financial

06

Al Meera Consumer Goods Company Consumer Services

07

Industries Qatar Industrial

08

Qatar Fuel (Woqod) Utilities

09

Barwa Real Estate Co. Consumer Services

10

National Leasing Holding Co. Consumer Services

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 45

SPECIAL AWARDS

These are awards given to companies and individuals for excelling in the fields of business and also for aligning their company goals with QNV 2030.

HONOURING

THE BEST IN BUSINESS

Special Award for Excellence in CSR and Social Values KAHRAMAA for the Tarsheed Initiative Businessman of the Year Dr Raghavan Seetharaman Group CEO, Doha Bank

Best CEO of the Year Eng. Abdulla Hassan Al Mehshadi CEO, Msheireb Properties

The Emerging Real Estate Entrepreneur K C Abdul Hameed Managing Director, Rastec Properties

Most Innovative Company Coastal Group of Companies

The Best Logistics Company DHL Logistics

Lifetime Achievement Award Hussain Ibrahim Al Fardan Chairman, Alfardan Group and United Development Company

The Maserati Qatar Today Young Achiever Award Mariam Farid, Track athlete 46 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

NINE

years after Qatar Today Top 10 was first introduced, the Qatar Today Business Excellence Awards was held at the Hilton Hotel on June 16 to honour the top performers at the Qatar Exchange. Attended by over 350 guests that included the stalwarts from the business community, this red-carpet extravaganza was one of the most talked-about events in the local media and trade magazines.

Widam Food Company clinched the award for the topperforming company listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange for its performance during 2014. Medicare Group took second place and Masraf Al Rayan took third place. The awards were presented to the representatives of the winning companies by the guest of honour, Qatar Stock Exchange Chief Executive Officer Rashid Ali Al Mansoori.

The awards highlighted the best performers on the Qatar Stock Exchange so that investors could better understand Qatar’s market conditions and make educated and intelligent investments.

Camille Raphael, General Manager, ALSHALL explained the ranking process of the Qatar Today Top 10 to the august gathering. He said, “When Qatar Today approached us to compute a ranking methodology ten years ago, we wanted to make the calculations simple yet useful from the investor's point of view. There are different methods to access the best performers but these calculations are a simple yet efficient method and hence we went ahead with this weighted average system that was devised entirely for the Qatar Today Top 10.”

The formula of calculations was through a weighted average of 20% each for Price Growth, Dividend Yield and Liquidity, while Net Profit Growth, Revenue Growth, Return on Equity and Return on Assets are weighted at 10% each. The ranking is based on the financial performance over the last five years.

The methodology also includes other measures of profitability such as return on equity, which shows the size of the profits of a company in relation to the amount the shareholders have invested in it, and return on assets, which measures how effectively a company’s assets are put to use.

“Lastly, liquidity of the stock expressed in terms of average traded volume and number of transactions was also taken into consideration, given that if someone would like to exit the investment, he or she should be able to do it easily,” he explains.

The Qatar Today Top 10 methodology as formulated

by ALSHALL also measures all the financial and trading performance as an average of the five-year period to smooth out extraordinary one-time performances, and

OPENING CEREMONY The star-studded audience comprising Qatar's business elite watches as the Guest of Honour, Rashid Ali Al Mansoori, is welcomed, the magazines are unvieled and the opening addresses are delivered

by Camille Raphael, General Manager, ALSHALL (left) and Muhammad Bahemia, Partner and Head of Audit, Deloitte Qatar.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 47

HONOURING

THE BEST IN BUSINESS

A HIGH HONOUR Qatar Today Top 10 awards recipients, clockwise from top left: Mohamed bin Nasser Al Qahtani, Deputy CEO, AL Meera; the winners; Jamal Hammad, Deputy CEO, Medicare; Abdulrahman Al Khayarin, General Manager, Widam; and images from the event.

48 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

Publisher and Editor-inChief of Oryx Adversiting, Yousuf Jassem Al Darwish, at the awards ceremony

assesses the listed companies during a period of extended recent history, he explained.

Muhammad Bahemia, Partner and Head of Audit, Deloitte Qatar, talked about the importance of transparency in accounting. He said, “Transparency relates to the true worthiness of the financial statements of companies.

Regulators are placing more emphasis on financial statements and it is crucial that all companies, small to large, diligently manage financials since there is an emphasis on building Qatar’s private sector.”

Al Mansoori said, “The Qatar bourse has introduced various mechanisms to assist investors, including DVP, liquidity provision and DMA schemes. Qatari companies need a boost to participate in the country’s growth and the QSE provides this opportunity. Awards from a local magazine like Qatar Today will be an encouragement for the business community and we welcome and support this great initiative.”

The Special Awards of the Qatar Today Business Excellence Awards were presented by Ali Abu Sharbak, Assistant General Manager for Governmental and International Relations, Chairman’s Office, and Alpana Roy, Executive Vice President, Oryx Advertising.

The Special Award for Excellence in CSR and Social Values was given to KAHRAMAA for the Tarsheed Initiative.

According to Eng. Abdulla Al Khulaifi, Head of Conservation & Energy Efficiency Section, “Qatar made an effective saving of about QR600 million in three years since the launch of the Tarsheed campaign by KAHRAMAA to reduce consumption of electricity and water and there was a reduction of 11% in the total consumption of water and electricity in the country. “ The campaign has also helped reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 1.8mn tonnes, and gas waste by 43,000mn cubic ft, until the end of December 2014, according to the KAHRAMAA official.

Accepting the award for the Best CEO, Eng. Abdulla Hassan Al Mehshadi, CEO, Msheireb Properties, said, “I am absolutely humbled by this award, and would like to accept it on behalf of all of my colleagues at Msheireb Properties.

I feel very blessed to be in the position I am in, leading a world-class organisation, and in a role I could not fulfil without the support of each and every person at Msheireb.

Together we have had many accomplishments, most notably the continuing progress on the Msheireb Downtown Doha

project. As 2015 progresses we look forward to achieving many more milestones for the company on the path to supporting the Qatar National Vision 2030.”

The Best Businessman of the Year Award was presented to Dr R. Seetharaman, Group CEO, Doha Bank. “With the changing face of businesses, excellence is all about recognizing sustainability and all the stakeholders involved and ensuring that business is delivered with social responsibility,” he said.

K C Abdul Hameed, Managing Director of Rastec, was recognised as the Emerging Real Estate Entrepreneur.

Hameed, who has been in the industry for three decades, has recently entered the real estate portfolio and aims at transforming the sector.

The Special Award for the Most Innovative Company went to Coastal Group of Companies, a conglomerate that thrives on handling impossible challenges with their impeccable capabilities of project management and innovative ideas.

Coastal Founder and CEO, Nishad Azeem said, “The private sector should take the lead and be involved in the building of the future of the country.”

The Special Award for the Best Logistics Company was given to DHL. Accepting the award, DHL Country Manager, Nael Attiyat said, “We are proud to be counted among the esteemed recipients, all of whom represent the best in their respective fields. We have always advocated the importance of promoting market transparency and we remain steadfast in our commitment to strengthen our position in the local market. Rest assured this will serve as further encouragement for our team as we continue our efforts to contribute positively to the country’s overall economic well-being by providing unparalleled world-class service.”

Hussain Ibrahim Al Fardan, Chairman, Alfardan Group was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and his son, Fahad Hussein Al Fardan received the award on his behalf. Fahad Hussein Al Fardan, along with Charly Dagher, General Manager, Alfardan Sports Motors Division, gave away the Maserati Qatar Today Young Achievers Award to Mariam Farid for her contribution in the field of sports.

The Qatar Today Business Excellence Awards was held under the auspices of Qatar Chamber, with Maserati as the main sponsors. The Support Partner was Amadeus, the Knowledge Partner was ALSHALL Economic Services and the Validating Partner, Deloitte Qatar. Supporting partners were Gulf Marketing and Empire Communications while the venue partner was Hilton Hotel.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 49

Eng. Ali Mohamed Al Ali Manager Conservation & Energy Efficiency Department KAHRAMAA

HONOURING

THE BEST IN BUSINESS

ENG. ABDULLA AL KHULAIFI, HEAD OF CONSERVATION & ENERGY EFFICIENCY AT KAHRAMAA ACCEPTS THE AWARD

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EXCELLENCE IN CSR AND SOCIAL VALUES

KAHRAMAA’S TARSHEED INITIATIVE

TO CONSERVE AND PROTECT KAHRAMAA has drawn ambitious plans to save water and electricity for conservation, sustainability and environmental protection and apply them in all sectors and in places with high consumption in the next five years. It also aims at achieving the best results through scientific approaches and many projects like raising competency levels among government departments beginning with industries and stopping the import of highly incandescent lamps and replacing them with energy-saving lamps. Through Tarsheed, the National Campaign for the Conservation and Efficient Use of Water and Electricity launched three years ago, KAHRAMAA implemented several projects in 2014. In addition, it enforced the Electricity and Water Conservation Law, detected about 12,000 cases of violation, and introduced efficient use and re-use of water and reduced consumption of electricity last year. In addition, cooperation with government agencies like the Environment Ministry in developing Qatari standards of performance of air conditioning systems and assessment of their power efficiency led to the success of the programme.

Banning imports of inefficient power systems, gradual phaseout of inferior quality incandescent lamps and collaboration with the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning to make it mandatory for complete insulation of buildings has also reduced yielded desired results.

Knowledge attainment KAHRAMAA, which is implementing Tarsheed, has adopted a strategy of sharing and knowledge attainment by signing over 46 agreements and memoranda of understanding with a number of expertise houses specialised in the field. Local partnerships with the ministries, government institutions, private companies and scientific research centres proved to be the decisive factors in the programme’s success. The efforts will be continued and the cooperation of everyone will be sought to achieve the objectives of the programme.

KAHRAMAA has also taken up social awareness programmes in schools and mosques, launched information campaigns targeting various sections of the society in more than seven languages, and enforced the electricity and water

conservation law. The programme, in collaboration with the Environment Ministry, in establishing Qatari energy efficiency standards for air conditioners by banning the import of inferior-quality air conditioning systems, turned out to be a huge success. This saved electricity consumption by about 946 gigawatt/hour, or 12%, and the gradual phase-out of low-energy efficiency incandescent lamps will save about 555 gigawatt/hour, or 20% of the total energy consumption in the country by 2017.

Great success Tarsheed succeeded in reducing the level of consumption of electricity and water by 11% during 2014. As a result, 1.8 million tons of harmful carbon emissions were reduced, and QR600 million were saved. Tarsheed now plans to reduce 15%-16% carbon emissions by 2017.

Future plans In 2016, KAHRAMAA will open KAHRAMAA Awareness Park, an educational complex that will act as a lighthouse and platform to educate the youth and future generations.

The park supports KAHRAMAA’s efforts to introduce, in collaboration with concerned bodies, conservation as a culture in educational curricula. It is worth mentioning here that Tarsheed has recently won the Energy Globe World Award for Sustainability, an international award in recognition of launching eco-friendly projects all over the world.

At present, plans are underway to develop energy efficiency standards for other devices such as refrigerators, washing machines and other domestic appliances to improve their energy efficiency. Work is also in progress to complement the achievements made by expanding the scope of using treated water to include watering parks and lawns in collaboration with the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning. In the field of renewable energy sources, work is underway to develop renewable energy in coordination with the concerned authorities. This year, an encouragement prize was announced and introduced for the first time to the best initiative and application in this field.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 51

HONOURING

THE BEST IN BUSINESS

MARIAM FARID AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY

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THE MASERATI QATAR TODAY YOUNG ACHIEVER

MARIAM FARID

CHAMPION IN THE MAKING Spotted when she was playing for fun at the Aspire and inducted into the national athletics team when she was just 13, Mariam Farid is today one of Qatar’s most promising runners and a media darling.

Farid says she never imagined in a million years that she would end up representing the country on the track. Even though she had always been sporty and would easily win track events at her co-ed school. Like she says, a career in sports is always something that happens to someone else, until it happens to you. “It’s not something your parents tell you when you are growing up,” she says. But her dad was the first person the coach approached when he spotted her talent and he travelled with her to her very first international competition. “He was there with me, he believed in me and that really gave me a lot of encouragement.”

Chatting with Farid can be disorienting. Her conversation is peppered with “teen-speak”, with a lot of “yo” and “wassap” and “dude” thrown in, but her passion, sense of ethics and pragmatism seem way beyond her years. She talks matter of factly about the need to make sacrifices and how if you are focused and dedicated, this shouldn’t bother you at all. “My life completely changed after I joined the athletics team. It’s challenging, and not always fun. I used to go to Villaggio on the weekends like any normal teenage girl but now I’d rather train.

I have to train during summer vacations, during Ramadan.

I am exhausted but happy. I have limited time to socialise but I really don’t mind. I know if I work hard, my efforts won’t go to waste. I will one day be a champion. I know what I am doing; I don’t waste my time during training and am giving all my power, time and life to sports,” she says. “I have discovered my talent and that has made me more confident about playing and becoming better, and recognising that this is what I want to do for my life.”

But she doesn’t deny her girlish nature either, happily embracing the trappings of a teenager. She is due to travel with her teammates to the Czech Republic after Ramadan for a one-month training camp. She is glad for the opportunity to hone her skills and train to become better in a relatively calm environment. But competition and pressure will be tough, she knows from experience. “In an individual sport like track events, you really have to rely solely on yourself. Your teammate might be your best friend in the world but at the end of the day you are competing with her. So there is a lot of jealousy, a lot of that competitive spirit. It’s funny sometimes, but we are girls after all,” she shrugs.

Farid started training for the 100m but as she kept

improving she progressed to the 200m and 400m. “Now I am basically known as ‘Mariam, the 400m girl’,” she laughs, “and I am concentrating on 100m and 400m hurdles.” In Qatar, she holds the record for the 200m dash. She is very careful about talking about her achievements; she corrects herself whenever she thinks she sounds too boastful and it’s endearing. It is obvious Farid believes strongly in herself and knows she is one of the best the country has to offer, still a long way to go till she peaks. Her confidence is inspiring. Even though her experiences in international competitions so far have been more about gaining exposure, she takes them quite seriously. “Sometimes we compete against seniors who have more experience, training and power than you. But it’s not about the age, about how good you are. In one of the recent GCC competitions, I took second place in the 400m hurdles although I was the youngest there. But I still felt bad because I there was only a one-second time difference between me and first place,” she says.

But Farid’s moment of glory came away from the tracks. It began when she was chosen as one of Qatar’s ambassadors for its 2019 World Athletics Championship bid.

“I am fluent in English, French and Arabic, can speak passable Spanish and am confident about communicating my ideas. Which is probably why I got the job. I was proud and honoured to represent the girls of Qatar and I went to Monaco with a clear message. I told the jury: I am a girl from the Middle East and we exist.

We have a team, we win competitions and we will be champions. People aren’t aware of this. How can you hold competitions all over the world, and not come to the Middle East? How can you claim to be the best and host great events when you are ignoring the whole Arab population, I asked them. I was the youngest person to speak during the bid, I spoke passionately and was emotional (I threatened to cry if they didn’t vote for us),” she laughs. “It was memorable, for me and the people there.

I was this tiny girl, who followed after speeches given by powerful people from the ministry and sporting organizations, but they could see how I really wanted the competition to come here so that I play in my home, surrounded by family and friends, and show the world what we are capable of.”

Farid says that’s when people started taking notice of her, particularly the message she had. It resonated with the public.

And it’s a message that she now takes with her wherever she goes – whether she is giving a talk at the Women in Sports conference or accepting the Young Achievers award at the country’s premier business event.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 53

HONOURING

THE BEST IN BUSINESS

FAHAD HUSSEIN AL FARDAN ACCEPTS THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD ON BEHALF OF HUSSEIN IBRAHIM AL FARDAN

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

HUSSEIN IBRAHIM AL FARDAN

CHAIRMAN, ALFARDAN GROUP AND UNITED DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

THE ULTIMATE PIONEER While the younger generation of Al Fardans have their offices in the “Manhattan of Qatar” (as Hussein Al Fardan refers to Doha’s West Bay) in super-luxurious, glass-clad designer towers, the founder and the visionary of the Group is contentedly settled amid the comfort of memories in his old, but no less luxurious, office on Bank Street, his window overlooking the first pearl shop owned by the family in Souq Waqif. There is one routine in his daily schedule that he rarely forsakes: dreaming big. And it is this habit that has 54 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

sown the seeds of the enterprise that has, through its many businesses, created a QR16 billion island on the shores of Doha, owns a successful public-listed bank, and retails the most luxurious cars in the country.

“I dream a lot,” reveals Al Fardan, “but when I dream, I dream big. I try to protect my dream by creating ideas. I give my dream or my ideas my full attention. I keep targets.

Once I have put my 100% behind my ideas, I will try to make the dream a reality.”

BEST CEO OF THE YEAR

ENG. ABDULLA HASSAN AL MEHSHADI CEO, MSHEIREB PROPERTIES

BUILDING THE NEW QATAR Eng. Abdulla Al Mehshade builds on the idea of sustainable regeneration. Msheireb Downtown Doha project strives to revitalise old Arab architecture while incorporating green credentials. Msheireb also follows the Qatar Foundation's initiative Karama, which aims to preserve the dignity of workers. On receivng the award, he said, “I am absolutely humbled by this award, and would like to accept it on behalf of all of my colleagues at Msheireb Properties. I feel very blessed

to be in the position I am in, leading a world-class organisation, and in a role I could not fulfil without the support of each and every person at Msheireb.

Together we have had many accomplishments, most notably the continuing progress on the Msheireb Downtown Doha project. As 2015 progresses we look forward to achieving many more milestones for the company on the path to supporting the Qatar National Vision 2030.�

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 55

business > bottomline

“Internet War� for Talent

The recruitment landscape is changing for the better. Where once online recruitment was used primarily to recruit entrylevel and mid-level professionals, it is now a major platform to source and hire senior and managerial talent.

56 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

I

n the past few years, senior professionals have become incredibly web savvy and many of them have active online profiles, personal websites, blogs and social media accounts. Actually, the Bayt.com ‘Social Recruiting in the Middle East and North Africa’ poll, October 2014, has revealed that 55% of professionals in the Middle East and North Africa region feel they are more likely to be hired if they are active online.

As more and more senior talents post examples, tutorials, videos or portfolios of their work on the internet, finding talented individuals for online high-level job roles will quickly move into the mainstream.

Evaluating a candidate’s actual work will also prove to be an accurate assessment approach. Sourcing becomes easier as almost everyone becomes findable online.

As important as hiring senior professionals is for the success and continuity of your business, finding top-level candidates who can take your organization to new heights can take a lot of time and effort.

e-recruitment Traditionally, managers and senior professionals were recruited through headhunting agencies, newspaper ads or referrals. These methods have proved to be expensive and not very effective.

Fortunately, the recruitment landscape is changing for the better. Where once online recruitment was used primarily to recruit entry-level and mid-level professionals, it is now a major platform to source and hire senior and managerial talent.

Leading job sites, such as Bayt.com, serve as a highly effective online intermediary.

Bayt.com has over 20 million job seekers registered on its website, ranging from interns and entry-level professionals to team leaders, managers and C-suites. The sheer size of the Bayt.com database means that the opportunity cost of not being online is huge - specifically given the volume and momentum of recruitment activity that takes place on the website every day, at every end of the career spectrum and across all industries.

As an employer, you must realise that if you want to win in the recruitment arena and hire the best senior talents, you will have to move where those talents are: Online.

Below are just a few ways by which the internet can help you recruit top candidates online and win the war for talent:

START THE CONVERSATION Professional networking sites are the leading destination of all successful employers. Networking sites, such as Bayt. com Specialties, are where great talents and potential candidates are to be found.

Bayt.com Specialties is an online platform where you can ask questions related to your industry and identify candidates who truly make the cut. The platform gives you the opportunity to evaluate a candidate well beyond a traditional CV. It serves as a way to further affirm a candidate’s expertise and suitability for a particular job before hiring them.

“As an employer, you must realise that if you want to win in the recruitment arena and hire the best senior talents, you will have to move where those talents are: Online.”

CREATE INTERESTING, RELEVANT JOBS With a vast pool of high-quality candidates online, using a single-tiered strategy is not enough. Bayt.com, for example, offers two main recruitment tools: Job Postings and CV Search. Through job postings, employers can advertise their vacancies and get thousands of applications from candidates who are actively looking for a job. Through the CV search feature, employers can search the Bayt.com database of over 20 million registered members to source the best candidates for their job openings. With Bayt.com’s Job Postings and CV Search, employers are making use of a doubletiered strategy; they can search for both active and passive candidates, thus, get the best match for their job vacancies.

BUILD A UNIQUE CORPORATE BRAND 80% of professionals in the MENA region check an organization’s online profile before applying for a job. Having an active and customized profile for your organization on the internet is a great way to attract top senior talent. The Bayt.com Premium Company Profile is a great option when it comes to creating and customizing corporate profiles online. It allows you to build your very own brand and unique space on Bayt.com. You can use this profile to inform visitors on Bayt.com - as well as over 20 million registered job seekers - about your latest news, job vacancies, events, CSR activities, milestones, etc

Bayt.com is the #1 job site in the Middle East with more than 40,000 employers and over 20,500,000 registered job seekers from across the Middle East, North Africa and the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 57

business > bottomline

Qatari women at work: Are diversity efforts enough?

Qatari women are increasingly emerging as significant contributors to the country’s economic development. At 51%, the female participation in the labour force is higher than most Arab states and is expected to increase further.

F

rom an educational perspective, approximately 67% of Qatari women have at least secondary education, much higher than their male counterparts (59%).

Political leadership is also increasingly focused on supporting women in employment and establishing an appropriate work environment for them to flourish and realise their true potential.

Sustaining and expanding the efforts to promote women’s success will be critical for the nation to benefit fully from their

58 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

talent and contribution.

Aon Hewitt’s Qudurat study, dedicated to the advancement of national talent in the GCC, paints an interesting picture of women in the Qatari and broader GCC workforce and brings into focus the challenges of the workplace gender diversity. The study findings indicate that Qatari nationals report higher tolerance of diversity (examining age, cultural, gender and educational diversity) than all countries in the GCC except Kuwait.

However, when examining gender

“The Qudurat findings clearly point to a need for organisations in Qatar to further their diversity agendas and build an empowering and enabling environment for their female employees.” diversity specifically, Qatari employees reported scores that are higher than only Saudi Arabia, comparable to the UAE, Oman and Qatar and significantly lower than their counterparts in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Higher tolerance Interestingly, Qatari women report higher tolerance of gender diversity compared to their male counterparts. On the other hand, when these women were asked whether people in their organisations are treated fairly regardless of gender, they reported significantly lower scores compared to the males. The findings clearly point to a need for organisations in Qatar to further their diversity agendas and build an empowering and enabling environment for their female employees.

Aon Hewitt’s research findings reveal that Top Companies for Leaders actively work to build diversity into their development strategies, more specifically taking focussed measures to increase representation of females in leadership positions.

Some common practices to support women and drive retention include policies such as flexi hours, telecommuting, part-time work opportunities as well as infrastructural support such as childcare and transportation facilities.

Mentorship programmes In order to enhance the representation of women in leadership, organisations are also actively instituting and encouraging mentorship programmes where young women, identified as high-potential

employees, are mentored by women in the organisation’s senior leadership to support their career advancement and growth.

Further, women interest networks and diversity committees keep an unwavering focus on the organisations’ diversity agendas.

The efforts seem to be bearing fruit, particularly in the case of a commercial and professional services company operating in the Middle East, also one of Aon Hewitt’s Top Companies for Leaders, which states: “We are a global leadership factory. Take folks with diverse backgrounds who aren’t yet leaders and develop them to that potential. Women Matter: It took us three years to convince families to allow their females to work for us in the Middle East.

(Now 40% of staff are women here).”

Whilst mature organisations are way ahead in their initiatives, we find that organisations that are just beginning to look at diversity are focused on the sensitisation of their employees (and more specifically people managers) to the need and importance of gender diversity.

With increasing labour force participation, Qatari women are already a key demographic for organisations to engage and leverage for their contribution.

Investments made to develop women now will bear fruit in the future in the form of strong and diverse leadership.

Therefore, the need for organisations to ensure that their Qatari women get adequate support and are properly engaged and developed to take on meaningful opportunities in the future is more urgent today than ever before

BY DR MARKUS WIESNER Chief Executive Officer Aon Hewitt Middle East and Africa

ABOUT AON HEWITT If you would like to share your own experiences with Qatarisation programmes, and get insight into best practices and workforce attitudes, contact Aon Hewitt to participate in our Qudurat Wave 3 study. To find out more, please visit www. aonhewittme.com/qudurat.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 59

business > tag this

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A STORY OF SIMPLICITY IN BUSINESS VALUES

MOHAMMED AL EMADI, THE OWNER OF AL EMADI ENTERPRISES, SETS A FINE EXAMPLE FOR THE QATARI PRIVATE SECTOR WITH AN EMPHASIS NOT ON GLOBAL BUSINESS IDEOLOGIES BUT ON MODEST RULES OF HONESTY, HARD WORK AND TRUST.

M

ohammed Al Emadi is an honest man. He is what you would call a true old-generation Qatari entrepreneur, a self-made businessman who credits all his achievements to God Almighty and the country’s leadership.

What is most interesting about his success story is not the accolades achieved or the challenges scaled but the story of the inception of Al Emadi Enterprises almost 15 years ago. Of how a small company that

BY SINDHU NAIR

was involved in advertising and publishing solutions entered into and made a name at real estate and continues to maintain a brand value till date.

“It happened by pure chance,” explains Al Emadi, “When God gives, you are blessed with His abundance.”

“I had a small shop in the Airport area on a long-term lease and I developed the place for my use,” he narrates. “DHL Logistics Company, which had opened a head office in Qatar, could not use their new premises due to a fire in their

building. They came to me and implored me to lease them my office space which was ready for use,” he says. “I had just renovated it and developed the place to make it look like a professional business space,” says Al Emadi.

Though Al Emadi refused, DHL was prepared to pay him almost ten times of what he was originally paying as lease for the same space.

The opportunities did not end; the writings on the wall were even more evident.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 61

business > tag this

After this deal was struck, Al Emadi thought to develop the property next to his first office for his own use, a bigger space this time, and even before he had begun work on redevelopment, he was approached by Dodge Company for a lease agreement for a showroom for Chrysler.

“They agreed for an amount of QR40,000, when the going rents at that time were at QR10,000 and this opened my eyes to the need for such real estate

62 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

development and the value addition to property as a business proposition.”

That was the first of the property deals for Al Emadi and now after 15 years, the small company which leased out a tiny shop is now in the final stages of completion of a luxury mall near Gharaffa area.

Alhazm (The highest land in Arabic) is the company’s first 100% retail development and is far from the ‘traditional’ mall in both concept and design. A QR3 million, 35,000 sq. m. project, Alhazm reflects the Qatari vision and is a complete Qatari project, with the design and construction executed by Al Emadi firms.

“Conceived to look like a piazza in Italy, it will be a destination in itself and will be completed by the last quarter of 2015,” he says. Envisaged almost seven years ago by Al Emadi himself, the project was designed and construction commenced five years ago. “Though this may seem like a long time, Alhazm does not follow a traditional design or use traditional materials and the emphasis is on excellence in design, detail and presentation,” he says.

So committed to the concept was Al Emadi himself that he travelled to Tuscany to secure 17,000 tonnes of white marble (the mall comprises of 25,000

tonnes of stone and marble) and hired 150 people to hand-detail the carvings, with over 150 Turkish craftsmen recruited to install the carvings in the mall itself.

It all began in Souq Waqif While Al Emadi Enterprises began 15 years ago, Al Emadi himself was indentured into the field of business when he was just seven.

“Every afternoon, I went with my father to his carpet shop at Souq Waqif.

I learnt all what I know from the Souq,” he reminisces. “How to deal with people, how to be honest when you want to sell something” He stresses on the importance of honesty as prescribed by the Holy Scriptures as one of the virtues that he truly believes in.“You have to deal with people how you would want to be treated by them,” he says.

While he attributes all his achievements to his father, he also feels that the leadership of the country has helped steer the country in its present direction.

“The Father Emir, HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is such a visionary leader. All his actions have had a longterm impact, like the foreign contracts that are in place, all of which are made with a far-sighted vision. Since the country’s future has been well-planned

for I am not anxious to make decisions in my business. Even when there was a global crisis, Qatar’s economy was not much affected and that is an inspiration for a businessman like me to take a bold stand to expand and diversify.”

Even with such optimism among businessmen, the entrepreneurial endeavours in the country are not revolutionary. Al Emadi agrees that there is a lack of entrepreneurial mindset.

“Qatari people are lucky; we are in a virgin market with a lot of potential. People from outside are entering the market and we should use the opportunity to start more private sector ventures and make the best of the country’s success,” he says.

Any money invested in the country will come back multiple-fold to the businessmen, he opines. “The foundation has been laid, now we have to build on it and make it work,” he says.

“The country has given us all the help now it is up to the people to take this opportunity and make it work for them.

The Qatari youth should take on more responsibility and come forward and take a part in this thriving economy,” says Al Emadi.

Al Emadi gives the younger generation three words of advice: “Honesty, honesty and honesty in work ethics and life,” he says

LUXURY UNLIMITED Alhazm is Al Emadi's luxury retail mall offering near the Gharaffa area.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 63

affairs > tag this

Echoes of the American ballot Dr John Hudak, a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institute in Washington,DC , gave an engaging talk at Qatar University on how the presidential elections in the United States in 2016, and some of the prospective candidates, could impact the Middle East.

64 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

The foreign policy platform And 2016 is a good example of another such election. Not only do Americans want to hear talk around foreign policy but also the candidates themselves are eager to talk about it because it is being considered a “winning issue” on both sides of the political divide. “Clinton has a profound foreign policy background thanks to her former position as the Secretary of State.

It’s a big part of her resume and she is not afraid to talk about foreign policy issues and defend her position on these. It also serves to break the bias against women (and sometimes even Democrats) that they are very domestic-oriented. On the other side of the spectrum, foreign policy has always been the bread and butter of Republican politics. They see Obama’s foreign policy record as weak and Clinton’s vulnerable on issues regarding Russia, Libya, etc.”

So instead of being a single party’s domain or no one’s agenda, this time foreign policy is going to be everyone’s pet topic.

And foreign policy’s high priority on the electoral issues is a real opportunity for the region to understand and appreciate the candidates’ positions on the various burning issues of the Middle East, says Dr Hudak. Often it’s difficult to anticipate

"Clinton is, by all accounts, more interventionist than Obama; she isn’t going to be a dovetype Democrat but she’ll certainly be more moderate than many, many of the Republicans."

AFP PHOTO/PAUL J. RICHARDS

B

etween Iran, Israel and ISIS (and the list is incomplete), the United States is completely and inextricably embroiled in the geopolitics of the region, a situation that has no parallel in our current times.

Ironically, the fate of some people in the Middle East is indirectly but undeniably dependent on the policies and actions of the US President in a way that isn’t even true for many American citizens. And with the election action well under way, the Brookings Doha Center hosted a colleague from Washington, DC, Governance Studies Fellow and Managing Editor of their popular FixGov blog, Dr John Hudak, to discuss the implications that this process and the players might have for the region.

After giving a brief overview of the complex, and often difficult to understand, electoral system in the United States, Dr Hudak goes on to remark that the upcoming presidential election is bound to be unique for several reasons. First, this is shaping up to become the most expensive election in US history (and probably the world), with anywhere between $6-8 billion to be raised and spent between now and polling day. With the primaries underway, there is currently one close-to-certain Democratic nominee (Hillary Clinton) and more than a dozen candidates vying for the Republican seat, and 17 months to thresh out the issues.

And that’s another thing that is unique, obvious and relevant to the region in regards to the upcoming vote – the issues.

“A lot of the elections tend to focus on the economy,” says Dr Hudak. “In this election too, economic issues will matter. But now foreign policy is going to matter in a way it often doesn’t. The election in 2004 was one such ‘foreign policy election’; it was shortly after the American interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and on the heels of 9/11, and so security, defense, military and foreign policy were uppermost in the minds of American voters. George Bush ran an effective campaign that put these issues and his positions on them at the forefront,” he says.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 65

affairs > tag this

“ISIL, Yemen, Israel and Iran are going to be a big part of the candidates' conversations, so there won’t be much of a guessing game about the views of the next American president.”

DR JOHN HUDAK Fellow, Governance Studies Brookings Institute

what an individual will be like on the world stage but this will not be one of those times.

“Now that every candidate wants to talk about these issues, you’ll have a good idea what their thoughts are on ISIL, Yemen, Israel and Iran. These are going to be a big part of the conversation, so there won’t be much of a guessing game about the views of the next American president.” And it’s not just the conflict and diplomacy aspects of American foreign policy that would be important; dialogue and leanings on trade, energy policy and climate change will also be closely watched. “Trade and economic activity are going to be big drivers for both sides. Clinton was known for her approach to diplomacy in which economics played 66 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

a central role in terms of opening up relations and addressing other issues close to her heart like human rights. That’s not going to change. Republicans too, driven by capitalism and free market ideas, are traditionally big supporters of open and free trade. So these aspects too will impact the region’s perspective on American policy.

And these perceptions are sometimes as important as actions themselves,” he says.

And while the American public in general might not understand the complexities of the region’s geopolitics, they certainly appreciate it and they expect the candidates to do so as well. “So they want someone who can take the stage and show, in a very clear way, their policy view, how they see the state of the world and how they will fix some of the problems. Someone who paints it in broad brush strokes and oversimplifies the complexities of foreign policy will not play well in the American electorate,” says Dr Hudak. He indicates that some of the Republican candidates who have absolutely no experience in dealing with foreign affairs in any context will have a much tougher time in actually getting the nomination.

“They are going to have to take a stand on these issues unless they wish to look weak in the eyes of the public.”

Israel, intervention and inconsistencies Dr Hudak immediately gets to addressing the perennial thorn in the side of US relations with the Middle East – Israel.

“Both parties face serious challenges in negotiating the Israel-Palestine issue.

Republicans are overly wedded to the alliance with Israel in a way that suggests a naiveté when it comes to appreciating the conflict and can jeopardise the quality of talks and progress on the ground,” he says.

Meanwhile, Democrats (read: Obama’s administration) have their problems with the state of Israel, mostly over procedure and proprieties. Can a Democratic president put away these resentments and come to the table cleanly? “Fortunately Clinton has a magnificent ability to compartmentalise and it will be important for her to reboot the relationship with Israel (with an equal effort from the other side) in a positive way because the general public considers Israel an important ally in an important region and any breakdown worries them,” he says.

While its relationship with Israel has formed American foreign policy for decades, Dr Hudak says that over the years, and particularly over the last few months, the American government and

people are starting to separate Israel from its leadership. “There is skepticism about Netanyahu that I never expected to see, even among American Jews. This suggests that there is an understanding of this relationship on more dynamic terms.”

Maybe this would even translate into focusing on achieving regional stability, which is good for all countries, instead of commitment to individual alliances.

The other big topic of contention that demands a stand is intervention – namely how far is America prepared to go regarding Syria and ISIL. “Republicans’ penchant for intervention spans the continuum,” Dr Hudak points out. From isolationists to militarists. “Clinton is, by all accounts, more interventionist than Obama; she isn’t going to be a dove-type Democrat but she’ll certainly be more moderate than many, many of the Republicans,” he says.

And while it’s important to hold Clinton to account for the actions (or inactions) of Obama’s administration, there have been well-documented differences between the two and at end of the day it is the president’s call, says Dr Hudak. Notably, candidates this time will also be careful about using the "War on Terror" narrative because Americans are weary of it and aware that it has been hyper-politicised and abused in the past and so tend to see through it.

However, Obama’s second term has shown us that what the president wants or says is not often what the president gets or does. “What we hear in the coming months about candidates’ positions will not always match up with the actions they take as president. Obama is a perfect example; the candidate he ran as in 2008 is not the president he became. The argument is that you have these ideas but when you take the job you are handed the intelligence reports about the world. It changes your perspective, your understanding of what’s truly going on, and that informs the policy you pursue. Foreign policy is very much the arena of the president; it’s where the strongest presidential powers lie. But there are instances where the Congress can play a role and in these cases, it can change their rhetoric or action. New information or changing dynamics (sometimes very rapidly in the situation of war) will alter the way in which they administer foreign policy. That is often the explanation for why they change their mind. And it’s much more obvious in foreign policy than domestic policy where the environment doesn’t change that much or that fast. So what the president promises domestically is usually

what he delivers, but because foreign policy is so interconnected and dynamic it’s hard to commit to a promise and always deliver on it,” Dr Hudak says.

The new perspective “Already the changing demographics of the United States is rapidly transforming policy perspectives of Americans and these are seen in areas of social policy that are no longer as controversial as they were a few years ago,” Dr Hudak says on how young voters are starting to affect change on all levels. “Younger Americans are less interventionist, less positively disposed to military spending and more inclined to diplomatic means. And these will be more obvious once people of this generation get into positions of leadership with a lot of the ideas changing with regards to the US relationship with partners on the ground.”

A lot of the public opinion around foreign policy is obviously being shaped by social media. “The dynamic role that social media plays is apparent in the way stories and images from Palestine and Syria are being communicated in real time to the American public. And public opinion plays an important role in foreign policy; it’s one of the reasons we withdrew from Afghanistan and Iran. So it can motivate or retract from interventions and can inform how leadership deals with trouble spots in the world. While there are legitimate arguments that American intervention in foreign conflicts is driven by economic issues, for the average American it’s the humanitarian or security issues that drive their opinion about a conflict. And so in places like Palestine, we can see an American tone around the conflict change and an understanding of the plight of Palestine has played an important role in that,” he says.

But no matter what, there is a certain expectation that citizens have of their country and its role in the world. The question of taking a back seat doesn’t arise, at least not in the way we expect. “There are ways in which American citizens want America to take a back seat – they don’t want to go to war, spend so much on foreign aid and be the world’s policeman. But at the same time, they expect American greatness, shows of strength and dominance. These are two distinct things and you can’t be both a non-interventionist and the world’s problem solver. But Americans want both and they can’t have it. So usually they want America to stay home until they no longer want America to stay home,” he smiles QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 67

education > tag this

The making of a legacy

Qatar Today sits down for a chat with Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Qatar University’s new College of Medicine to learn about how they are building an international curriculum from the ground up.

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he College of Medicine (CMED) campus is in the process of getting its final touches. In a couple of months its cavernous halls will be echoing with the footsteps of bright-eyed young students settling in for a six-year long course; they will be the first batch of the country’s first national medical school. The admission process began on March 1, and the college is seeking to enroll 50 students, both male and female, in the first academic year which begins this fall. In a country of this size that already has a medical college of global repute, CMED has its work cut out for it. But this latest addition to the national university is more than just a vanity project.

It’s a strategic investment made keeping in mind Qatar’s burgeoning need for homegrown medical talent, not only in the field of clinical medicine but also to feed the country’s ambitious medical research agenda, a wide-ranging portfolio that spans from oncology to genomics.

Professor Dr Anne Pitkaranta, who joined CMED in March this year as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, points out that, all things considered, the college will always have its niche on account of being a national entity and it is looking to collaborate, and not compete, with other medical schools.

CMED has its own mandated mission and vision, she says - to provide international

standards of education with a national focus. This is echoed in the comments made by Qatar’s Minister of Public Health HE Abdullah bin Khalid Al Qahtani, who said, “As we prepare to welcome the first cohort of students by September 2015, I would like to assert the Ministry of Health’s commitment to supporting and encouraging Qatari students admitted to the college in any way possible, including providing full student sponsorship with monthly salaries from their first year at the College and throughout their education.”

Campus and curriculum If this isn’t lure enough for aspiring doctors in the country, Professor Pitkaranta and her team have been working extensively on the new curriculum, geared towards a new philosophy of teaching medicine that is removed from the traditional, lecture-based methods. “Anything that is new is exciting.

And though it is difficult to start from scratch, we are thrilled with the freedom to develop a modern curriculum in which we can adapt advanced technology and go beyond the lectures and old-fashioned bookbased methods by incorporating virtual tools. This curriculum is competence-based and is more focused on what the student can do, rather than what he knows. That’s a key element – not just measuring knowledge but also performance. We will try to adapt

new ways of thinking, provide an interprofessional education so that doctors are not working in isolation but as a team with other healthcare workers. Our elective studies, of course, will give each individual a unique pathway to study and practice medicine according to their interests,” she says.

When pressed for more details she explains what this modern way of teaching medicine looks like. “After the first year, which is more of a transition period, the teaching will be more problem-based instead of lecture-based. We will cover anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, immunology, pathology, and microbiology through case-based teaching; the students will have to do a lot of work by themselves to understand a case in the space during which it is open,” she says. While lecturebased learning has been our standard view of education since the days when knowledge was imparted from under a tree, it is slowly losing ground to problem-based learning.

“Increasingly, many medical schools internationally are adopting this method of teaching,” Dr Pitkaranta says, to reflect not just changing methodology but also the core philosophy of medicine itself. There is a paradigm shift globally in recognising that individualised medicine is the way forward in medical practice and education, with support from technology. Even when

traditional elements are indispensable, like the clerkship phase which involves rotation in hospitals, CMED will strive to use modern technology as much as possible; for instance with e-books that are better at illustrating 3D models.

New beginnings also have other advantages, as CMED has illustrated in a recent lecture it hosted with Dr Jonas Nordquist of Karolinska Institutet on “New university buildings: Reflecting old ideas of learning: Global insights”. Chaired

by Dr Pitkaranta, the talk highlighted “a networked learning landscape” that includes new curriculum approaches such as new technology, blended and “flipped” classrooms, active and interactive learning, peer-to-peer learning, and learner-centred and problem-oriented strategies.

The classroom is no longer as it used to be many years ago, he noted, and today’s students have the advantage of connectivity, therefore learning can be done in cafés, student lounges, and in a variety of spaces outside of the classroom. The hosting of such talks points to CMED’s own view of

IDEAL SETTINGS Left and above: Artist rendering of the new CMED campus; middle: CMED's research and laboratory wing; bottom right: Students from the first batch to be enrolled into Qatar University's College of Medicine with Dr Pitkaranta.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 69

education > tag this

“This curriculum is competence-based and is more focused on what the student can do, rather than what he knows.

That’s a key element – not just measuring knowledge but also performance.

We will try to adapt new ways of thinking, provide an inter-professional education.”

DR ANNE PITKARANTA Associate Dean for Academic Affairs College of Medicine

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space design as an important aspect of curriculum preparation and how it sought to incorporate these ideas when building its campus.

Outreach and evolution Vice President for Medical Education and Founding Dean of CMED, Dr Egon Toft, had previously noted that since its inception, the college has organised a myriad of activities to attract high-school students through several online campaigns, schools visits, and participation in career fairs on and off campus. The college also recently organised an orientation event hosting 200 prospective students and their parents to learn more about the college, its programme and curriculum, and to articulate their expectations and concerns.

These initiatives, Dr Pitkaranta says, have succeeded in getting the word out and drumming up interest, not just locally but also around the world. “Medicine usually has a good reputation and demand,” she says. That and the fact that it has the Qatar University stamp has resulted in an overwhelming response from the society and she says she is very pleased and was positively surprised with the caliber of students who have applied. “We are going to have a very good first batch of students,” she smiles.

Hundreds of applications from around the world have also poured in, she says. “We definitely want a diverse student body; it is known to give better results. But currently our focus is on national students,” she says.

“We are aligned to the idea of addressing

the lack of local doctors in Qatar and we have to tackle that first.” And they will be tackling that for many years without concerns of oversaturation which are too far in the future, according to her. “There are vacancies in HMC, Sidra is growing, PHCC is short of doctors, there are more research roles and more qualified doctors will be needed in preventive medicine and universities too. So it seems realistic that the demand for medical practitioners in the country won’t be matched for a few years.

And it will be six years before our first batch graduates!” she says.

And those are going to be a busy six years with CMED building up the course faculty (who are a diverse group recruited from the region and also countries like Sweden, France and Canada), infrastructure and facilities as it goes. It will also be working on getting accredited, so that by the time the first batch reaches year 6, students are given the option to go abroad for their residency programmes, should they wish to. “An accreditation will also help us benchmark and judge the quality of our course against global excellence,” Dr Pitkaranta says. Research will obviously be another cornerstone of CMED’s programme. “Being part of such a big university will of course be very useful. But before that we will need to encourage each student to develop their own research projects, be it in clinical, scientific or even literature review spheres. Molecular medicine, preventive medicine and clinical research are areas that are important to us and it’s important to develop students’ attitudes and talents towards research and understanding evidence-based research during the six years they are with us. We will also be building a PhD programme,” she says.

For Dr Pitkaranta, it’s been a stressful but exciting few weeks and it is only just the beginning. Having spent most of her career at Helsinki University and University Hospital, where she was the Vice Dean and practicing ENT doctor, the lure of a new challenge brought her to Qatar, to a region she hadn’t even set foot in before. “I miss my patients, of course,” she smiles. “I was still seeing outpatients in February. And my post docs are feeling a bit abandoned even though I do my best to keep in touch with them through Skype. But when life becomes too comfortable, you need to find and stretch your boundaries again and seek to develop yourself. I consider lifelong learning to be very important; so much so that it’s the central theme of our curriculum,” says Dr Pitkaranta

green scene > tag this

GPS rewards schools for sustainable actions

Amidst a standing ovation from hundreds of students, Ali Bin Abi Taleb School received the Eco-School of the Year award at the conclusion of the second edition of Green Programme for Schools (GPS).

The awards were handed out during a colourful ceremony at Birla Public School auditorium on June 11.

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irector of the Independent Schools Office at the Supreme Education Council (SEC), Khalifa Saad Al Derham, and Adviser at the SEC’s Education Institute, Ahmed Salman Al Sheeb, presented the Eco-School of the Year award to Ali Bin Abi Taleb School for its active involvement in the GPS activities and for working on projects that are innovative and sustainable.

Six other awards were presented by Khaled Al Suwaidi, Planning Analyst for ExxonMobil Qatar. They included The Most Innovative Eco Idea award, presented to MES Indian School and Birla Public School, and the Most Active Eco Schools, awarded to Al Arqam Academy Girls, Doha Modern Indian School, Gulf English School, and Cambridge School.

Friends of the Environment Centre

Chairman and former Vice Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, Dr Saif Ali Al Hajari, also attended the event and presented certificates to participating schools.

GPS motivates students Launched by Qatar Today three years ago, GPS was sponsored by ExxonMobil Qatar and endorsed by the SEC. The programme, which has won accolades from environmentalists across the country, is the largest and most engaging green environmental initiative for students aimed at reaching, inspiring and rewarding students and schools.

The programme is designed to provide a basic understanding of green concepts in schools, with over 25,000 students participating through 30 of Qatar’s schools. Officials of ExxonMobil Qatar, the SEC and various schools were present on the occasion.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 71

green scene > tag this “The Green Programme for Schools is a wonderful way to educate the public, and especially youth, on the necessity of managing our natural resources wisely.”

SALEH AL MANA Vice President and Director Government and Public Affairs ExxonMobil Qatar Eco-School of the Year: Ali Bin Abi Taleb School

“The biggest threat to the environment was not from carbon emissions or felling trees but the belief that someone else will save the planet.”

Most Active Eco School: Gulf English School

Most Active Eco School: Doha Modern Indian School

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SINDHU NAIR Managing Editor Oryx Advertising Co. WLL

For more than six months before the finale, awareness campaigns and competitions were conducted for students in these schools and winners were selected based on their performance. Unlike the archetypal competitions, GPS places the responsibility of sustainability directly on the students, making each of their contributions valuable to the environment we live in.

Through posters and contextual stickers placed at relevant points, students were constantly reminded of the obligation they have towards the environment. A mix of government, independent and private schools was invited to be part of the programme, and GPS coordinators from Mission 20, a Qatari youth social group, visited participating schools every month to inspect the water and electricity usage and interacted with students to instill values of sustainability. Each of the schools submitted its green activities towards the

end of the programme, which were then compared and scrutinised by a team of experts to determine the awardees.

ExxonMobil’s commitment to environmental, health and safety excellence ranks among the best in the industry. The company pays meticulous attention to the safety and health of its employees and the communities where it operates, as well as to protecting the environment.

Global warming perils In her welcome address, Oryx Advertising Co. WLL Managing Editor Sindhu Nair explained the perils of ignoring global warming and gave a clarion call to the students, their peers and parents to champion the cause of energy conservation by taking an active part in GPS. “The biggest threat to the environment is not from carbon emissions or felling trees but the belief that someone else will

Most Active Eco School: Cambridge School

Most Innovative Eco Idea: MES Indian School

Most Innovative Eco Idea: Birla Public School

save the planet,” she added.

“The Green Programme for Schools is a wonderful way to educate the public, and especially youth, on the necessity of managing our natural resources wisely,” said Saleh Al Mana, Vice President and Director of Government and Public Affairs for ExxonMobil Qatar.

“At ExxonMobil Qatar, it is extremely important to us that we reach out to Qatar’s general public – particularly its youth – to raise awareness on environmental protection, water conservation, and best practices for using natural resources responsibly. The Green Programme for Schools has served as a great channel for us to drive these messages, which are of relevance to the entire community. We are extremely pleased with this partnership,” he said.

SEC supports GPS “Green Programme for Schools has the

Supreme Education Council’s backing as a good programme for raising awareness among our students on the importance of conserving energy and water at their schools and within their communities,” Ahmed Salman Al Sheeb said.

“The programme monitors the performance of schools and also helps students understand renewable and nonrenewable energy. All in all, it will help grow the next generation of conservation leaders, and we are pleased to see how successful the programme has been so far,” he added.

Oryx Advertising Co. WLL Business Head Fredrick Alphonso proposed a vote of thanks.

Qatar Today’s supporting partners for the GPS include: Mission 20 volunteers; the Youth Company; Khalifa Al Haroon from IloveQatar; officials of Friends of the Environment Center Qatar; and Qatar Green Building Council

“Green Programme for Schools has the Supreme Education Council’s backing as a good programme for raising awareness among our students on the importance of conserving energy and water at their schools and within their communities.”

AHMED SALMAN AL SHEEB Adviser Education Institute Supreme Education Council

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 73

tech talks > snippets

Taylor Swift vs Apple

Apple’s new music streaming service was launched globally last month, but not before a public schooling from popstar Taylor Swift.

Design the Hyperloop pod

Elon Musk invited students and independent engineers to design the pod that will carry passengers at speeds upwards of 1,000Km/h along the Hyperloop.

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usk first proposed the tubular, vacuum transport system in 2013 and since then Hyperloop Transportation Technologies made up of a team of engineers from companies such as NASA, Boeing and SpaceX and universities research teams have been working to realise the vision.

While ground is scheduled to break in 2016 for the first test track, SpaceX is promising to provide the best designs with a one-mile stretch of test track next to its California headquarters where the best teams can test their “humanscale” pods over a competition weekend in June 2016. The deadline for applications is 15 September, 2015, and entrants can opt to design specific pod parts, from safety features to subsystems. The judging panel will be made up of SpaceX and Tesla engineers, as well as academics.

CRA SETS PRICE CEILING FOR GCC ROAMING The Communication Regulatory Authority is putting in place the necessary regulatory instruments to ensure the effective implementation of the decision by the GCC Ministerial Committee for Post, Telecommunications and Information Technology to reduce roaming charges in members’ states.

The reductions in roaming charges on both the inter-operator wholesale level and end-user retail level will take place gradually, over a three-year period for voice calls and SMS services, and over a five-year period for mobile data services.

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Apple Music has long been anticipated, since its acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beats Music, which is likely to be phased out with Beats Music accounts being transferred to Apple Music. Just how far Apple’s deep pockets will take it, considering it has entered a space that biggest rival Spotify has been in for almost six years, remains to be seen. But the launch got off to a rocky start when Taylor Swift announced on social media that she will not allow any of her music to be streamed on the service, because Apple was not planning to pay artists for songs streamed during the free three-month trial. While independent music labels and artists had been crying themselves hoarse on the same issue for weeks, it only took Swift a single tweet. Apple gave in and Eddy Cue, Senior Vice President of Apple’s Internet Software and Services division, announced on Twitter: “Apple will always make sure that artist[s] are paid ... Apple Music will pay artist[s] for streaming, even during customer’s free trial period”, closing with the words, “We hear you [Taylor Swift] and indie artists. Love, Apple.”

"THERE ARE NO PLANS TO MAKE A TABLET. IT TURNS OUT PEOPLE WANT KEYBOARDS." STEVE JOBS 2003

Roaming Services

Current

After April 1, 2016

After April 1, 2017

After April 1, 2018

After April 1, 2019

After April 1, 2020

Making local voice calls within the visited country (QR/min)

1.00

9.95

0.091

0.88

NA

NA

Making voice calls to other GCC countries (including home country) [QR/min]

2.40

2.33

2.26

2.19

NA

NA

Receiving voice calls [QR/min]

–

1.277

1.022

0.803

NA

NA

Sending SMS [QR/min]

–

0.292

0.255

0.219

NA

NA

Mobile Data [QR/MByte]

–

4.74

3.10

2.19

1.825

1.533

WHO HAS YOUR BACK How well are these tech companies protecting your data from government requests.

Follows industryaccepted best practices

Tells users about government data demands

Discloses policies on data retention

Discloses government content removal requests

Pro-user public policy opposes backdoors

AFP PHOTO / LEHTIKUVA / MARKKU ULANDER

We haven’t seen the last Nokia phone yet

N/A

Nokia’s Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Suri recently told a German business monthly that the company plans to design mobile phones once again.

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hile Microsoft was thought to be the obvious (and hopeful) choice to carry forward Nokia’s device legacy, it would seem the company is taking matters into its own hands and looking to recapture some of its former glory. Under the terms of the sale of Nokia’s devices division to Microsoft, a non-compete agreement remains in effect until 2016, during which period the company will have to stay out of the devices market. But after 2016, Nokia will be free to design and license the brand to third-party manufacturers, which seems to be the plan.

With the $17 billion acquisition of AlcatelLucent (which hasn’t been approved by the European authorities yet) and the express intention to sell off HERE maps (which had generated plenty of interest among European automobile manufacturers like Audi and tech companies like Uber and Baidu), Nokia had everyone thinking that it was further narrowing its focus on its networking business. Meanwhile, in what many consider Microsoft’s most obvious goodbye to what’s left of Nokia devices, Stephen Elop was let go in a top-level shake up.

N/A Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2015

Wikileaks releases Saudi Cables

Thousands of classified documents from Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry were released to the public last month by Wikileaks, throwing light on secretive government workings.

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he data dump included more than 61,000 documents, in what the site calls “the first tranche” from “The Saudi Cables” and are supposedly secretive communications from the Foreign Ministry and Saudi embassies worldwide, as well as other Saudi state institutions such as the kingdom’s General Intelligence Services. Though no independent news organisation has been able to verify the authenticity of the documents, Wikileaks referred to a press release from the ministry in May about a breach of its computer networks – an attack later claimed by a

group calling itself the Yemeni Cyber Army.

Saudi Arabia hasn’t denied the veracity of the material though it urged its citizens on Twitter not to distribute “documents that might be faked”. Many of the cables were linked to the growing rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran over influence in the region and expose instances where the Kingdom has bought influence with media and research centres in Lebanon, Australia, etc. The most recent revelation is that some Saudi officials may have had highlevel contacts with the Haqqani network in Afghanistan.

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 75

business > auto news ERA OF ZERO-EMISSION MOBILITY NOT FAR

The Renault-Nissan Alliance, the world’s leader in zero-emission mobility, has sold its 250,000th electric vehicle: a white Renault ZOE sold to a French engineer.

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he Alliance reached the historic milestone in early June, 4 1/2 years after the launch of the Nissan LEAF, the world’s first mass-market zeroemission vehicle. The Alliance today accounts for about half of the electric vehicles sold worldwide. Nissan LEAF remains the best-selling electric vehicle of all time, with more than 180,000 units sold.

From January through May, the Alliance sold about 31,700 EVs – up nearly 15% over

BMW CONTRIBUTES TO ENVIRONMENT BMW i8 celebrates one year on the Middle East’s roads as the world honoured World Environment Day 2015

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ne of the world’s most progressive sports cars, the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid celebrated one year of driving pleasure on the roads last month, as countries across the globe came together to mark World Environment Day on June 5.

With sustainability a core element of BMW’s entire value chain, the car company’s commitment to eco-mobility has seen the company reduce the emissions produced by an average vehicle by 45% since 2006; a success that falls directly in line with the mission of the United Nations’ WED initiative. Founding its dedicated sustainable BMW i sub-brand in 2011, through which it promotes emission-free driving, the premium car company’s innovative BMW i8 model aids in the combatting of global issues including energy independence and CO2 emissions through its maximum onroad efficiency. With the theme of this year’s World Environment Day, "7 Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care", the BMW i8 is a pioneer in ensuring that mass-market electromobility is in fact no longer a dream, but a reality – especially in the Middle East.

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the same period of last year.

“Demand for our electric vehicles continues to grow thanks to government incentives and the expanding charging infrastructure,” said Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. “The positive response of our customers is also driving demand. These vehicles enjoy some of the highest levels of satisfaction rates from our customers around the world.”

AUDI ON A HIGH Q-Auto, the official dealer for Audi in Qatar, announced impressive growth results, achieving a 12.6% year-on-year increase. The achievement means Audi in Qatar has achieved the strongest growth in the GCC for the Audi brand over the three consecutive years since Q-Auto was established in 2012, according to the owners.

In addition to the exceptional market figures, the brand in Qatar has also achieved the highest growth rate in the region for a number of key models in the Audi line-up. Top achievers in the GCC include the compact Audi A3 with an astounding year to date growth figure of 188.9%, while the A8 executive sedan and A4 follow close behind with an increment of 72% and 13%, respectively. Other Audi models that have achieved notable figures include the Audi A7 (38.5%), TT (25%) and Q5 (17.1 %). The results represent the strong preference for topperforming models within the local community.

“This is a truly remarkable start to the year,” said Yann Lassade, Managing Director of Q-Auto. “Our incredible sales accomplishments represent Audi’s increasing popularity in Qatar. As a trusted dealer of a world-renowned brand, Q-Auto is committed towards a long-term growth strategy that has a prime focus on ensuring customer delight in all aspects of sales, service and customer care.”

FORD GOES BEYOND MAKING CARS

Last month, car giant Ford sent letters to 14,000 of its American drivers with an unusual suggestion: For extra cash, they could rent their cars to fellow urbanites wanting a cheap ride.

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ord is now closer to the front of a movement in which cars are shared, ignored, or Uber-ed – not bought.

The ‘’peer-to-peer’’ rental experiment is only the latest and some call it a “weird move” for America’s auto powerhouse, maker of the F-150 and Model T. In May, Ford launched a pay-as-you-go network of shareable, on-demand cars in London, called GoDrive.

In mid-June, the car giant introduced a new foldable, battery-powered ‘’e-bike,’’ the MoDe:Flex, with companion smartphone and Apple Watch apps that alert cyclists to weather, directions, and even upcoming

potholes.

Instead of depending on the business model that’s kept them going all these years, rolling new cars and trucks off the lot, Ford is trying desperately to, in the words of chief executive Mark Fields, “challenge custom and question tradition.’’

“It’s really important for us to learn what our customers do, what they rent out and, as a result, what our next steps will be,’’ said David McClelland, a vice president at Ford Motor Credit, the automaker’s lending arm.

The car-sharing programme, running now through November, will cover cars,

trucks, and SUVs in six cities in the US. The Ford-financed vehicles are rented to prescreened drivers through Getaround, an Airbnb for cars, for $5 (QR17) to $9 (QR30) an hour.

Getaround takes a 40% cut, but Ford gets a few perks, too: The car owners get more money to pay off loans, and the renters take a test drive that could persuade them to buy a Ford, if they ever buy a car.

But Ford isn’t just betting all on car rentals or smart bikes. It has announced its team focused on self-driving vehicles was moving from research to ‘’advanced engineering.’’

QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 77

business > marketwatch Projecting the future

Sony Professional Solutions MEA and Fifty One East in Qatar introduced the new VPL-GTZ1 projector to corporate members recently.

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ony’s VPL-GTZ1 projector combines the best of its projector technologies – 4K, laser light source and ultra-short-throw capabilities. The VPL-GTZ1 is designed for a range of B2B and commercial applications including museums, design simulation, fashion, oil and gas, simulation and training, corporate, education and video wall applications.

The VPL-GTZ1’s imaging technology combines Sony’s proven 4K SXRD™ with a laser phosphor light source. The result is 2,000 lumens colour brightness and superb picture quality. The new projector can throw high-resolution images up to approximately 147 inches diagonal and

zoom down to 66 inches when projecting in 17:9 format, achieved by respective 7-inch and zeroinch distances from the screen, across onto a whiteboard or any white plane surface. The ultrashort throw allows presenters to stand closer to the screen and also check details of the 4K image at a closer distance without shading off the image.

Its stylish, “blend-in” design fits nearly any room décor and installation environment, and a low fan noise ensures quiet operation that won’t disrupt presentations. The new model’s flexible installation and operation allow it to be floor-standing, ceiling-mounted or used for rear projection.

Undisputed precision

The new Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Chrono Flyback Automatic Titanio – 47mm from Officine Panerai reunites features which have in common the military context of its origins, and it appears as a contemporary watch with a strongly sporting character, with great personality and the purest Panerai identity.

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ike all Panerai watches, the main world of reference is of course that of the sea.

Professional underwater models that are water-resistant to a pressure of 30 bar (a depth of about 300 metres), the new Luminor Submersible 1950 watches have a large Luminor 1950 case, with a diameter of 47 mm. The iconic design of the case, immediately recognisable by the device protecting the winding crown, is integrated with an element whose historic origins go back to the model created by Officine Panerai in 1956 for the Egyptian Navy: the unidirectional rotating bezel for calculating the time of immersion. Two versions are available: one with a bezel made entirely of brushed titanium (PAM00614) and the other with a special bezel of titanium to which a matt black ceramic disk has been applied, with linear markers and dots in titanium (PAM00615). Both models are supplied with a soft and durable black rubber strap, ideal for an underwater watch and personalised with the OP logo in Panerai blue.

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Accolades for ASDA’A Public relations consultancy ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller was named Middle East Consultancy of the Year 2015 at the Sabre Awards.

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he awards, which are presented by The Holmes Report, a leading provider of insights, knowledge and recognition to public relations professionals, chose ASDA’A BursonMarsteller for its impressive growth in 2014 and its commitment to its thought leadership platform, Arab Youth Survey. Sunil John, Founder and CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, said, “The recognition by the SABRE Awards is testament to the pioneering efforts of our team. We dedicate this honour to our clients for their trust in our ability to deliver value through our public relations programmes.”

The Holmes Report selected the 2015 PR Consultancies of the Year following an extensive research process involving more than 150 submissions and 100 face-to-face meetings with the best PR firms across the region.

CLASSIC FORMS The new prints in Cruciani’s men’s collection for Spring Summer 2016 feature alongside the customary colour map and boast of a choice of between 30 and 60 shades. So there are endless variations to admire and acquire when deciding on a plain colour bespoke garment made with materials of the very highest quality.

The Spring Summer the Collection offers garments of timeless elegance revisited with an appealing modern twist, as in the new destructured jackets to wear like shirts. The colour palette centres on blue and all its nuances, from navy through china to indigo, with flashes of brilliant white and elegant pearl grey, asphalt and beige. The undisputed protagonist and fashion colour of the season will be Paolo Veronese green, with its modern but discreet and elegant appeal. The materials, all of the highest and certified Cruciani quality, range from a cotton and silk mix to jersey.

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business > marketwatch

Attracting the Bienvenido best educators a España

Doha will be hosting one of the biggest international education fairs in October 2015, the BMI Global Education Fair, and Qatar Today talks to the organisers to understand why there is so much fuss about this particular education fair that will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2017.

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MI Director, Samir Zaveri explains, “BMI organises the leading international education fairs in the world. We have organised events in Asia, Europe, North and South America and Australia.”

It is in the numbers that BMI finally gets our attention. “In total, we have organised over 600 fairs on five continents and welcome more than 190,000 visitors annually to our events which mainly consist of students, parents and executives.

Last year, there were 1,090 exhibitors from 23 countries participating in a BMI event around the world,” says Zaveri. “The events are a unique opportunity for students and families to talk personally with the directors, teachers and representatives of education institutions worldwide and find out to almost every type of course that exists around the world and later enroll in any of these courses.”

What makes BMI different from other

exhibitors is that its exhibitors are not only universities and colleges but also language schools, international high schools as well as government and industry organizations such as the European Union, British Council, Education USA, Campus France, DAAD (Germany), Study in Holland, Imagine Canada, English UK and other official agencies as well as National Scholarship Programmes.

Zaveri elaborates, “We are renowned for organising the best international education events in the world which is why many national organisations participate within our events but also choose us to organise events on their behalf such as the European Postgraduate Fairs in South America.”

He answers some basic doubts about the potential of such exhibtions and whether they do attract the best students from around the world.

What have your experiences been about the educational scenario in different

countries and why are so many countries actively trying to attract international students? What do they do to attract students from other countries?

In every country, whether you are a student or a parent, people like to travel and go abroad. Additionally, in almost every country, an international qualification is highly valued. This is a common factor in all the regions where we organise fairs.

What is different now is that more countries (and international education institutions) are no longer sitting back and waiting for students to find them. They are now actively travelling to the countries where they see students are interested in their education system and courses and therefore participating in international events such as the BMI Global Education Fair we will have here in October. During the event in Doha, we expect over 150 institutions and national agencies from more than 20 countries that will be highlighting the advantages of studying in each country and the thousands of different courses they offer. These efforts are being supported by governments and education authorities both here in the region and abroad.

For example, Qatar has one of the best scholarship programmes in the world for its citizens. The programme is administered by the Supreme Education Council who will also be at the event to inform students and families about how to participate and obtain a scholarship at an overseas institution. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE also have scholarship programmes and the reason they exist is that they allow students to study at some of the best institutions in the world or in courses that do not exist in their own country. Students who participate in these programmes are going to return with a great qualification. But also with a better understanding of how to interact with people from the countries in which they have studied and this will lead to improved business relations and trade in the future. These students will also learn (or improve) their language skills, better understand the culture of the host country and make life-long friends from around the world. Upon returning to Qatar, they will be able to apply the acquired knowledge to get better jobs in the private or government sector and help in the development of their country.

Another reason many students travel abroad for study is because currently millions of students are left without a place in universities in their home countries.

Entry exams are extremely competitive and sometimes even students with the highest academic level cannot get a place at their programme of interest and therefore look for opportunities abroad.

Which are the best educational markets in the world currently and why?

The countries that send the largest numbers of students abroad are China and India. Other countries in Asia such as Japan, Taiwan and Korea have a significant flow of students going abroad as well.

Although the two main countries will not change in the foreseeable future, the other countries which make up the top 20 sending countries constantly change depending on their economy, strength of the currency, government initiatives and scholarships available.

The GCC countries have always had large numbers of students studying overseas for language learning or, more recently, due to the government scholarship programmes however, we are now starting to see that some of these countries, especially the UAE and Qatar, are also actively encouraging students to study in their countries and have already started to welcome students from other GCC countries and the rest of the world. Students realise the increasing economic importance of these countries and know if they have studied there, they will have a better understanding and local knowledge and will be well placed for future business with their host country.

Though many students are still looking to study in BRIC countries, many now see the GCC as the next major study destination especially if they want to be in the business arena in the future.

Qatar is at the moment making significant efforts in the field of education.

There is the work of the Qatar Foundation and the annual WISE conference, the fantastic “Educate a Child” programme, and Qatar University which has been very active in raising awareness of both the university and the country. Just in 2015, Qatar University has hosted two major international conferences in Doha and will also sponsor our event here. In addition, Hamad Bin Khalifa University is about to start actively recruiting students from other countries and is developing a strong internationalisation strategy by establishing international campus branches. All of these things are going to make Qatar a very interesting destination.

“Qatar has one of the best scholarship programmes in the world for its citizens.

The programme is administered by the Supreme Education Council who will also be at the event to inform students and families about how to participate and obtain a scholarship at an overseas institution.”

SAMIR ZAVERI Director BMI

Why are the traditional markets like QATAR TODAY > JULY 2015 > 81

business > marketwatch

China and even India not investing in obtaining more students from around the world when their educational systems are supposed to be among the best in the world? What are the areas in which they need to invest in their educational systems?

China and India have just recently started investing in attracting more international students. However, most students are still attracted to the traditional destinations such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. More recently, countries like Germany, France, Malaysia and Ireland, which have a strong government strategy to increase the number of overseas students, have seen big jumps in numbers and interest.

So, it will take many years for countries like India and China to receive significant numbers as many of these other countries have been implementing actions to bring international students into their countries for more than 40 years.

How, according to you, should the connection between education providers and the workforce be?

Institutions need to work closely with industry in order to offer programmes that are relevant to professionals. Actually, this was one of the main topics discussed in an international education conference that took place in Doha in May. The fact that Qatar’s Prime Minister opened the event and the Minister of Education also participated shows the impact of this subject. Education providers must have in mind that students decide to study abroad to develop skills to acquire a better international understanding and skills that they may not be able to acquire in their own country. But ultimately, it is to increase their employability. Therefore they 82 > QATAR TODAY >JULY 2015

have to offer the best courses in the areas in which jobs are available or where there is a shortage of skills.

Why do you think BMI has an excellent scope in the Middle East?

It is not just the Middle East, we are an international organisation and renowned for organising the best education events in the world. It is our first-time we will do events in the Gulf and we are sure it will be one of our largest first time events but above all it will be a world-class event that will serve the needs of the students and the country.

I have also been particularly impressed and grateful for the support of the education authorities, ministries, institutions and media we have received. I would say we have had more support here in the Gulf than any other region we have entered for the first time. Here in Qatar, the event is being supported by Qatar University and Qatar Today and in Dubai by International Academic City and Khaleej Times, and AlRai in Kuwait. The education authorities in each country, such as the Supreme Education Council here, have also been very helpful in ensuring we bring the right institutions and that those which are eligible to be part of the scholarship programme are clearly highlighted.

Internationally, many of the most important national education agencies have already confirmed they will be participating in the event here in Doha and the rest of the Gulf, ensuring that the visitors will be able to see almost every type of course that exists outside Qatar and receive the best information and educational advice about studying abroad. So I have absolutely no doubt that the event will be a huge success

business > marketwatch

Bienvenido a España

The Mosque-Cathedral at Cordoba

With its exotic lush green locales and well-preserved historic monuments (some of which have been converted into top-class hotels without making any alterations to the original structure), Spain offers the best of leisure tourism in Southern Europe to visitors from all over the world.

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s part of increasing the number of tourists from the Middle East countries, the government has improved facilities for them. Taxfree schemes and construction of two new five-star hotels are among the slew of measures initiated to woo them. The occupancy ratio of the hotel rooms in Madrid was 65% last year and is expected to exceed 70% in the next two years.

“Spain and the Middle East region share a common passion in soccer and many players from Spanish football clubs have signed to play in the region’s clubs,” says Miguel Sanz Castedo, Director of Marketing with Madrid Tourism Board as he introduced the country to media professionals.

According to him, Madrid is linked with three major GCC airlines – Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates-operating nearly half a dozen flights every day and the government

and the Madrid Tourism Board have been actively promoting places of interest in and around Madrid for visitors from the region.

As millions of international tourists visited Spain, with its capital and largest city, Madrid, placed at the heart of the country’s tourism industry, each year, the GCC airlines are planning to cash in on the opportunity by increasing their services, subject to regulatory approval.

Ever since the 60s and 70s, the country has been a popular destination for winter holidays, especially with tourists from the UK, GCC countries, Ireland, Scandinavia, Italy and the Benelux.

Muslim tourists More than a million tourists from Muslim countries, mostly the Middle East region, visited Spain in 2014, according to the latest figures published by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. This number would be much bigger if it included

A historic minaret dating back to 16th century is embedded in the Bell tower within the courtyard of Mosque-Cathedral Alcazar Fort in Cordoba

British or French Muslim tourists that are not currently counted.

“Spain is one of the most dynamic tourism markets,” says John Kester, Market Trends director at the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

“In 2013, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries generated 92 million euros at the visited destinations, more than 10% of the world’s spending on international tourism, and have more than doubled their combined spending since 2005. Besides, these countries are increasing their position as (tourism) destination and currently receive around 180 million international tourists that generate more than 100 million euros,” Kester adds.

This year, these numbers are expected to increase as Spain will be hosting the first ExpoHalal Spain 2015 in Madrid on October 22 and 23. This is primarily aimed at attracting Muslim tourists.

“In recent years, the sector has showed a growing interest to attend to the needs of Muslim visitors through specialised agencies, hotels and restaurants with Halal menus. Even luxury firms and Spanish fashion establishments are looking for personal shoppers specialised on this public,” says Maria Salvador, Manager of ExpoHalal Spain 2015 and Project Manager of Ambar Connect.

Spain is already a leader in the tourism industry and this exhibition will be the first in Europe to highlight the growing Halal tourism sector. “Among the major Spanish attractions for the tourists are the Islamic historical heritage in Andalucía (south) and the high-quality services, business infrastructure, shopping opportunities and football league,” Salvador adds.

Art and architecture The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which is in the heart of Madrid, offers visitors an overview of art from the 13th century to the late 20th century. It has around 1,000 works on display and visitors can contemplate the major periods and pictorial schools of Western art such as the Renaissance, Mannerism, the Baroque, Rococo, Romanticism and the art of the 19th and 20th centuries up to Pop Art. The museum also features works from some movements not represented in stateowned collections, such as Impressionism, Fauvism, German Expressionism and the experimental avant-garde movements of the early 20th century. In addition, it boasts an important collection of 19th-century American painting not found in any other European museum institutions.

Aside from its panoramic perspective, the collection housed in the ThyssenBornemisza Museum also offers us a glimpse of the tastes and preferences of the two persons principally responsible for its existence, Baron Heinrich ThyssenBornemisza (1875-1947) and Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (19212002). Well versed in the Central European artistic tradition, both men showed a particular predilection for portraits and landscapes.

Like all architecture, Spanish architecture is about buildings and buildings are not merely physical structures but also a means of communication.

Within Spanish architecture, they reflect community values or pursuits (e.g. Roman coliseums or theatres, Christian, Muslim, Jewish houses of worship). They inform the visitors of the movement of people, who take their architectural traditions with

them in the form, for example, of temples.

Spanish architecture also conveys the impact of political events in, for instance, the construction of castles or palaces.

As in other countries, Spanish architecture also reflected internal ideological divisions or regional rivalry.

Castles, for example, didn’t always signify a means of defence against a foreign force; they might be built by a ruler to reinforce his control within his own territory. In other instances, castles were a visible expression of the power, wealth or prestige acquired by an individual, in which case they were more likely to be palatial than military in their structure.

Cordoba calling A trip to Spain is incomplete without a visit to Cordoba (Qurtuba), which is frequented by millions of tourists every year. The world’s three major religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam - have been coexisting here for hundreds of years.

Cordoba, which is about a two-hour journey by train from Madrid, has a number of tourist attractions including the great mosque, royal palace and well-decorated houses. “Cordoba is a historical city with deep connections with Islam. We want more people to visit the city and enjoy the experience,” said Jose Fernandez Linares, General Manager of Cordoba Tourism Board

Etihad Airways has launched non-stop flights between Abu Dhabi and Madrid and to introduce these flights, the media from GCC countries were taken for a guided tour of Madrid.

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culture > doha diary THE WORLD IN MINIATURE

Qatar Entertainment Company (Tasali) announced the arrival of edutainment concept KidZania to Doha

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idZania, currently operating in 16 locations globally, offers children the opportunity to play "adult jobs" in up to a 100 pretend roles ranging from being a journalist, dentist, beautician, news reporter and actress to a fireman. The indoor theme park is set in a city that is built to scale for children, complete with buildings, paved streets, vehicles and a functioning economy, run in partnership with real-world brands like Coca Cola, HSBC, Sony, Honda, Gillette, Nestle, P&G and Mitsubishi Motor. For instance, KidZania Doha’s financial system – banks, ATMs and the local currency, KidZos – will be managed by QNB; the bank will be part of the role-play activities, teaching children basic banking services and how to spend, save and invest their kidZos. KidZania Doha will be located at Aspire Zone in Doha, Qatar and is expected to open in 2017.

A SLICE OF LATIN AMERICAN

Toro Toro, the Latin American restaurant by celebrity chef Richard Sandoval, is the second franchised restaurant to open at the new Kempinksi in the Pearl-Qatar.

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ocated in the gardens of Marsa Malaz Kempinski, near Italian restaurant Antica Pesa, Toro Toro offers a contemporary take on tastes from Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. The interiors pay homage to the fires of the traditional churrasco grill with accents of burnt orange on dark charcoal

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walls and animal motifs, textured natural sculptures and leather furniture running throughout. The restaurant can seat 156 guests in the ground floor area, and and 185 in the upstairs lounge, including outdoor seating. Doha is the fourth city to welcome a Toro Toro restaurant following Dubai, Miami and Washington, DC.

WHAT HAPPENED TO MH370?

Qatar healthcare gets a nod

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atari hospitals were awarded first place in two of the nine categories – Hamad Medical Corporation’s Enaya Specialized Care Centre for Best Physical Environment and Qatar BioBank for Best Laboratory Design – announced during the Building Healthcare

Middle East Exhibition & Congress in Dubai. The annual awards recognise leaders in the healthcare industry who have devoted their efforts to building hospitals that help improve healthcare services in the Middle East and raise the bar in providing world-class patient care, a statement said.

Solar art Qatar Solar Technologies sought to inspire the new generation of engineers, artists and entrepreneurs in the renewable space at Shams Generation.

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he Shams Generation exhibition and workshop at Katara showcased over 200 pieces of solar art built using recycled materials by 6 to 16-year-old students from Qatar Academy, Awsaj, Qatar Academy Sidra and Doha College. The workshops were open to children between the ages of 6 and 13 where they learnt how to build their own solar lanterns. Shams

An interdisciplinary research team led by a TAMU math professor has arrived at a theory on what may have happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 which disappeared over the Indian Ocean last year.

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r Goong Chen, an applied mathematician who teaches and researches at Texas A&M at Qatar and the main campus in Texas, USA, has published research that used computer simulations to determine the fate of MH370. The lack of debris or spilled oil in the water near where the plane is presumed to have crashed can only be explained by a near-vertical plunge into the ocean, Dr Chen states, adding that in such a situation the wings would have broken off almost immediately and, along with other heavy debris, would have sunk to the bottom of the ocean, leaving little or no trace to be spotted. Researchers from Texas A&M, Penn State, Virginia Tech, MIT and the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute have all been involved in simulating and modeling what might have happened to the plane and have used applied mathematics and computational fluid dynamics to conduct numerical simulations on the RAAD Supercomputer at TAMU of a Boeing 777 plunging into the ocean. The team simulated five different scenarios before arriving at their conclusion.

Generation is an innovative, hands-on educational initiative developed by Qatar Solar Technologies to educate students on the use of solar energy, raise environmental awareness and encourage creativity, and combines Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics in a way that draws upon the students’ various academic skills.

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culture > doha diary

CROWNE PLAZA

SHARQ VILLAGE AND SPA

RAMADAN KAREEM! As our days go by in spiritual contemplation, we eagerly wait for the sun to set and the city to come to life. This year Qatar Today had the opportunity to visit some of the most lavish Ramadan tents in the city – a celebratory confluence of dazzling lights, scrumptious food and good company. Here are some of our favourites.

HILTON DOHA

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GRAND HYATT

W HOTEL

ST REGIS DOHA

THE RITZCARLTON

THE SHERATON DOHA

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A day in the life of...

Khan gives us a memorable interview – on Whatsapp!

It’s unusual, but so is Khan’s regular working day which begins with a blurry-eyed perusal of his phone, first thing in the morning, even before his feet have had the chance to hit the floor. Such is the life of the perennially online and constantly plugged-in. So we gave up trying to give his day any chronological structure and kept it loose and fluid. And we knew Khan would approve.

Gazanfarulla Khan, Twitterati and social media expert Catch him @acepilotkhan

He scours his feed and updates himself with what’s happening in the social media world. He devours digital news. He mentally prepares himself for the day by laughing at some memes. He shares all of the above with his followers who diligently comment, like and retweet.

Qatar Today follows the daily routines of the men and women around the country from all walks of life.

By Ayswarya Murthy

It’s a big day for him and his online brethren.

They have come together to host Qatar’s first Social Media Day and, though Khan isn’t on the organising committee, his feedback is constantly sought and shared. He is roped in to judge an activity during the Mashable #SMDay – teams are given 20 minutes to come up with a social media strategy for a brand of their choice and the most engaging campaign wins.

Khan’s social circle predictably is made up of the most active social media users in the country. They catch up almost regularly to talk about their work lives, the latest trends online and the social media scene in the region and the world.

Currently not on work mode, Khan apportions more time to socialising (both on and offline) than what is usual for him. Otherwise, normally he is on whichever social media account he has been charged with revitalising. He has at one time or another been the person behind the official social media handles of QNB, Qatar Olympic Team, National Sports Day, Project Qatar, QM’s Year of Culture etc.

He heads off to a friend’s place for iftar to catch up with some offline friends and desi food. But more often than not he is at a restaurant or hotel, sampling their Ramadan offerings or special menus. It’s a tough job but someone has to do it!

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Finally he arrives at the event. It’s a "crazy" three hours. Although the segment he was supposed to judge is scrapped, he still has his hands full – meeting the regular faces, Qatar’s social media elite and also some "fans and stalkers". The day ends with the mandatory #KhanSelfie, of course.