Qt december 2013 by Oryx Group of Magazines

inside this issue DECEMBER 2013 / VOL. 39/ ISSUE 12

COVER STORY

38 THE YEAR THAT WAS

The smooth transition of power in Qatar and its role in ensuring stability in the Middle East, natural calamities in India and the Philippines and the fire mishap in a Bangladesh garment unit killing over 1,100 workers, nuclear tension in the Korean peninsula and the unending crisies in Syria and Egypt, Hollywood’s honours, sporting events, reports of the US keeping a tab on EU leaders’ phone calls, Qatar’s space adventure...In short, we bring to you everything that mattered in 2013.

58 JUST A MORSEL?

The Qatar National Food Security Programme is in the final stages of evaluating the massive food programme that intends to work closely with local producers to fill in strategic gaps – to grow what we should grow, trade what we should trade for and have a marketplace that helps both parts work safely and effectively.

28 QATAR IS INVESTING IN ITS FUTURE

Mashreq Bank Country Head Ross Officer speaks about the progress being made in various sectors in Qatar and the contribution of Mashreq Bank in this direction.

34 QUEST FOR TRUTH

In a candid interview, CNN anchor Richard Quest talks about the lessons learnt during the course of his journalistic journey.

inside this issue DECEMBER 2013 / VOL. 39/ ISSUE 12

SPOTLIGHT

73 QATAR SECURING THE WORLDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ENERGY FUTURE

Global energy demand is on the rise, and Qatar, which is the largest producer of LNG in the world, is making efforts to meet that demand.

56 ACCELERATING QATARISATION

Enabling and accelerating the nationalisation mandate is the key priority for employers in Qatar today.

68 DID MICROCREDIT MISS ITS MARK?

Decades after the launch of the microcredit movement around the world, the debate over whether it has really helped the poor is still on. Qatar Today delves into the arguments.

64 SUN IS THE SOLUTION

For a country like Qatar, which has one of the highest levels of irradiation in the world, solar energy is the only way to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels to meet the growing demand for electricity.

32 COST OF DELAY

Planning to save for the future is one thing everyone should do.

and regulars 12

NEWS BITES

O&G OVERVIEW

REALTY CHECK

BANK NOTES

TECH TALK

AUTO NEWS

MARKET WATCH

SPORTS

DOHA DIARY

from the desk It's that time of the year again. The time when we glance back at the year gone by as we pin our hopes on a brighter 2014. 2013 has been a good year for Qatar, with a picture-perfect young, handsome Emir, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, at its helm and the shadow of the benevolent Father Emir just behind him. But as the year comes to an end, it is time to move away from mouthing niceties and shine light on the issues the country needs to address immediately and assiduously. As expatriates living and earning in a country that is shining in its newly-acquired wealth from an abundance of gas and from investing that wealth in intelligent, sustainable ways, we tend to forget the bigger picture. That we are part of the 1.38 million foreign nationals working here, 94% of the total workforce. That while we are part of a majority labour force we are also the privileged minority with enviable work and living conditions. We tend to bask in the glory of a plush job in a country that has diligently managed its wealth while it has conveniently forgotten the plight of the migrant worker, dusting away the concerns raised by the International Labour Organisation and Amnesty International by saying â&#x20AC;&#x153;laws are in place to protect workers from mistreatmentâ&#x20AC;?. As the world admired the recently-completed Ras Laffan Emergency and Safety College (RLESC) campus with its 120-seat auditorium, conference rooms, 300-seat dining hall, and parade ground, the stories of the many unpaid labourers involved in the construction of this facility were forgotten or ignored. However we look at it, 2013 has not been a year we can be proud of, at least not here in Qatar. Not even with a QR1 billion food programme that, when introduced, will solve the food security issues of not just this country but also neighbouring dryland countries; nor with its spanking sporting facilities for the 2022 FIFA World Cup; not even with the promised sustainable solutions to growing energy needs; not when you know at the back of your mind that behind this success is not just diligent planning and intelligent thinking but also the sweat and toil of unpaid workers. 2014 has to be about unravelling these issues. It IS time to pay dues. WISHING OUR READERS A CONSCIENTIOUS 2014, A YEAR OF JOY, IN A COUNTRY THAT IS RESPONSIBLE AND FAIR TO EVERY ONE OF ITS INHABITANTS. SINDHU NAIR

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF YOUSUF JASSEM AL DARWISH CHIEF EXECUTIVE SANDEEP SEHGAL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT ALPANA ROY VICE PRESIDENT RAVI RAMAN EDITORIAL EDITOR SINDHU NAIR DEPUTY EDITOR V L SRINIVASAN SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS EZDIHAR IBRAHIM ABIGAIL MATHIAS AYSWARYA MURTHY SUB EDITOR SUE EEDLE ART SENIOR ART DIRECTOR VENKAT REDDY DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR HANAN ABU SAIAM ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR AYUSH INDRAJITH SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER MAHESHWAR REDDY PHOTOGRAPHER ROBERT F ALTIMIRANO MARKETING AND SALES SENIOR MANAGER – MARKETING ZULFIKAR JIFFRY ASSISTANT MANAGER – MARKETING THOMAS JOSE SENIOR MEDIA CONSULTANTS HASSAN REKKAB LYDIA YOUSSEF MARKETING RESEARCH AND SUPPORT EXECUTIVE KANWAL BALUCH SENIOR ACCOUNTANT PRATAP CHANDRAN DISTRIBUTION SR. DISTRIBUTION EXECUTIVE BIKRAM SHRESTHA DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT ARJUN TIMILSINA BHIMAL RAI BASANTA POKHREL

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ARAB STEREOTYPES

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SOFTWARE PIRACY Interesting piece on software piracy. I wonder how many of us stop to ponder about the implications of using pirated material online.

ROBERT EDBURG

TYPHOON YOLANDA The devastation in the Philippines and Vietnam is unfathomable. What is definitely heart-warming is the support and tributes that came in from around the world. Qatar did do its bit in its own way, and I only hope that the support lent out so generously reaches the venues they are reaching out to. RADHIKHA S.

AJYAL YOUTH FESTIVAL While I am disappointed that the Doha Tribeca Film Festival no longer exists, it is interesting to see what the DFI will showcase in its first independent film festival. The fact that they are catering to the youth is endearing. B. SAMEER

QATAR’S BANKS LOOK OUTWARD Your cover story was both in-depth and optimistic. Looking forward to the coming issue.

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affairs> local

AFP PHOTO/HO/SPA

REGIONAL TIES Qatar’s Emir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (R) with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (C) and Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah (L) before a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

QATAR 40TH FOR EASE OF DOING BUSINESS

he Ease of Doing Business Index 2013, co-published by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, has listed Qatar in 40th spot in its global rankings, which cover 189 countries. Among other GCC states, Saudi Arabia was ranked 22nd, followed by the UAE (26), Bahrain (42), Oman (47) and Kuwait (82). Singapore topped the global list, followed by Hong Kong, New Zealand, the US, Denmark, Norway, the UK, South Korea, Georgia and Australia. Singapore led the rankings for the seventh year in a row.

16 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

YOUR HOUSE HAS A NUMBER

The "Qatar Area Referencing System" (QARS) has been launched by the Centre for Geographic Information System, which comes under the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning, in Al Dafna. QARS will number all the buildings, commercial and residential, in Qatar.

uring the first phase, signs have already been put on some 98,000 buildings, including many in Doha, a senior civic official said. The second phase has begun and will cover the remaining buildings in the country, including residential, commercial and others. The project, however, doesn’t discard the names of areas (called zones) and streets, said Amer Mohammed Al-Humaidi, Head of Planning and Projects at the ministry. “The names have historical significance so they can’t be done away with,” he said. “This is the second and the last phase of the

QARS we are undertaking. Putting up sign displays in the remaining buildings in the country will be covered in this phase.” Since all buildings, streets and zones have already been numbered and what remains is putting up signs, the Centre has developed an app called "Al Murshid" that can be downloaded on iPads and iPhones. “We have even named areas, streets and buildings that will come up in future. “Just enter the number of a building and zone and street numbers and a satellite map will guide you to that building,” said Al-Humaidi.

“We believe in the globalisation of science, and in sharing, cooperating, and supporting the establishment of scientific research, given that this world is a nation for us all, a world in which science should be devoted to the service of humanity. Given that challenges are global by nature, they require global research solutions through working with international partners who share our beliefs.” HH SHEIKHA MOZA BINT NASSER, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, after she inaugurated the QF Annual Research Conference at the Qatar National Convention Centre on November 24.

AMNESTY: “APPALLING DISREGARD FOR RIGHTS OF MIGRANT WORKERS”

Amnesty International recently issued a report condemning the conditions of migrant workers in the country’s construction sector.

eacting to this critical report, an official of the Foreign Ministry was quoted by Qatar New Agency (QNA) as saying that international law firm DLA Piper had been appointed in early October to review conditions in the construction sector, and now they were asked to include the Amnesty International report in the material it was considering. The Britain-based rights group said that workers suffered difficulties including “non-payment of wages, harsh and dangerous working conditions, and shocking standards of accommodation”. “(World football governing body) FIFA has a duty to send a strong public message that it will not tolerate human rights abuses on construction projects related to the

World Cup,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International, at the launch of the report. Though he appreciated the fact that Qatar had a “national human rights machinery of some sorts” and welcomed an announcement by the government that it would recruit more labour inspectors, he still felt that there was lot more to be done. Shetty noted that Qatar hosted more than a million migrant workers, and this in itself was “a significant contribution from the state to the countries of origin (labour-exporting countries) and workers themselves being able to sustain their families and their relatives.” However, he said that while the country had travelled some distance, a lot more

needed to be done to improve human rights. “It is simply inexcusable in one of the richest countries in the world that so many migrant workers are being ruthlessly exploited, deprived of their pay and left struggling to survive,” Shetty said. “Construction companies and the Qatari authorities alike are failing migrant workers. Employers have displayed an appalling disregard for the basic human rights of migrant workers. Many are taking advantage of a permissive environment and lax enforcement of labour protections to exploit construction workers.” A 169-page report titled “The Dark Side of Migration: Spotlight on Qatar’s construction sector ahead of the World Cup” was released to the media at a press conference. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 17

AFP PHOTO / QATAR 2022 ORGANISING COMMITTEE

affairs > local

MILAHA'S CEO HONOURED

WAKRAH STADIUM DESIGN GETS GLOBAL ATTENTION A computer-generated image handout released by the Qatar 2022 Organising Committee shows the stadium to be built in Al Wakrah for Qatar's 2022 World Cup. The Wakrah Stadium, designed by AECOM and Zaha Hadid Architects, will accomodate 40,000 people and will be used for some 16 matches during the 2022 World Cup.

Milaha’s President & CEO, Khalifa Ali Al-Hetmi, received the “Seatrade Outstanding Achievement Award”, a special award presented to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the industry in the region.

RENTS TO BE STABLE FOR SOME TIME

eal estate prices are to slow down the rate of increase in rent prices, according to the Qatar Central Bank (QCB). QCB says that Qatar’s real estate prices picked up steadily after the 2008 crisis, rising 109% from July 2009 to May 2013. However, from May to September this year the QCB’s real estate index shows a drop in prices of 6.2%. Accordingly, QNB Group expects rents to increase at a slower rate going forward.

he Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum, HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh Al Sada, toured a new diabetes screening bus launched by Action on Diabetes as part of a major workplace campaign to raise awareness of the condition. An estimated one in five Qataris is affected by diabetes, and more than half have three or more risk factors

18 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

that can lead to the condition. Scores of delegates at the Qatar Petroleum Occupational Health Conference in Doha were among the first to be tested at the new mobile facility. Action on Diabetes will position the bus at large workplaces in Doha in the coming months, including at Qatar Petroleum, which plans to use the facility to improve its employees' health.

% change 200 175

+109%

150 125 100 75 50 Jul-06 Jan-07 Jul-07 Jan-08 Jul-08 Jan-09 Jul-09 Jan-10 Jul-10 Jan-11 Jun-11 Jan-12 Jun-12 Jan-13 Sep-13

NEW MOBILE DIABETES SCREENING FACILITY

Real Estate Price Index (2006 - 13)

SOURCES: QCB and QNB Group analysis

-6.2%

affairs > local

MIDDLE EAST AIRLINES ON A BUYING SPREE

Boeing and Airbus announced billions of dollars’ worth of airplane orders from Middle Eastern carriers at the Dubai Airshow recently.

he Boeing 787 Dreamliner received its 1,000th customer order when Etihad Airways announced an order for thirty 787-10 Dreamliners. With this order, the Dreamliner family has reached this sales milestone faster than any other widebody airplane in aviation history. Etihad is the world’s largest airline customer for the 787 Dreamliner. flydubai also announced a commitment for up to a hundred 737 MAX 8 airplanes and 11 next-generation 737800s. The commitment is the largest–ever Boeing single-aisle airplane purchase in the Middle East.

ANOTHER MERS

DEATH

The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) on November 23 announced the death of a 48-year-old expatriate infected with MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) and suffering from several chronic diseases. THIS IS THE SECOND MERS DEATH INVOLVING AN EXPATRIATE IN QATAR. THE EARLIER ONE WAS THE DEATH OF A 61-YEAROLD EXPAT. SCH ALSO SAID THAT THERE WERE NO NEW CONFIRMED MERS CASES IN THE COUNTRY.

20 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

Airbus won a total of 160 orders and commitments at the Dubai Airshow. By value, Emirates placed the single largest order, for 50 additional A380s. Etihad Airways placed the single largest firm order for Airbus at the Dubai Airshow with 87 aircraft (40 A350-900, 10 A350-1000, 26 A321neo, 10 A320neo and one A330-200F). The A330-200F has seen five firm orders from Qatar Airways Cargo, plus eight commitments and one firm order with Etihad, representing a total of 14 orders and commitments.

HUMANE HOUSES FOR LABOURERS

British experts are to help build a new generation of “humane” homes for more than 50,000 construction workers in Qatar as part of initiatives to improve living conditions for labourers ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

MIDDLE EAST AIRLINES

VALUE OF ORDERS

EMIRATES AIRLINE

QR360 BILLION ($99 BILLION)

ETHIHAD AIRWAYS

QR190 BILLION ($52.5 BILLION)

QATAR AIRWAYS

QR79 BILLION ($21.7 BILLON)

orkers’ villages featuring health centres, shops, recreational areas and even psychologists’ consulting rooms will be built in cooperation with the government of Qatar, according to Quantex Qatar, a building consultancy set up by two British quantity surveyors. It is understood the plan has been accelerated after suggestions from Amnesty International and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to improve the workers’ living conditions. The new housing will be made up of three-bedroom homes with a limit of four to a room. Each bed will be screened off and each home will have a living room, bathroom and covered outdoor space. Quantex has formed a joint venture with US company Global Building Solutions, which has acquired around one million square metres of land. The new housing will be semi-prefabricated in Saudi Arabia and the first units are expected to become available from April next year.

business>oil&gas QATAR AND ITS GAS RESERVES

“Qatar is ranked third in the world, after Russia and Iran, with proven gas reserves of 25,100 billion cubic metres, as estimated in early 2013 by BP Statistical Review of World Energy, or around 13.4% of the world’s total. The country’s gas reserves to population ratio is the highest in the world.”

TEACHING SAFETY IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

Dr Naji Abi-Aad Manager of the Institute of Energy Economics, American University of Beirut

A seminar on Qatar’s role in the gas market, held at Qatar University’s Gulf Studies Centre last month, examined the country’s position in the global gas market and its main advantages in pursuing its role as a leader in the gas industry worldwide.

he seminar was presented by Manager of the Institute of Energy Economics at the American University of Beirut Dr Naji Abi-Aad and was attended by Centre Director Dr Abdullah Baabood, diplomats, students and experts from the oil and gas industry. Dr Abi-Aad explored Qatar’s achievements in exporting natural gas to numerous markets around the world in liquefied (LNG) and in piped forms and said its reserves are sufficient to satisfy current worldwide gas consumption for around seven years and a half even if no further discoveries are made. He also noted that about 99% of Qatar’s

proven gas reserves are in non-associated form in the North Field, which was discovered in 1971 and is located fully offshore, 80 km northeast of the onshore land, extending over an area of about 6,000 sq.km. Commenting on Qatar’s various gas advantages, Dr Abi-Aad said: “Qatar is well distinguished for having low costs of production with strong governmental support and strategic geographical location in relative proximity to key gas markets. Additionally Qatar has a stable political system and a straightforward decision-making process supported by a liberal economic environment and wide openness to foreign investment.”

HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani inaugurated the Ras Laffan Emergency and Safety College (RLESC) at Ras Laffan Industrial City. The opening ceremony was attended by Their Excellencies Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada the Minister of Energy and Industry; Mohammed Al-Hammadi, the Minister of Education and Higher Education; and Jassim Al-Sulaiti, the Minister of Transport. RLESC - The result of a partnership and collaboration between Qatar Petroleum and the Ministry of Interior– is a premier emergency and safety training college designed to provide advanced training to professionals in the oil, gas, petrochemical, civil defence, civil and military aviation and other sectors in Qatar as well as the greater Middle East, North Africa and Asia. The college is spread over a total of 1,000,000 sq. m. and is equipped with modern classrooms, a range of simulators and indoor and outdoor facilities.

QATAR DELIVERS GAS TO CHINA Qatargas has delivered a commissioning cargo to Zhuhai LNG Terminal in China. The cargo arrived aboard the Q-Flex LNG vessel Al-Gattara and will be used to commission the latest addition to the growing list of LNG terminals owned and operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) across China. 22 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

business > realty check

INHABITING THE CLOUDS Middle East’s skyscrapers are towering

Asiatic Turkey

over the world, says report.

Ankara (3) Izmir (2) Konya (1) Mersin (1)

With as many as 28 tall towers with a height of more than 150 metres, Qatar is ranked second after the UAE in the Middle East, according to a new report from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).

Lebanon Beirut (1)

Saudi Arabia is placed third with 26 towers – 10 in Riyadh, eight in Jeddah, seven in Mecca and one in Al Khobar. In all, there will be 289 high-rise buildings with a height of over 150 metres in the Middle East by the end of December 2015, the report says.

172,721,627

45.3%

70,073,746

18.4%

7 Buildings

of pop.

0.0%

2.4%

of total

79,853,900

1 Building

1.1

0.3%

of pop.

20.9%

Jordan

of total

0.3%

3.5

of total

0.3%

6,482,081

1.7%

1,281,332

of total

0.3%

of pop.

of total

of pop.

11 Buildings

7,707,042

Tel Aviv (7) Ramat Gan (2) Bnei Brak (1)

2.0

3.8

4,695,316

1.2

of pop.

Interestingly, the Middle East had only one tower over 150 metres in height 20 years ago, but by the end of 2015, over 20 cities in 10 countries in the region will have many completed 150 metres plus projects.

Kuwait

26 Buildings

9.0%

12 Buildings

Bahrain Manama (11)

of total

4.2% of total

Kuwait City (12)

of total

26,939,583

The UK-based EC Harris, a global built asset consultancy, says that within the next decade, the trend of building "mega-tall" towers – those which reach more than 600 metres high – is likely to increase, particularly in the Middle East.

7.1% of pop.

Saudi Arabia Riyadh (10) Jeddah (8) Mecca (7) Al Khobar (1)

192 Buildings

9.7

X.X% of total

X Buildings

X.X% of total

KEY number of buildings 150 m+ in height in country and percentage of region total by the year 2015

0.5% of pop.

of total

5,473,972

1.4%

2,042,444

X Buildings

66.4%

28 Buildings of total

SOURCE: Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

Tehran (1) 1 Building

1 Building

10 Buildings

Iran

of pop.

Amman (1)

Israel

0 Buildings

of pop.

of total

4,131,583

According to the report, the UAE, which is currently ranked among the fastestgrowing real estate markets in the world, will have 192 skyscrapers by the end of 2015 – 149 in Dubai, 32 in Abu Dhabi, eight in Sharjah, two in Fujairah and one in Ajman.

Rest of Middle East

of pop.

Qatar

United Arab Emirates

Doha (28)

Dubai (149) Abu Dhabi (32) Sharjah (8) Fujairah (2) Ajman (1)

total population of country and percentage of region population

PROPERTY DEALINGS SURGE BY OVER 13% IN QATAR

Real estate transactions likely to record upsurge in the coming weeks, says report

roperty transactions in Qatar surged by more than 13% in the first week of November and the market is expected to record further growth in the coming weeks, a Qatar-based real estate company says. From around QR965.4 million ($264.5 million) in the last week of October, the value of property dealings in the country increased to almost QR1.1 billion ($302 million) in the first week of November, an increase of 13.5%, Ezdan Holding Group said in its weekly report. Citing figures produced by the Land

24 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

Registrar at the Qatari Justice Ministry, the report notes that the number of property transactions rose from 146 to 209 and that average daily transactions grew to QR219.2 million ($60 million) in the first week of November from around QR193.1 million ($52.8 million) the previous week. “Property dealings in the country are expected to record an upsurge in the coming weeks, mainly in the land sector, as investors and developers are planning to set up more real estate projects,” the report says. It also says that Doha accounted for the lion’s share of the weekly dealings, although

the number of its transactions slumped by nearly 33.2%. The value of those transactions also declined to around QR438.7 million ($120.2 million) in the first week of November from QR654.6 million ($179.3 million) the previous week. The highest deal stood at QR86 million ($23.5 million), involving a land plot with an area of 2,089 square metre and priced at QR41,200 ($11,287) per square metre. Another major transaction involved the sale of a 720 square metre villa for QR24 million ($6.6 million), the report adds.

news bites > regional

26 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

J U ST I C E S E RV E D? Foreign workers wait before boarding police buses transferring them to an assembly centre prior to their deportation on November 14 in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Renewed clashes on November 13 between Saudis and illegal migrants, targeted in a nationwide campaign, killed one person and wounded 17, police said. AFP PHOTO/FAYEZ NURELDINE

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 27

business>bank notes QFB APPOINTS NEW CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER Qatar First Bank (QFB), the first independent Shariah-compliant bank authorised by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA), has announced the appointment of SULAIMAN YOUSIF AL SALHI as its Chief Business Officer.

QNB HAS HIGHEST ASSETS AMONG 100 ARAB BANKS BANK

ASSETS

QATAR NATIONAL BANK

QR366.548 BILLION ($100.7 BILLION).

NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK, SAUDI ARABIA

QR334.88 BILLION ($92 BILLION).

EMIRATES NBD, DUBAI

QR305.76 BILLION ($84 BILLION).

NATIONAL BANK OF ABU DHABI

QR297.752 BILLION ($81.8 BILLION).

RAFIDAIN BANK, IRAQ

QR275.912 BILLION ($75.8 BILLION).

AL RAJHI BANK, SAUDI ARABIA

QR259.53 BILLION ($71.3 BILLION).

NATIONAL BANK OF KUWAIT

QR213.30 BILLION ($58.6 BILLION).

SAUDI AMERICAN BANK GROUP

QR193.284 BILLION ($53.1 BILLION).

NATIONAL BANK OF EGYPT

QR192.92 BILLION ($53 BILLION).

10.

KUWAIT FINANCE HOUSE

QR191.1 BILLION ($52.5 BILLION).

Of these 100 banks, 56 are in the GCC states and their combined assets stand at about QR4.732 trillion ($1.3 trillion), nearly 81% of the total. The largest 10 banks control around QR2.63 trillion ($723 billion) in assets, nearly 28% of the total assets of all 100 banks. Their deposits are put at QR1.798 trillion ($494 billion), or around 31.6%, and loans at QR1.390 trillion ($382 billion), nearly 26%. The combined shareholders' equity of the 10 largest banks stand at QR276.76 billion ($76 billion), nearly 24% of the total.

QR4.732

TRILLION THE COMBINED ASSETS OF 56 BANKS IN THE GCC

28 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

business> bank notes

“ISLAMIC FINANCE ENSURES STABILITY OF GLOBAL ECONOMY”

Speakers at a two-day conference on “Islamic Finance for Asia: Development, Prospects and Inclusive Growth" and a "Roundtable Session for Regulators" felt that the global recognition for Islamic finance was an important means of introducing a more stable form of financing to the international economy.

he conference was organised by the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila in the Philippines on November 4 and 5. Islamic finance, IFSB Secretary-General Jaseem Ahmed said, was an increasingly important means of financing for physical and social infrastructure that supports economic development and job creation, and there was a need for integrating

STEADY GROWTH CLOCKED

Qatar Islamic Bank

Qatar International Islamic Bank

MILLION

QR568.4 MILLION

7.I%

QRI.3 BILLION

QR360.72 MILLION

NET PROFIT GROWTH

30 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

NO SPENDING, ONLY SENDING

QR345

Commercial Bank of Qatar

Islamic finance with public spending and public financing decisions through the issuance of sovereign Islamic securities. Dean and Director of the Karachi-based Institute of Business Administration Dr Ishrat Husain spoke about the possibility of advancing Islamic finance as an alternative means of financial intermediation and a reliable instrument for promoting inclusive growth and reducing income inequalities in Asia and the world.

8.6%

Ahli United Bank

Remittance volumes from Qatar is estimated to grow by over 15% and could be around QR54.6 billion ($15 billion) by the end of 2013.

atar’s share in the remittance volumes is around 30% from the GCC, which is said to be QR182 billion ($50 billion). With more people migrating to the country in the coming months due to economic boom, the remittances from Qatar are likely to shoot up further, a report said. Most of the remittances from Qatar are to India, Philippines, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The other countries where remittances are made include Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Africa, the report added.

business> bank notes

“QATAR IS INVESTING IN ITS FUTURE”

Putting behind it the nightmare of the 2008 global recession that affected the banking sector, Mashreq Bank has bounced back and is all set to expand its business in Qatar. The bank is looking at financing various projects that are expected to be taken up next year. BY V L SRINIVASAN

ashreq has been the lead bank in a consortium that includes Barwa, QIB and UNB providing finance to the joint venture that was awarded the QR8.46 billion contract for the Red Line North Underground line of the Doha Metro by Qatar Railways Company. The Doha Metro is a key component of the country’s envisaged integrated rail system, which upon completion will also include high-speed long-distance rail links, freight lines, the Lusail Light Rail Transit system

32 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

and People Mover Systems in West Bay and Education City. The Red Line North Underground package is a significant division of the overall Doha Metro project and will include construction of two parallel 13-km underground tunnels. The package will also include construction of seven underground stations between Msheireb and Lusail Marina. “Yes, we are keen to bid for future mega as well as smaller projects. Mashreq Bank is specialised in funding such ventures and we typically concentrate on large and medium-sized projects involving infrastructure, which are frequently funded and supported by the government or government agencies. The expectations in 2014 are that there will be some large projects in tender stage, and I think the focus will be on transport infrastructure and services. The transport includes elevated lines for Qatar Rail and the Orbital road as well as water and sewage services,” says Ross Officer, Country Head, Mashreq Bank. Explaining the success the bank has notched up in the recent past, the challenges that arose due to global recession in 2008 and also the bank’s future plans, Officer says: "We are already involved with megaprojects including Hamad International Airport, Doha Port and Qatar Education City People Mover Project. Our experience has always been good, although large projects are complex undertakings involving many different parties. This calls for an excellent understanding of the projects’ technical aspects on our part, as well as the flexibility to accommodate unexpected variations in a project. “The various parties include major contractors and sub-contractors, and any bank involved in project finance needs to understand the risks, contracts and penalties. Since Mashreq is specialised in project finance, we understand the nature of the

projects very well and we are comfortable with them,” he continues. Regarding the bank’s poor performance during the global recession in 2008, he says that like other banks, Mashreq's results were impacted by the financial crisis, which emerged in the US and spread to other countries, resulting in the ensuing recession. “In that period, many banks suffered significant losses and tight liquidity. Fortunately for us, Mashreq Bank quickly emerged from the crisis as we operate in economies which are very resilient and which have excellent long-term prospects, hence the rebound,” he says. According to Officer, 2013 will be an excellent year for Mashreq, reflecting the strong growth in the bank’s core markets. At the end of September (third quarter), the bank had reported a net profit after tax up 34% over the same period in the previous year. The net profit was QR1.29 billion compared with QR969.12 million at end-September 2012. “I expect that we will continue to perform strongly in Qatar in 2014 as the economic fundamentals are excellent and strong. Qatar’s strong economic growth, population growth and a stable government will help in further growth in retail banking operations,” he says. “Qatar is investing in its future as part of Qatar National Vision 2030 while retaining its cultural and social values. Though hydrocarbons will remain strong, Qatar will continue with its policy of economic diversification,” he points out. The bank is not far behind as far as offering new schemes and incentives to its customers in retail banking. “We value our retail banking business greatly. Mashreq is the fastest and most convenient retail bank in the country. We are the only bank which gives instant credit cards, account opening, debit cards and cheque books in our branches in Qatar. No other bank gives instant credit cards, he says. The bank is targeting strong growth in Mashreq Gold (its priority banking business), which focuses on investment solutions and wealth management. In tune with the country’s avowed policy of supporting mall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), he says the sector is a priority area for Mashreq. The bank has an SME unit branded as “Business Banking” offering the best visible online banking service for business people, which includes payroll solutions so that they can transfer employee salaries online. “We have the

“Qatar is investing in its future as part of Qatar National Vision 2030 while retaining its cultural and social values. Though hydrocarbons will remain strong, Qatar will diversify its economy and other industries will increase, offering more jobs. Our future also has better prospects in Qatar.” ROSS OFFICER Country Head, Mashreq Qatar

fastest and most convenient business loan in Qatar (Small Business Loan) and we give up to QR2 million for up to five years, based solely on bank statements and not on financial statements. We also offer business credit cards and trade finance lines of up to QR20 million with dedicated trade finance managers,” he says. Referring to the recent report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which suggested that the GCC countries should introduce more reforms for strong growth in the region, he feels economies in these countries are already open, and as far as Qatar is concerned, it has already prepared a road map in the Qatar National Vision 2030. However, he has three suggestions. Firstly, he would like to see greater economic integration within the GCC. A common currency for the GCC nations may remain an aspiration, but harmonisation of labour laws and relaxation of immigration rules and language barriers should be addressed. Secondly, these countries should promote policies to further encourage the private sector, and gradually remove government from direct investment in the economy. The third thing is he would like to see is the introduction of further policies that encourage business in all sectors. Future plans: At present, Mashreq Bank has four branches and pis lanning to open a fifth in 2014. “We also intend to establish a new and improved Main Branch for the convenience of our clients. As a result of these and other initiatives, we expect to grow strongly across all of our businesses in Qatar,” Officer adds

MASHREQ BANK: (END-SEPTEMBER 2013) NET PROFIT INCREASED TO

QRI.29

BILLION

OPERATING INCOME UP

I9% QR3.44

BILLION

LOANS AND ADVANCES INCREASED BY

I8% QR48.26

BILLION

LIQUID ASSETS STOOD AT

23%

CAPITAL ADEQUACY STEADY AT

I8.2% QR7.63

EARNINGS PER SHARE

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 33

business > viewpoint

TOURISM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA:

A WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT

Southeast Asia’s tourism industry is presently the fastest-growing worldwide. The reason is a combination of several factors: the region has been on an economic growth path over the past years, with strong investments in infrastructure, hotels and touristic facilities, at least in the most-visited countries, attracting ever-rising visitor numbers.

CAMBODIA

3.6

MILLION VISITORS IN 2012

he growing wealth of China and India, with their huge population also contributes to surging tourism numbers; for example, Chinese today make up the largest share of holidaymakers in Thailand. Furthermore, air connectivity has become far better, with Qatar Airways alone having introduced a number of new destinations in the past year including Yangon, Phnom Penh and Clark (Philippines) to capitalise on the new travel trend. The time is ripe for tourism investment, and apart from the core destinations in the region such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, Southeast Asia still lacks touristic infrastructure in the broadest sense. Let’s take a look at what’s hot. Cambodia Cambodia is among the Southeast Asian countries with the highest growth rates in tourism. While still far behind neighbouring Thailand in both arrival numbers and tourism receipts – Cambodia counted 3.6 million visitors in 2012 and expects 4 mil-

34 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

lion in 2013, while Thailand saw a whopping 22.3 million in 2012 and forecasts 25 million this year – the number of international arrivals has continued to rise steadily despite the political uncertainties following the July 28 national election. The country, whose tourism currently focuses on the capital Phnom Penh and the temple town of Siem Reap, has a lot of development opportunities, whether in the beach village of Sihanoukville or in other towns of historical interest such as Battambang. But cambodia has just a handful of luxury hotels, most of them in Siem Reap, despite having long shrugged off its reputation as a backpacker destination. Laos Laos is in a similar situation, but the country’s disadvantage is that it doesn’t have beaches. However, better connectivity at least to the capital Vientiane attracted 2 million visitors in 2012, with a steady rise of about 20% over the past two years. Laos is in need of almost everything: good hotels with better standards, transport infrastructure

and development of tourism sites. Historically and culturally interesting destinations such as Luang Prabang in the north have a few decent hotels, but the area around it is still totally off the tourism radar. Vietnam Vietnam is attracting its fair share of tourists – 6.8 million came in 2012 – but the country is restricting itself with its visa policy and poor transport facilities. There are a lot of development opportunities, especially in the southern Mekong Delta, around Ho Chi Minh City, and in the coastal cities of Nha Trang and Hoi An, as well as in the north around Hanoi and in Halong Bay. Vietnam in the past has strongly encouraged foreign investors, namely from Qatar, to help develop its tourism infrastructure, and has said it will allocate no less than QR350 billion ($94 billion) in funds sourced from state resources and private investment for the same. There are already Qatar-backed investments undertaken by Qatari Diar, which have, however, faced delays due to Vietnam’s currently volatile economy and some bureaucratic issues. Myanmar Myanmar is seen as the new gold mine in Southeast Asian tourism. The country, which only recently opened to foreign investors, has enormous touristic potential that could according to experts, even outpace Thailand in the long run, but currently lacks even the most basic infrastructure apart from a few state-backed beach resorts. While large parts of the country are still off-limits to tourists, travel experts expect that the situation will gradually ease. Investment opportunities are mostly in hotels, a sector strongly undersupplied, in transport, development of tourist sites and financial infrastructure such as ATMs.

VIETNAM

6.8

MILLION VISITORS IN 2012

Qatar Airways has introduced a non-stop flight from Doha to Yangon, and the fact that Ooredoo is present in Myanmar with a mega-investment in mobile phone infrastructure shows that Qataris are no strangers to the opportunities the country holds. Myanmar should possibly avoid mistakes that Thailand made in its tourism sector and see that it is developed in a sensitive and sustainable way that will help maintain Myanmar’s cultural heritage and traditions.

BY ARNO MAIERBRUGGER

Indonesia Indonesia is a special case. The huge and enormously populous country received just 8 million visitors in 2012, and most of them went to Jakarta or Bali. In other regions,

LAOS CAPITAL VIENTIANE

MILLION VISITORS IN 2012

there is almost no infrastructure, thus developments backed by foreign investments are welcomed with open arms. Indonesia certainly has long-term travel and tourism growth potential. Arrivals are increasing steadily, driven by promotional activity and an increase in domestic and international airline capacity and routes. By 2015 experts expect tourism numbers to cross the 10 million mark. Philippines The island nation at the edge of Southeast Asia has a lot to catch up in terms of tourism infrastructure. Despite boasting some of the best beaches in the entire region, there is almost no advantage taken of them. While the government pursues a tourism development programme, things are moving slowly. Potential exists in almost every segment, starting from upgrading crucial infrastructure such as Manila’s international airport to hotels, resorts and travel logistics. For example, despite its thousands of kilometres of coastline, the Philippines doesn’t have a single marina. Nor any proper golf courses to speak of

DR ARNO MAIERBRUGGER Is Editor-in-Chief of www. investvine.com, a news portal focusing on Southeast Asian economic topics as well as trade and investment relations between ASEAN and the GCC. Investvine.com updates its clients on current business news and financial market data and publishes interviews with prominent business people as well as government officials. The related website www. insideinvestor.com is currently being developed as an online platform connecting investors with investment opportunities. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 35

business > viewpoint

COST OF DELAY:

SAVING FOR THE FUTURE Planning to save for the future, be it retirement, our children’s school and university fees or even that fishing boat we dream about at night (and during an overly long conference), is something we all know we must do. Most of us, however, are guilty of the exact same thing: putting it off to a later date.

BY SAM BROOKS Senior Financial Consultant, Guardian Wealth Management

THE GRAPHS BELOW ASSUME CONTRIBUTIONS OF

$500

PER MONTH ARE LEVEL THROUGHOUT AND WITH AN ANNUALISED GROWTH RATE OF

PER YEAR. THE S&P 500 INDEX GREW AT AN ANNUALISED

7.I%

$ 160

$ 400

$ 140

$ 350 THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS

THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS

PER YEAR IN THE TEN YEARS LEADING UP TO DECEMBER 31, 2012.

$ 120 $ 100 $ 80 $ 60 $ 40 $ 20 $0

$ 300 $ 250 $ 200 $ 150 $ 100 $ 50 $0

START SAVING NOW $156,432 WAIT 5 YEARS $86,009 36 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

would expect, and the important thing is to get something, anything, started sooner rather than later. The cost of delay when saving for a goal further off in the future is even starker. Retirement planning, for example, has changed hugely over the past 30 years. It used to be that we would work at the same company for most of our lives and then retire in relative comfort from an employer’s final salary scheme. Unfortunately that is now a thing of the past, especially for expats living in Qatar, where pay is generally good but contracts are short and we are left to our own devices where saving for retirement is concerned. If you are currently 35 years of age, wishing to retire at the age of 60 and again, can put away away as little as QR1,800 ($500) per month, waiting that extra ten years and not starting to save until you are 45 would cost you over QR855,400 ($235,000). In fact, your final pot would be worth less than half of what it would have been if you’d started saving at 35. So the moral is that as most of us have made the decision to uproot and move to the Middle East for the financial opportunities that arise here, let’s not waste it by putting off the decision to do something with our hard–earned pay, as it may just hurt us more than we thought

e all know we are due a bonus next year or that the next contract will be bigger and give us more disposable income, and after all, how can we give up our weekly luxuries for something that won’t give us any benefit for a good few years? Unfortunately, the truth is that delaying saving for that important goal costs us far more than we think. This is because time is our friend when saving and investing over the long term. As an example, and a particularly pertinent one given the recent UK Push Survey of Student Finance, it is now estimated that the average student debt of a UK university starter in 2012 will have risen to over £53,000 (QR290,000) by the time they finish their course. If you have a three-year-old toddler and start saving $500 (QR1,800) a month, by the time they reach 18 you will be able to breathe a sigh of relief and pack them off to college safe in the knowledge you will have amassed over QR568,000 ($156,000). Delay that by just five years, waiting until their eighth birthday to start your college fund, and you will find yourself QR254,800 ($70,000) worse off by their first Freshers' Week. As you can see from the above example, the cost of delay is far greater than many

START SAVING NOW $393,735 WAIT 10 YEARS $156,432

HYDROCARBON REVENUES:

AN ONGOING STORY

The focus on diversification away from a hydrocarbon-based economy tends to oversimplify a complex and dynamic sector, that of oil and gas production and sales, speaking of it as a static phenomenon, that can be referenced as somewhat continuous and unchanging.

his is, however, unrepresentative of the situation as it actually stands, and recent moves by the authorities to cut gas prices and secure long–term deals for selling Qatari gas, along with their investment in US shale gas production, show that a shrewd strategy is still needed to maintain the levels of revenue desired in what is a highly competitive market. Qatar’s dominance of global LNG production and sales is clear to see. In 2012 Qatar sold some 77.4 million tonnes of LNG to the market–nearly one third (32.6%) of global supply, making it by far the largest individual producer. However, in the same year Australia, Russia and East African countries also produced considerable amounts of LNG, and the USA and Canada look set to increase or begin exporting LNG in the coming years. It is estimated that as this happens approximately 350 mtpa will become available to the market, more than doubling the current world output. Even before this further addition, the recent increase in supply from elsewhere, combined with poor demand in Europe, near self-sufficiency in the USA from shale gas and the unsuitability of markets in South America for long–term deals, has led to a degree of oversupply, and a suppression of LNG prices. The result of this is that potential buyers have begun looking elsewhere. Turning away from the higher prices that Qatar has been able to ask, due to its domination of global production, they are seeking out a better deal from other exporters. Seeking both deals that are priced by the conventional method of offering a percentage of per–barrel oil price plus a fixed fee and, more frequently, those that are calculated by different means. Chinese LNG buyer CNPC, for example,

recently struck a deal with Russian Novatek-operated Yamal LNG to buy 3 mtpa at an estimated slope of 12.2% plus a high fixed premium. In contrast to this, a 2009 deal saw Qatar sell 5 mtpa of LNG to China at a slope of 16.2%–a percentage that made it one of the highest–priced deals ever struck, and one that is now seen as a potential contributing factor to China’s buying gas from elsewhere, and other potential buyers being wary of signing long–term deals. Given that the Asian market is seen as one of the major prizes for any LNG exporting country, and recollecting the innovation that lead to Qatar’s development and subsequent domination of global LNG production, Doha has been swift to react to this threat to its main source of income. Deals have been offered that price gas very competitively in the short term (at around a 13.5% slope), with more strategic rates running into the long term, looking to lure customers in with these early rates, but securing long-term revenues that are key for stability in the market. At the same time, investments in the US shale market show an appreciation of the increased competition that this new production, combined with the widening of the Panama Canal, will pose to Qatar’s grip on LNG supply to Pacific Rim and other Asian markets. A QR36.4 billion ($10 billion) joint venture between Qatar Petroleum International and ExxonMobil to develop an export terminal with Golden Pass in Texas, announced in May this year, will not only ensure that Qatar has a stake in this market too, but that they are in a stronger position when negotiating sales of their own gas. The results of these moves have yet to be seen, but what we can be more certain of is that while new LNG producers may be coming online and other producers continue to increase their outputs in the coming years, Qatar will remain a key player.

BY OLIVER CORNOCK Regional Editor, Oxford Business Group

In 2012 Qatar sold some 77.4 million tonnes of LNG to the market –nearly one third (32.6%) of global supply – making it by far the largest individual producer.

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 37

development > listening post

QUEST FOR TRUTH

CNN ANCHOR RICHARD QUEST, WHO WAS IN DOHA RECENTLY, TALKS TO QATAR TODAY ABOUT HIS JOURNALISTIC JOURNEY, AND THE LESSONS LEARNT ALONG THE WAY. BY AYSWARYA MURTHY 38 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

he panic arrived in full force about 50 minutes before the scheduled interview with Richard Quest. What could I possibly ask this titan of television who, through the course of his long, illustrious career, has hobnobbed with presidents and princes, business czars and rock stars? But as it turned out, I had worried myself sick for no reason. Quest’s affable manner, which puts his interviewees at ease on live TV, worked just as well on me in that quiet corner of the café. I ask him if he ever has pre-interview jitters. “Of course, all the time!” he says. “You try interviewing Jimmy Carter. It is intimidating and terrifying to talk to these great thinkers... Bill Clinton, Warren Buffett, Richard Gere, Bill Gates, the late Margaret Thatcher. And I was a gibbering wreck at the thought of interviewing Julie Andrews. This is Mary Poppins! Every time I do an interview I get nervous. The interviewee doesn’t have to answer my questions. I am not a prosecutor; I don’t have the force of law. So when I sit down with them, I consider it a privilege. I am honoured that they have chosen to give me time to talk to them. "Gregarious and colourful, Quest’s personality and witty banter expands to fill time and space and all I have to do is sit back and bask in it. He says he has had a great day. As CNN’s airlines and aviation correspondent, he was invited to moderate a panel at the Arab Air Carriers Organisation annual general meeting, and happily declares that it was among the best debates they have had in their conferences – honest, open and no holds barred. “A good debate is like ballroom dancing. All the parties should be ready to dance. And today, all of them came prepared to do exactly that,” he says. After pouring himself some tea and tut-tutting at the teapot design for being “too clever for its own good,” Quest talks a little bit about his entry into journalism. “Though I was trained as a lawyer, I made a very conscious decision to become a journalist. I had done hospital radio growing up and university and local radio later on. In 1985 the BBC offered me a traineeship, after which I joined them as a general journalist. I had always enjoyed doing business stories.

It’s fascinating. It’s vibrant. It’s about money and choices and the economic decisions that people make constantly. Why did they buy these useless teapots, for instance,” he says, pointing at the offending crockery, “out of all the choices they had. "After completing an internship within the BBC’s financial unit, Quest was shipped to the States to cover business news for the BBC in 1987. In 2001 he came back home, but to report on European business for CNN. He has now moved back to New York City and will continue to host his Quest Means Business programme from the studios there. The successful show, which CNN claims is a bridge between hard economics and entertaining television, has also earned the ire of those who accuse it, and Quest personally, of making business news too simplistic. We broach the subject carefully, but he cuts right to the chase. “In other words, you are asking me if I am dumbing down the news. Don’t worry, you won’t ask me anything that I’ll be offended by,” he says reassuringly. “For too long, economics has been a boring subject that people roll their eyes at. But business is not about market numbers; it’s about people and the decisions they make. 12.2% of the population in Europe is unemployed. It’s a disgrace and obscenity. And yet in the same breath you have people queuing up around the block to buy the iPad Air. You have companies like BlackBerry and Nokia that were giants five years ago who have now disappeared or are in trouble. This city here, 10 years ago, was a desert.But look at it now. The stories behind these are fascinating. Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t know what they are talking about,” he says. So every day he makes it his business to bring his audience the most important story of the day and the best speaker on that story. Being a global show, the formula isn’t always so simple. The key is to lead with a regional story as much as possible unless a global story of universal importance is unfolding. “For example, Europe’s horrific unemployment numbers. Of course we’d lead with that. We’d love to cover a lot more of Asia, ASEAN. The revolution is underway. But coverage is expensive.”

"For too long, economics has been a boring subject that people roll their eyes at. But business is not about market numbers; it’s about people and the decisions they make." QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 39

development > listening post

"The danger is self-censorship, which is more insidious and detrimental than real censorship." RICHARD QUEST Achor, CNN

40 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

And speaking about revolution, although Quest agrees that the Internet is changing broadcast news consumption fundamentally, he admits he is a bit old school. He agrees that he has to embrace it (“Our CEO grabbed the organisation by the scruff of the neck and said we have to be available on any platform that people want–television, mobile, website. So it’s not an option for us.") but will do so kicking and screaming. “I have a digital subscription to the New York Times but I still like to read the hard copy in the morning on the subway. I have no evidence to support this, but the quality of comprehension online is not as great as that when you are reading it on paper. At least for me. If I want to read a tricky or difficult article, I’d print it out,” he says. While we are on the topic, he also has much to say about “the generation that has become obsessed with this incontinence of airing their views on every single blog known to man and every post and every tweet”. While journalists like Glenn Greenwald dream of a world where reporters “honestly disclose their subjective assumptions and political values as opposed to dishonestly pretend they have none or conceal them from their readers,” Quest firmly subscribes to the policy of leaving your private views with your hat and coat at the door. It’s the easiest thing in the world to reveal your opinion. But it’s much more difficult to just report. Of course personal biases might affect the way you tell a story but you try and guard against it. With experience you learn to ‘not show your slip’. It’s all very well to say, reveal your point of view. But the moment you do it, you are no longer a reporter, you are a protagonist. We are curious to hear what this career journalist thinks about the journalism

scene in Qatar. He smiles. “Here you are in the home of Al Jazeera and yet some of your newspapers feel the need to pull their punches. The danger is of course self-censorship, which is more insidious and detrimental than real censorship. At least in the latter case you know when you are being censored. But when journalists don’t report because they fear what’ll happen to them or that it won’t be acceptable, that’s worse. A new culture has to be created and that can only happen over time as newspapers constantly toe the line and realise they can get away with it. Of course, it has to be done responsibly,” he warns hinting at the dark side of journalism. “There’ll always be excesses like (UK papers) The Sun and News of the World but these are the stench we pay for having the freedom to do it in the first place.” Since he brought up Al Jazeera, we can’t resist asking how he thought Al Jazeera America is faring, and true to his initial declaration that we could ask him absolutely anything on the planet, he gives us his opinion from the vantage point of being among the top echelon of the American media. "From what I have seen, it’s a very credible product and that’s what I would expect from an organisation that has such good credentials. And AJAM’s journalists are ex-colleagues of mine from CNN and the BBC who are continuing to do quality journalism, only for a different organisation, in a different way. They have a different agenda, different coverage mentality, look, feel, everything. But the jury is out on whether they can make a success of it. They are not yet a competition to the likes of CNN, MSNBC and Fox, but can they be in the future? We don’t know. It’s too soon to say. However,” he adds, “I will not sit and criticise another journalistic organisation that is doing a good job of increasing competition and output and giving us a different perspective. As journalists we must celebrate that fact.” But if AJAM doesn’t manage to get the audiences, then what? “They have the advantage of not having to make money. But I question how long the Qatari authorities would want to piss away money if there is no perceived benefit,” he shrugs. But how much money is too much money for soft power? Quest nods thoughtfully. “Soft power is wonderful, isn’t it? The BBC had that with its World Service radio. And if you consider its significance, you’d have thought the British government would have been prepared to pay whatever, the cost of a couple of nuclear missiles even, to keep that service going. But they didn’t,” he says quietly

coverstory > the year that was

COVER STORY

THE YEAR THAT WAS

42 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

QATAR TODAY SHEDS LIGHT ON THE HIGHLY EVENTFUL YEAR BEHIND US, REMINISCING ABOUT THE STORIES THAT CAPTURED OUR ATTENTION, TRAGEDIES THAT TUGGED AT OUR HEART STRINGS AND STAGGERING DEVELOPMENTS THAT CHANGED OUR WORLD FOREVER. FROM MASS PROTESTS IN THE STREETS TO PEACEFUL POLITICAL TRANSITIONS, FROM DEVASTATING NATURAL CALAMITIES TO NEW LIFE, FROM SEISMIC SHIFTS IN THE BUSINESS WORLD TO PERSONAL TRIUMPHS, THE YEAR WAS ONE WE CAN LOOK BACK ON WITH BITTERSWEET NOSTALGIA. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 43

coverstory > the year that was

AFP PHOTO / GEORGE BURNS

January

2013

JAN

LANCE ARMSTRONG COMES CLEAN After two years of denying doping allegations and intimidating those who challenged him, disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong admitted in a taped interview with Oprah Winfrey that he had indeed won all seven of his Tour de France titles while on performance-enhancing drugs, and said the feat, in his opinion, impossible otherwise. Though his fraud had been established the previous year by a United States Anti-Doping Agency report, Armstrong stuck to his guns even while he was being stripped of his titles and having a lifetime ban imposed on him. Finally, with his back against the wall, he agreed to no longer deny the undeniable truth. Talking to Winfrey, he stopped short of calling himself a â&#x20AC;&#x153;cheaterâ&#x20AC;? as he said he had no unfair advantage over his competitors, so many of whom were also taking these drugs.

JAN

FIRST COMMERCIAL FLIGHT ON GTL JET FUEL A Qatar Airways Airbus A340-600 flight from Doha to London marked the introduction of commercial-scale synthetic blended jet fuel produced in Qatar. Supplies of the natural gas-toliquid (GTL) jet fuel, which is blended 50/50 with conventional Jet-A1, are being produced by the Pearl GTL plant, a venture involving Qatar Petroleum and Shell. The GTL fuel will initially be restricted to use by Qatar Airways. but it is likely to be supplied to other airlines serving Doha International Airport at some stage in the future. AFP PHOTO / KARIM JAAFAR 44 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

FEB

NORTH KOREA’S NUCLEAR TEST CAUSES TENSIONS Defying UN Security Council regulations and drawing worldwide condemnation, North Korea conducted its third nuclear test using a miniaturised nuclear device detonated underground, bringing it closer to being capable of producing long-range missiles. This development was met with concern by the UN, and an emergency Security Council meeting was convened. China, Oyongyang's only economic and political ally, also firmly opposed the test and warned its neighbour against worsening the situation in the Korean Peninsula.

February

2013

AFP PHOTO / KIM JAE-HWAN

FEB

AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED

AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECK

GENEROUS AID Qatar gave QR364 million ($100 million) in aid to Syrians stricken by their country’s civil war, Qatar’s state news agency said, the first tranche of at least QR3.2 billion ($900 million) pledged by Gulf Arab states.

FEB

HOLLYWOOD HONOURS ITS VERY BEST Life of Pi, Les Misérables, Django Unchained, Skyfall, Lincoln and Argo were some of the multiple award winners on Hollywood’s biggest night – the 85th Academy Awards. First Lady Michelle Obama made a surprise appearance via video conference and announced the winner for the Best Picture live from the Diplomatic Room in the White House. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 45

coverstory > the year that was MAR

MORE GAS FOUND IN QATAR Qatar discovered additional reserves of 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in a northern offshore field. The discovery was made in Block 4 North in North Field at a water depth of around 70 metres. The gas discovery was made "after four years of intensive exploration activities, including the drilling of two exploration wells”, according to the Energy minister, HE Mohammed Al Sada. The field is operated by Qatar Petroleum and its German partner Wintershall, as well as Japan’s Mitsui Gas Development Qatar. North Field was discovered in 1971 and contains 900 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.

MAR

AFP PHOTO / KARIM SAHIB

March

2013

POPE FRANCIS TAKES CHARGE OF THE WORLD'S CATHOLICS After the shocking resignation of Pope Benedict a couple of weeks earlier, Argentinean Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who later took the name Francis, was elected as the new Catholic pope by the College of Cardinals.Pope Francis was the most talked-about name on the Internet this year, ahead of Obamacare and the National Security Agency, according to a Global Language Monitor survey. In addition to being exceedingly modest and shunning the fanfare that comes with the papacy, Pope Francis has been a strong supportive voice on the side of the poor and the disenfranchised against the forces of capitalism and rampant, unsustainable development. He is the first pope to recommend a softer stance on homosexuality and is very likely the only one to have featured in a “selfie” (which, by the way, is Word of the Year according to Oxford Dictionaries) when he obligingly posed for a picture with a few youths in St Peter’s Basilica.

AFP PHOTO / FILIPPO MONTEFORTE 46 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

2013

APR

April

GOODBYE, IRON LADY Britain’s first and only woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who ran the country for 11 years, succumbed to a stroke after years of ill health. Her funeral was conducted with full military honours at St Paul’s Cathedral in London and the Queen attended. Meanwhile, revellers, mostly left-wing supporters, celebrated her demise in the streets of the capital. Violence flared as mobs clashed with police who sought to disperse these “death parties”. Though they seemed in poor taste, it wasn’t a surprise that Thatcher, who had faded into oblivion since stepping down as Prime Minister after a divisive and controversial term, was remembered with such bitterness and discontent upon her death.

AFP PHOTO / JOHN STILLWELL

APR

TREMORS ROCK QATAR The first tremors in recent history were felt in Qatar after a massive earthquake hit Bushehr in Iran. A second tremor was experienced a week later following a quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale that rocked the border area between Iran and Pakistan. The powerful earthquake killed at least 34 people in Pakistan, destroying hundreds of houses and shaking buildings as far away as India.

APR

BANGLADESH GARMENT FACTORY COLLAPSE SHOCKS THE WORLD

AFP PHOTO / STRDEL

The complete collapse of Rana Plaza in Greater Dhaka, which housed over 5,000 garment workers who manufactured clothes for top fashion brands like Benetton, Bonmarché, Mango, Primark and Walmart, resulted in the deaths of 1,129 people and over 2,500 injuries. Local media reported that cracks had been discovered in the building the day before and authorities had asked for the evacuation and closure of the premises. But while the shops and the bank in the building complied, the garment workers were made to come to work the following day. The tragedy threw fresh light on lack of basic safety standards in a majority of the garment factories that are the bread and butter of Bangladesh’s economy. There was also a greater push among international labels to pay closer attention to their supply chain and ensure ethical practices throughout.

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 47

coverstory > the year that was 2013

MAY

May

A DEMOCRATIC HANDOVER

AFP PHOTO / STR

For Pakistan, the world’s second-largest Muslim democracy, the general election this year was a milestone. It was the country’s first-ever civilian transfer of government. By most accounts it was a successful one, too. Almost 60% of the 86 million citizens registered to vote turned up to have their voice heard. Nawaz Sharif, two-time prime minister and once-exiled party leader, saw himself heading a stronger coalition with his party only a few seats short of a majority. Meanwhile the Karachi stock market cheered at the prospect of Sharif’s return to power. The former prime minister is known for his penchant for free markets and deregulation.

MAY

ON TOP OF THE WORLD Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Thani became the first Qatari to scale Mount Everest as part of his Seven Summit Challenge. The young father of three has one more summit to go. AFP PHOTO / GURCAN OZTURK

NOT JUST ABOUT THE PARK

MAY

LONDON MACHETE ATTACK The brutal hacking down of British soldier Drummer Lee Rigby right in the streets of London by two Muslim extremists shocked the country. The assailants remained at the scene and onlookers filmed their wrath-filled rant about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Sharia law, bringing down Prime Minister David Cameron and more. The two Nigerian-born British citizens, who were previously known to the security services, were charged with murder and attempted murder among other things. Islamophobic incidents, including attacks on mosques, increased almost eight times after the incident.

48 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

...though it did all start with Istanbul's Gezi Park and plans to replace it with a shopping mall. Protests and sit-ins by environmentalists and concerned citizens had been taking place sporadically since the announcement of the plans the year before, but it was the police’s violent raid on the camp in May that proved to be the tipping point for bottled-up grievances including lack of freedom of expression and freedom of press and the government’s narrow-minded views on religion. The protests grew day by day (mostly through social media, as the mainstream media largely stayed away from covering the unrest during the early days) as did the police crackdowns. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan initially dismissed the protesters as “just a bunch of looters”, aggravating the situation further. World leaders, particularly in the EU, condemned Turkey for excessive use of force on the largely peaceful protestors. Over 8,000 people were injured in the clashes with police and 5,000 arrested.

MAY

JUN NSA'S SHAMEFUL SECRET

AFP PHOTO / THE GUARDIAN

June

2013

The intrusive and extralegal surveillance conducted by the US National Security Agency, as revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden, sent shock waves through the country and the world. Computer specialist, former CIA employee and NSA contractor Snowden carefully collected over 200,000 secret documents detailing the PRISM data mining programme and handed them over to the media, giving journalist Glenn Greenwald his biggest scoop to date and the biggest story of the year. The US government charged Snowden with treason and espionage and launched a worldwide manhunt to bring him back to the country for trial. Snowden is currently living in Moscow under the temporary asylum granted by Russia.

JUN

A NEW DAWN FOR QATAR

AFP PHOTO / BERTRAND LANGLOIS

The latest power transition in Qatar was nothing like the last one. But there was one similarity, though. HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was the star protagonist on both occasions. In 1995, his daring coup against his father, done with military precision, no bloodshed or fuss, brought home the fact that the new Emir was a man with a plan. Eighteen years on, this is still true. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Qatar, and the Qatar thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll spring up tomorrow, is his legacy alone. Claiming that it was time for the youth of the country to take Qatar forward, Sheikh Hamad abdicated his throne to make way for 33 year-old Heir Apparent HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the youngest reigning monarch in the world. The young Emir has big shoes to fill, but he went about it in a deft and efficient manner, reshuffling his entire cabinet within a week of his ascent to power and giving them all new directives and goals. Taking recent foreign relations setbacks in his stride, the new Emir is keen to shift the focus to the internal affairs of the country. And whether he is delivering an address at the UN or enjoying a football match in Paris, there is an air of calm and confidence about him that seems to say there is plenty of time and potential for him to craft his own legacy.

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 49

coverstory > the year that was JUN

FLASH FLOODS SWEEP ACROSS NORTHERN INDIA Incessant rains triggered flash floods and landslides along the winding gorges and roads through the valleys of Uttarakhand. Each passing day the death toll continued to mount but there was no time to mourn. For each person who was missing or dead, there were 10 others who were stranded across the state, their paths cut off by raging waters and impassable roads. In a coordinated rescue effort, the army evacuated over 100,000 mostly elderly pilgrims from the devastated areas. The death count varies from 1,000 to 5,000. Some have even ventured to go as high as 10,000. At Kedarnath Valley the temple remained miraculously standing as every day local people cremated more dead bodies.

AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA

June

2013

JUN

TALIBAN HQ OPENS IN DOHA When the Taliban opened their new office in the swanky West Bay neighbourhood it was to be their first political base overseas and a place from where talks could be conducted with both the Afghanistan government and their allies. This came to a grinding halt when the flag and the name of the office were revealed – "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan", the placard outside the office announced. This was taken as a slight by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who said the implication was that the Taliban were setting up a government-in-exile to rival the one in Kabul (this was Afghanistan’s official name under Taliban rule). Diplomacy quickly broke down and the office was abandoned in just two days. The office was officially closed within 20 days. The Taliban are now considering opening another office in either Saudi Arabia or Turkey. AFP PHOTO / FAISAL AL-TAMIMI

JUN

50 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

CLOSURE FOR VILLAGGIO FIRE VICTIMS Qatari courts handed down six-year jail terms for four of the accused in the tragic Villaggio Mall fire case, and a fifth person received a five-year jail term. All five of them were convicted of negligence that resulted in the death of 19 people, 13 of whom were young children at the Gympanzee daycare centre. Those convicted include the two owners of the daycare centre, Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani (currently Qatar’s ambassador to Belgium) and his wife Iman Al Kuwari (daughter of the culture and heritage minister); Villaggio’s Chairman Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al Rabban and mall manager TzouliosTzouliou; and Ministry of Business and Trade employee Mansour Nasir Fazzaa Al Shahwani, who was responsible for giving Gympanzee its permit. The judge also ordered the payment of blood money to the tune of QR200,000 per victim. During the appeal, which has already begun, all five defendants pleaded not guilty and asked Nike to be charged, as the fire originated in its store. The hearing has been postponed to December to allow Nike to be represented in the proceedings.

July

2013

JUL

THE ROYAL BABY ARRIVES The most awaited baby of the year, third in line to the British crown and Prince William’s first-born, arrived amidst the biggest media circus seen in recent times. George Alexander Louis’s first glimpse of the world was filled with millions of camera flashes and the gasps and awwws of hundreds of reporters and well-wishers wanting to welcome the youngest member of the royal family. AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI

AFP PHOTO / ANDREW COWIE

JUL

EGYPT’S NEW DEMOCRACY CRUMBLES Exactly a year after the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi took on the mantle of president, Egyptians poured into the streets calling for his removal. Initially the millions of people who expressed dissent on the streets did so peacefully. But events soon turned violent, with anti-Morsi protesters clashing with Morsi supporters and attacking the Brotherhood headquarters. The military, headed by Defence Minister Abdul Fattah Al Sisi, stepped in to depose the democraticallyelected president in what many have hesitated to call by its real name, a coup. The military came down with a heavy hand on Morsi supporters who had sat-in for six weeks to protest the arrest of Morsi and other Brotherhood members, leaving over 600 people dead. The military imposed a state of emergency, along with its usual trappings – censorship, mass arrest and crackdowns. While elections have been announced for early next year, it remains to be seen if the military will follow through with its promise or linger on, undoing all the work of the past two years post the revolution and returning the country to its days under military leadership. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 51

coverstory > the year that was

AFP PHOTO / UNIVERSITY OF MAASTRICHT

August

2013

AUG

WORLD’S FIRST LABORATORY MEAT

AUG

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals might have extended its $1 million contest to grow in-vitro meat to next year, but the Dutch scientists at Maastricht University didn’t need the extra time. Their artificial meat, created over the course of three months, started out as a culture of stem cells extracted from a biopsy of a cow and ended up in a hamburger presented to the world at a press conference. Developed at a costs of €250,000, this was probably the most expensive burger in the world. Volunteer tasters said the lack of fat deprived it of flavour, though it was more or less similar in texture to regular meat. However the technology is many years away from mass production, and maybe they’ll perfect the details by then. For animal rights activists, this is a small but sure victory.

AL JAZEERA LAUNCHES NEW AMERICAN CHANNEL After years of trying unsuccessfully to penetrate the US TV market, where many cable and satellite carriers won’t even distribute Al Jazeera English, the network apparently decided to bulldoze its way in. The young Qatar-based channel burst onto the scene with the launch of a domestic US news channel to cater for those looking for a different perspective on the daily news. Three months on, the new channel is struggling to bring in the numbers. The New York Post reported that it averages 13,000 viewers despite being available in 44 million households. With Time Warner Cable now agreeing to broadcast AJAM, it will beamed to 10 million more homes but will still struggle to compete with other news channels for viewers. AFP PHOTO / STAN HONDA 52 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

AFP PHOTO / HO / SHAAM NEWS NETWORK

August

2013

AUG

MASSIVE CHEMICAL ATTACK IN SYRIA The bitter and disastrous two-year civil war in Syria took a shocking turn when rockets containing the nerve agent sarin rained on several opposition-controlled and disputed areas in Ghouta. The estimated death toll varies between 200 to 1,700 and data confirmation is hard in the war-torn nation. With the government and opposition blaming each other, this seemed like a watershed moment that would decisively change the course of the civil war. UN chemical weapons inspectors, who had just landed to look into alleged chemical weapons use by the government prior to this incident, were barely a few kilometres away from the site of the attack. While the purity of the sarin pointed to President Bashar Al Assad, he continued to contest the claim, saying it was a ploy by the weakening opposition forces to draw the West into the battle. However US President Barack Obama struggled to find support for an offensive, with Britain backing out from a military strike and opposition mounting in the United States itself for such an action. Finally, a diplomatic solution proposed by Russia and agreed to by Assad saw Syria join the UN-backed Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is currently overseeing the destruction of Syria’s stockpile as well as some of its chemical weapons production equipment.

AUG

QATAR’S FIRST FORAY INTO SPACE

IMAGES COURTESY ARIANESPACE

Es’hailsat 1, jointly built by Qatar’s satellite company Es’hailsat and Eutelsat, was successfully launched by space transportation company Arianespace from Kourou in French Guiana. The Ariane 5 rocket carried the 6.3-tonne satellite to its geostationary orbit, from where it will serve broadcasters, businesses and public agencies in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. The launch was attended by several high-profile Qatari government officials, including Information and Technology Minister HE Dr Hessa Al Jaber. Es’hailsat is already working on its second satellite, Es’hailsat 2, this time to be built independently in Qatar. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 53

coverstory > the year that was 2013

September

SEP

MICROSOFT ACQUIRES NOKIA In a year that saw plenty of major takeovers led by tech giants like Yahoo and Google, Microsoft’s $7.2 billion buyout of Nokia’s devices and services division took the cake. The purchase, which included the business, patents and licences and use of Nokia’s mapping services, was recently approved by Nokia shareholders. Microsoft and Nokia have been working closely since the new line of Nokia phones started operating on Windows, moving away from proprietary operating systems like Symbian and MeeGo. Stephen Elop, who took over as CEO of Nokia after leaving Microsoft, will now return to the tech giant as Head of Devices. He is also being tipped as a hot contender for the position of CEO at Microsoft once Steve Ballmer steps down in 2014.

AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS

AFP PHOTO / ODD ANDERSEN

SEP

KONICHIWA, OLYMPICS 2020 Tokyo elbowed out competing cities Istanbul and Madrid to land the 2020 summer Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee announced. It was undoubtedly an ecstatic victory for the country, which had decided to stand by its bid after the devastating earthquake and tsunami two years back. The National Olympic Stadium is to get a $1 billion facelift in addition to the 11 new venues that are scheduled to be constructed.

SEP

MALL TRIP TURNS INTO MASSACRE The Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, an upscale destination that attracts wealthy Kenyans, expats and diplomats, became a battleground after masked terrorists wielding assault rifles stormed the premises throwing grenades and firing indiscriminately. The terrorists were later identified as members of the Al Qaedaaligned Al Shabaab, a Somali militant group. A siege that lasted till September 24 resulted in over 70 deaths, according to the Kenyan Red Cross. 54 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

AFP PHOTO / CARL DE SOUZA

SEP

September

AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI

2013

THE GUARDIAN SHEDS GLOBAL MEDIA LIGHT ON QATAR Qatar’s prospects of hosting FIFA World Cup 2022 was already in doldrums due to bribing scandals and weather concerns when The Guardian’s article was published, exacerbating the situation and turning global opinion against allowing Qatar to host the sporting spectacle. Accusing the country of allowing the practice of modern-day slavery, it detailed how lowincome migrant workers were often victims of unsafe living and working conditions, unethical practices like confiscation of passports, unreasonable recruiting fees and contractual breaches. The most damning part of the article, was perhaps the dire prediction that the various construction projects leading upto 2022 will leave at least 4,000 workers dead.

AFP PHOTO / PETE SOUZA

AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI

Widespread condemnation poured in and FIFA was urged to pressure Qatar to change the system or reconsider its World Cup bid. The International Trade Union Confederation, Human Rights Watch, The Builders and Wood Worker’s International and Amnesty International have all, in the same year, inspected the situation and presented reports that call for immediate and drastic remedies.

SEP

THE PHONE CALL THAT STARTED IT ALL For the first time since the total diplomatic fallout that followed the 1979 Iranian revolution, the heads of state of Iran and America spoke over the phone, during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to New York City, where he addressed the UN General Assembly. This historic high-level exchange rapidly opened new doors for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, leading to the new nuclear deal that was signed two months later in Geneva. For days before this deal was announced, world powers were eager to begin some sort of reconciliation process but sceptical about Iran’s intentions and unaligned about how much of a concession they were willing to make and in exchange for what. Israel was, and remains mistrustful and has opposed the new deal. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaking before the announcement of the deal, said that though he supported the ongoing talks, Iran would not give up any of its basic “nuclear rights”, and that he had set a “red line” for the envoys in Geneva. The deal itself is a six-month trial during which Iran is required to slow down its nuclear development programme in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions.

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 55

coverstory > the year that was

October

2013

OCT

0I-I6 US GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN The United States government’s third-longest shutdown in its history reportedly cost the economy $24 billion and shaved 0.6% off GDP, according to Standard & Poor’s. With debate over the contentious Obamacare splitting the House of Representatives, the health bill was unsuccessfully held hostage against the shutdown. While the government continued not to yield to the attempts to defund President Obama’s legacy, the fiscal year-end came and there was still no budget plan in sight. As a result, the government was forced to cut down on all non-essential spending until the issue was resolved, which led to over 800,000 federal employees being furloughed and a further 1.3 million required to work without any assurances on payment dates. Tourist spots, national parks, monuments, museums and other government-run sites were indefinitely shut. Growing public dissent and fears of causing a ripple effect on global economies led Congress to hurriedly sign a short-term spending bill that’ll last till mid-January.

AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB

OCT

I3-I8 MECCA BECKONS Even with the reduced number of permits and many pilgrims deciding to not participate in the Hajj this year because of MERS concerns, over two million people descended on Mecca to uphold one of the five pillars of Islam.

IMAGE COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

OCT

EUROPE’S DISMAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATES Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, released some rather depressing unemployment figures – 12.2% of the population in the 17 countries that make up the euro area (and 11% among all 28 members of the EU) are out of work; an increase from last year’s numbers. Greece and Spain were the largest contributors to the average, with their respective rates at 27.6% and 26.6%.

56 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

NOV

A NEW HIGH FOR THE ART WORLD When news started coming out that Christie’s in New York had sold Francis Bacon’s 1969 triptych Three Studies of Lucian Freud to an unidentified bidder for a cool $142.4 million, art commentators were tripping over themselves to guess who had splurged this eye-popping amount, the highest-ever bid for any piece of art in history (not adjusting for inflation). Qatar's Sheikha Al Mayassa was the strongest candidate until Acquavella Galleries, which did the bidding on behalf of the client, reportedly spoke out to deny these reports.

NOV

US DRONES DOWN PAKISTANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TALIBAN LEADER Hakimullah Mehsud was killed when multiple missiles were launched by US drones in North Waziristan. Mehsud, who succeeded in 2009 after the then-Taliban chief was himself was killed in a drone attack, had a $5 million bounty on his head and had told the BBC in an interview that he was willing to start talks with the government. These peace talks, which were on the verge of being initialised, have now been put on hold and it is unclear how this attack will shape the direction of the discourse in the future. AFP PHOTO / DAWN TV

NOV

November

2013

TYPHOON HAIYAN WREAKS HAVOC

AFP PHOTO / PUNIT PARANJPE

AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS ASFOURI

Though it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the most powerful storm to make landfall in the Philippines, it was certainly the deadliest. Days after the storm hit Philippine shores, the death toll continued to rise steadily and as we go to print, it stands at over 5,500 with 11 million people affected, according to the UN. Funds and aid have been pouring in from the international community (over 80 tonnes of aid material including food, tents, blankets, clothes and medications have been sent on two flights from Qatar, in addition to independent efforts by charity organisations and individuals in the country) but at ground level citizens are still struggling to find shelter, food, water and medical supplies. The Qatar Computing Research Institute is working closely with the UN to assist humanitarian work using crisis mapping tools like MicroMappers, which scans online data available through tweets, social media posts, etc. and uploads them in real time onto satellite maps for aid agencies to better coordinate relief efforts.

NOV

LITTLE MASTER LAYS DOWN HIS BAT After retiring from one-day internationals and Twenty20 cricket a few months ago, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar formally retired from all forms of cricket after playing his 200th and last Test match at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 57

business > bottomline

HOW TO ENCOURAGE

CREATIVE THINKING WITHIN YOUR TEAM

Professionals are divided on the topic of creative thinking. While some feel that group brainstorming sessions can foster creativity, others believe that true creative breakthroughs come from individual pursuits.

58 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

CREATIVITY CAN BE A DIFFICULT NOTION TO GRASP, BUT IT IS FOUND AT THE HEART OF ANY SUCCESSFUL ORGANISATION. WHEN IT COMES TO THE ARGUMENT ABOUT WHICH IS BETTER FOR CREATIVITY — INDIVIDUAL THOUGHT OR THINKING AS A GROUP — BOTH OF THESE APPROACHES HAVE THEIR PROS AND CONS. THE HR EXPERTS AT BAYT.COM HAVE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MANAGERS WHO WANT TO FOSTER CREATIVE THINKING WITHIN THEIR TEAM:

1. LET THE PROBLEM DECIDE YOUR APPROACH BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP THINKING HAVE THEIR PROS AND CONS. GROUP BRAINSTORMING IS GREAT TO TACKLE PROBLEMS OR PROJECTS WITH SHORT DEADLINES, IN ORDER TO ALLOW EVERYONE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SOLUTION AND THUS SPEED UP THE DECISION–MAKING PROCESS. FOR PROJECTS WITH RELAXED TIMELINES, YOU CAN ALLOT THEM TO A TEAM MEMBER WHO HAS THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED.

2. TRAIN YOUR TEAM ALTHOUGH SOME INDIVIDUALS ARE NATURALLY MORE CREATIVE THAN OTHERS, YOU CAN FOSTER CREATIVE THINKING IN YOUR TEAM WITH THE RIGHT TRAINING. IN THE BAYT.COM "MIDDLE EAST WORKPLACE DYNAMICS" POLL, JUNE 2013, 20% OF PROFESSIONALS SAID THAT THE NUMBER ONE THING THEY LOOK FOR IN A NEW JOB IS "TRAINING, LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES." MOREOVER, "TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES" ARE CONSIDERED BY 45% OF MENA PROFESSIONALS AS THE MOST IMPORTANT MOTIVATION DRIVER TOWARD THEIR WORK AND THEIR COMPANY BESIDE PAY, JUST AFTER RECOGNITION OF THEIR WORK AND ACHIEVEMENTS, ACCORDING TO THE BAYT.COM EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION SURVEY, JANUARY 2013.

3. REWARD CREATIVITY THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A LITTLE RECOGNITION TO MOTIVATE A SLEW OF FRESH AND INVENTIVE SUGGESTIONS. ALTHOUGH YOU MIGHT NOT IMPLEMENT EVERY IDEA, BE SURE TO REWARD WINNING CONCEPTS SO THAT YOUR TEAM MEMBERS FEEL ENCOURAGED TO SHARE THEIR CREATIVE THOUGHTS OPENLY. REWARDS CAN BE NON-CASH INDUCEMENTS THAT ARE BOTH INNOVATING AND MOTIVATING. RECOGNITION OF A JOB WELL DONE COULD ALSO PROVE TO BE A GREAT MOTIVATOR.

4. ALLOW FAILURES TO FOSTER CREATIVITY, YOU NEED TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT IS CONDUCIVE TO RISK-TAKING. DO NOT PENALISE IF A CREATIVE IDEA DOES NOT HARVEST RESULTS AS EXPECTED. INSTEAD, ENCOURAGE YOUR TEAM TO BREAK DOWN THE SCENARIO TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED AND GET THEM TO LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES. IN TODAY’S ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE, WHICH CALLS FOR A MORE CREATIVE APPROACH TO PROBLEM SOLVING, CREATIVITY IS INDEED THE NEW CURRENCY. THE BETTER YOUR ORGANISATION IS ABLE TO TAP INTO IT, THE MORE FAVOURABLE YOUR POSITION WILL BE IN THE MARKET.

BAYT.COM Calls itself the #1 job site in the Middle East, with more than 40,000 employers and over 13,500,000 registered job seekers from across the Middle East, North Africa and the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels. You can post a job or find jobs on www.bayt.com.

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 59

business > bottomline

ACCELERATING QATARISATION

Enabling and accelerating their nationalisation mandate is the key priority for employers in Qatar today.

ith a rapidly growing economy, multiple megaprojects being launched over the past decade and increasing reliance on a migrant workforce the labour market in Qatar has witnessed myriad changes in a demographic, sociocultural and economic sense. The number of Qataris coming out of the country’s education system, cited as around 3,000-3,500 per annum is easily absorbed within the country’s growing industrial sectors. With a multitude of opportunities at their disposal, attracting and retaining skilled Qatari talent

60 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

is a key challenge for employers in the country today. Outcomes from Aon Hewitt’s Qudurat (Capabilities) study provide positive validation of efforts exerted by organisations in Qatar to engage and retain their national talent. At 51%, Qataris reported the highest employee engagement level amongst nationals of all GCC countries. Only 16% of Qataris reported being at high risk of attrition, significantly lower than the GCC average. The study further indicates that the key aspects of work/ life where Qataris were most satisfied, compared with nationals in other countries, were

a strong learning environment, a sense of fairness at work and high levels of recognition. The findings suggest that not only are Qataris more likely to stay with their current organisations, they will also say positive things about them and exert effort and strive to achieve more for their employers than local talent in other countries. The emerging workforce of youth and women also affords interesting insights into the future world of work in Qatar. Women were more engaged and thus more willing and likely to exert discretionary effort at work compared with their male counterparts. They were also more career-oriented and ambitious compared with their male counterparts, having significantly higher promotion expectations. These findings overturn any preconceptions that men in Qatar are more career-driven than women. By attracting Qatari women, organisations can tap into and leverage a latent talent pool that will be productive, engaged and loyal to them in the longer term. The youth of the country (more commonly known as the "millennials" or "Generation Y") also clearly emerge as a unique demographic group with distinct workplace preferences that will shape how workplaces attract and engage them in the future. Findings indicate that youth here have high faith in their abilities and believe that their work makes the community or country a better place. They also demonstrate a strong desire to achieve high-level managerial positions and, correspondingly, do not feel that they are being promoted fast enough. With two out of three Qatari youth reporting that they regard their current role as a means to progress to their next job, retaining them will be a key challenge for organisations. They are also increasingly valuing opportunities for doing meaningful work in their jobs. Qatari youth are the future of the country and the organisations that they work for. By working innovatively, organisations can craft an attractive value proposition to engage and develop them to form their future leadership. An employment promise grounded in structured learning opportunities, meaningful and interesting work and coaching and mentorship from their senior leadership will help build a reliable and motivated talent pool

willing to productively contribute to the organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success. Findings from the "Qudurat" study also indicate that organisations around the GCC have begun taking cogent, dedicated measures to ensure that they are well prepared for the needs and expectations of the emerging workforce. While "gender and age diversity" and "women in leadership" are increasingly the new-age topics for discussion amongst the media and thought leaders, organisations are also preparing their existing workforce to ensure higher sensitivity to the needs of women and youth as they assimilate these emerging demographic constituencies into their workforce. Some progressive organisations report having structured graduate development programmes for national youth, with cross-functional exposure through rotations and assigned mentors. Moreover, increasingly these are supplemented by assessment exercises for national talent designed to identify, early on, the organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future leadership. The assessments may typically be followed by comprehensive leadership development programmes coupled with action-based learning and regular contact with the senior leadership to groom the youth (both men and women) into senior leadership positions. For women specifically, workplace practices have been even more visible. New -age work policies such as flexible working hours, part-time work and freelance contractual working opportunities are gaining ground amongst employers to allow the highly educated and skilled Qatari women to work and contribute effectively at work. Pay parity and equity of benefits between men and women, as well as childcare and maternity benefits are also being re-examined by organisations, as women assume senior roles and decision-making responsibilities in organisations. In conclusion, whilst Qatari employees are currently the most engaged amongst local talent across the GCC, organisations in Qatar cannot sit satisfied. They will benefit immensely by proactively preparing for the emerging workforce, to leverage these key demographic constituencies as a core human capital resource in the very near future

BY DR MARKUS WIESNER CEO, Aon Hewitt, Middle East and North Africa

ABOUT MARKUS WIESNER AND AON HEWITT With more than 15 years of senior HR consulting experience, Dr Wiesner is responsible for overseeing Aon Hewitt's strategy and client portfolio, as well as spearheading the expansion of the practice across the Middle East and North Africa. His wealth of experience in the areas of large-scale HR transformations, rewards, performance management and HR structure design help to maintain the firm's position as a leading consultancy. He is a frequent commentator on HR issues in the media. Aon Hewitt empowers organisations and individuals to secure a better future through innovative talent, retirement and health solutions and claims to be the global leader in human resource solutions, with over 30,000 professionals in 90 countries serving more than 20,000 clients worldwide. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 61

development > tag this

A PLAN TO FEED THE NATION F BY AYSWARYA MURTHY

Qatar Today explores the drivers behind the nation’s new food security master plan and some of the challenges this grand food experiment will seek to tackle.

62 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

ood. It’s so fundamental and personal that in many languages the word “food” also means “life”. It equally dictates and is shaped by our lifestyle. It can just as easily conjure up memories as it can topple governments. Wars have been waged over it on battlefields and dinner tables. In getting from the farm to the fork, it traverses countless miles, undergoes dozens of transformations, propping up hundreds of companies and supporting millions of livelihoods. Zooming out to the macroeconomic level, unravelling the web and finding a secure and cosy place for your citizens in the chain is as exciting as it is exhausting. With Qatar’s new National Food Security Plan that is presently under review by a committee headed by HE Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, the prime minister, the journey has been doubly so because of Qatar's unique position in the world, both geographically and economically. We look under the wraps to see how this is going to shape Qatar’s relationship with food over the next few years.

Chew on this Today, over 92% of the food consumed in Qatar comes from outside its borders. While this is undoubtedly skewed, Qatar’s options are fiercely limited by extremely limited rainfall (less than 76 mm/year), depleted aquifers, a harsh climate and limited arable land. Domestic production totals around 0.1 million metric tonnes which is 0.9% of the total food produced in the entire GCC region. And yet, astonishingly, Qatar spent close to 60% of its water budget between 2003 and 2007 on agriculture (according to UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation's Aquastat), producing food that eventually met only 7.2% of its consumption needs. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, by 2020 the country will be spending close to $3.3 billion on food imports. The forecast increase in food consumption (over 5% by 2017, says Alpen Capital) will only serve to exacerbate this. When a country is also severely import-dependent, the slightest fluctuation in global availability and price (or even the mere hint of it) can have an immediate and drastic

impact at the consumer level. Add to this the high-risk choke points along our import routes like the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz (45% of our food imports come through here). While Abdu Al Assiri, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation representative in the region, commented that “countries such as Qatar (with more solid macroeconomics) can absorb food price fluctuations with virtually no negative effects felt at households level”, when quizzed about a worst-case scenario for the population of Qatar (i.e. being seriously under threat of hunger) he ranked “abnormally disrupted geopolitical combinations leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz” on a par with a man-made or natural catastrophe in the Gulf. Iran has on several occasions threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz in response to increased economic sanctions. For a country like Qatar, with its unmatched wealth and global ambitions, to be at the mercy of these volatile external factors for its most basic need is a paradox that hurts both national interests and ego. "We couldn’t just wait and react to situations as they unfolded; we had to find a way to get ahead of them," said Jonathan Smith, Director of Communications for the Qatar National Food Security Programme (QNFSP). Waking up to smell the coffee Qatar’s vulnerability with regards to food security was driven home during the 2008 global food price crisis that had a staggering effect on many economies and led to social unrest and political turmoil. Another, more recent, example was the impact of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s ban on exports of poultry last year. “Here we are, this hypermodern country, building incredible museums and preparing to host the World Cup in ten years, and yet one of our suppliers calls off supply and there is a shortage overnight with very little, if any, chicken on many of the shelves for about two to three weeks,” remarks Smith. “Until a problem like this one arises, it sometimes isn’t really obvious that there are issues in the system that we need to address. These kinds of moments shine light on the fact that though our national food system, designed originally to serve a population of under 250,000, has managed to function remarkably well under the pressures of rapid growth, it has far too little coordination and too much strain,” he says.

Established in 2008 with a mandate to research the problem and develop a fully-integrated national plan based on these findings, the QNFSP has put three years of research and a process of intensive analysis, economic modelling and planning into the four-volume, 2,000-page plan that has been presented to His Highness the Emir and members of the government. “A task force representing 17 stakeholder groups from ministries and business leaders to fishermen and farmers was brought together and an intensive consultation period of sit-down interviews was conducted for more than 40 weeks,” Smith explains, taking us through the process. “We built on what we had heard from local leaders by working with subject matter experts in Qatar and from around the globe – architects of some national food security policies from throughout the world, economists, food scientists, experts from the UN and other international programmes – to ask them about what they had learned from their own work and how they would see it applying in Qatar.” Zahra Babar, Assistant Director for Research at Georgetown University's Centre for International and Regional Studies, says the QNFSP’s identified challenges to increasing domestic food production have been the conditions of severe water scarcity, and the high energy costs of desalination. “Aligned with these concerns QNFSP

"Whether it is identifying the best crop mix, technologies and practices, experimenting on innovative water-saving solutions, developing a qualified workforce or creating the right market conditions for local farmers and service providers to operate sustainable businesses, Qatar is the ideal workshop and the solutions that emerge here will have a radical impact in other regions throughout the world." JONATHAN SMITH Director of Communications Qatar National Food Security Programme

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 63

development > tag this Vulnerability of MENA countries to food price spikes Fiscal strength Bahrain

UAE

100

Jordan

Kuwait

Qatar Oman Yemen

Saudi Arabia

Tunisia

Government fiscal balance (% of GDP)

Morocco -35

-25

-15

-5

5 40

Egypt 20 GCC countries Other MENA countries Size of circle denotes gross national income per capita

Iran 0

Grain import dependency (% share of consumption)

Import dependence

Algeria

ECKART WOERTZ Senior Research Fellow Associate Barcelona Centre for International Affairs

QATAR FOOD PRODUCTION AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY QATAR SELF-SUFFICIENCY

QATAR FOOD PRODUCTION

ITS MAIN FOOD SECURITY CHALLENGE IS OBESITY AND UNHEALTHY DIETS. SOME MIGRANT LABOURERS FACE FOOD SECURITY RISKS IF THEY ARE NOT FULLY PAID IN TIME. THIS ALSO CARRIES A GREAT REPUTATION RISK AHEAD OF THE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP 2020 AND WOULD NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. FOR A CRISIS SITUATION QATAR NEEDS STRATEGIC STORAGE OF BASIC FOOD ITEMS. IT WILL ALWAYS NEED TO RELY ON GLOBAL FOOD MARKETS AND TO MAKE THEM MORE RELIABLE AND LIQUID IT COULD ENGAGE MORE PROACTIVELY WITH GLOBAL FOOD DIPLOMACY AND UNDERTAKE SUSTAINABLE, SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE AGRO-INVETSMENTS.

0.11 million metric tonnes

ACCORDING TO WOERTZ, QATAR IS MOSTLY FOOD SECURE BUT THERE A FEW PRIORITIES THAT THE FOOD PLAN MUST ADDRESS RIGHT AWAY.

Milk 0.104

CAGR 1.1%

0.10

14.4%

Meat

0.095

6.3%

0.094 Fruites

1.8%

0.09 0.086

Cereals

0.085

0.2% 7.2%

Total

0.08 2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

has also raised questions around sustainability, climate change, and how to establish a green economy. Developing innovative approaches to drylands/arid-zone agriculture is of crucial importance to QNFSP, and much effort is going towards generating technologically innovative solutions that will stimulate low-carbon, resource-efficient, sustainable food production,” she says. Keeping this in mind, what can be expected from the National Food Security Plan, what does its strategic response to national food insecurity look like, and does it address some of the most pressing needs of the hour? Being smart about self-sufficiency Food security is often confused with self-sufficiency. But self-sufficiency is not the ideal way to go about this. “Around the world, even countries that could be food

64 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

15.3%

Vegetables

10%

20%

self-sufficient, thanks to their endowment in natural resources like land and water, do not select that policy because full-fledged self-sufficiency would probably come at an overall cost that is considered inappropriate,” says Al Assiri. So, in its strictest terms, self-sufficiency isn’t part of Qatar’s ambitions, and rightly so. “Trying to grow all of our food would be fundamentally irresponsible for a dryland nation such as ours,” says Smith. “Considering that we have limited water, it’s foolish to waste those resources when we can easily buy many of the more water-intensive items in the global market.” The Kingdom of Saudia Arabia burnt its fingers earlier with its aggressive wheat production programme that aimed at total self-sufficiency. (It achieved it, too. In fact Saudi Arabia was the sixth-largest exporter of wheat in the world in the 1990s.) “But the experiment was an expensive and

ecologically unsound attempt at self-sufficiency [because of the depletion of groundwater to critical levels], which it abandoned some years ago,” Babar reminds us. The key, Smith says, is to work closely with local producers to fill the strategic gaps – to grow what we should grow (crops that are needed to balance risks of interruption in trade or those that are of higher nutritional and market value if they are produced fresh locally), trade for what we should trade for, and have a marketplace that helps both parts work safely, effectively and fairly for both the business owners and the customers. Even with the plan’s goals scaled down to more realistic levels (QNFSP published initial research in 2011 that identified ways to reach up to 70% self-sufficiency by 2023. The plan as it stands today is working towards 40%), it is no less ambitious. It takes a broad and balanced approach that cuts across the entire national food system, consisting of four aspects – international trade and investment, domestic production, the local marketplace (local warehousing, trading systems, transportation, regulations, pricing standards etc.) and strategic reserves of food and water. Constraints as benchmarks Comparing Qatar’s food security plan with other existing ones (or contingencies), Smith says: “Most other plans largely revolve around the economic role of the food sector (e.g. in the US), or developing the agriculture sector to boost the economy (Kenya) or just finding ways to feed its starving citizens (Haiti or Ethiopia). Our challenge is much more fundamental: How do we boost our national resiliency? What can we do today to protect precious water resources, increase our efficiency, diversify our economy and encourage the kind of growth that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable?” To arrive at a plan, those working at QNFSP had to zero down on their constraints and chalk out their options based on these, starting with the most critical one – water. “No option went into the plan that did not first pass the test for responsible use of water. It is one of the fundamental and defining characteristics of our situation. Therefore, instead of starting with the question ‘How much do we want to grow?’ we asked ourselves: ‘How much water can be responsibly budgeted to produce the most strategic blend of crops we need?’,” says Smith. “Technology, at a certain cost, could compensate for the lack of natural

resources like water,” Al Assiri points out, “So to a certain extent self-sufficiency comes down to a country’s willingness to pay for it.” With that certainly not being a constraint, tall investments are set to go into technologies that ensure water efficiency, like cutting-edge greenhouses and better irrigation and cooling systems. By asking questions consistently on how resources should be best used, QNFSP has identified several options that together have the potential to boost domestic production by five times, on the same amount of land currently in use and – here’s the interesting part – using one-third less water than what is being used today, Smith says. “And it all started by talking about our constraints instead of our ambitions.” The holy trinity of food security: Water, energy and food Qatar’s two significant freshwater underground reservoirs, naturally fed from the minimal amount of rainfall and through natural underground hydrogeological systems that stream water supplies from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are a treasure that has been squandered away. The aquifers recharge at a natural rate of approximately 56 million cubic metres annually, but Qatar currently extracts approximately four times this amount of freshwater from the aquifers each year. “Today Qatar has only three days of non-aquifer water storage, and even with new facilities that are under construction, water reserves for the entire country will only reach about 10 days. We need this natural storage system back,” Smith says. Under the aquifer recharge system modelled in the National Food Security Plan, it is hoped that approximately two years' worth of freshwater volumes can be recharged back into the reservoirs by 2025. A two-pronged approach will be implemented to achieve this – highly efficient irrigation practices on farms coupled with a new source of freshwater supplies for agriculture developed using desalination technologies and renewable energy. This brings us to the next part of the equation. Desalination does pose some environmental challenges, like its high energy footprint and the careful disposal of the saline effluent generated in the process. But in the light of the fact that there is no Plan B for dryland countries like Qatar (“If your country has the cancer of water insecurity, desalination is the chemotherapy – it’s the last resort. It’s no surprise therefore that 70% of the installed desalination capacity in the

"Food waste is one issue where all consumers can make a difference," says Danielle, talking about our personal stake and responsibility in making smart and mindful choices in our everday lives. "We waste 1.3 billion tons of food annually and about 40% of that is on the consumer side. We can buy less food. We can order less at restaurants. We can trust our senses, rather than sell-buy and use buy dates, to know when food has gone bad." DANIELLE NIERENBERG Co-founder, Food Tank

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 65

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ZAHRA BABAR Assistant Director for Research, Georgetown University's Centre for International and Regional Studies Babar hazards a guess at a few key issues that the QNFSP is likely to focus on DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE TRADE AND IMPORT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IMPROVEMENT AND EXPANSION OF THE DOMESTIC FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY STRENGTHENING FOOD VALUE CHAINS AND DISTRIBUTION FROM FARM TO FORK EXPANDING FOOD STORAGE CAPACITY AND STRATEGIC FOOD RESERVES OF COMMODITIES SUCH AS WHEAT, RICE, FLOUR, SUGAR AND OILS TO HEDGE AGAINST RISKS CAUSED BY FLUCTUATION IN PRICES OR EXPORT BANS GLOBAL INVESTMENT IN COMMERCIALLY VIABLE VENTURES THAT SUPPORT NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY.

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world is in this region,” Smith says), we just have to adopt more sustainable methods. “Though current research shows no conclusive evidence that increased salinity levels in the Gulf are tied to the desalination practices by Qatar, the plan recommends broad and permanent ongoing research to monitor the Gulf ecosystem,” Smith points out. “After all, it’s in our own interest. From a food security stand, some of our healthiest and most accessible food supply comes from the sea and we have to protect that.” On the energy front, though Qatar today powers the desalination process with natural gas, which is one of the cleanest energy sources in the market, the plan is to shift to a renewable source like solar energy. “When you take into account factors like solar hours and the UV intensity seen here, we have three times the solar energy capacity of countries like Germany and Japan who have long been global leaders in developing solar energy technology,” Smith enthuses. “A large-scale project that could generate the 700-800 MW that will be required to deliver the water and energy requirements of national food security will create significant opportunities for private sector enterprises (companies like GreenGulf and QSTech that are working with Qatar Science Technology Park) to pioneer development in this high-tech sector. Addressing the water issue, that's so critical to maintaining food security, with the help of solar energy projects expands the positive returns on the initiative even further.” All roads lead to food security Smith says that many of the recommendations can be achieved within ongoing infrastructure projects and through reforms that require little or no extra funding. “In many cases, delivering increased capacity for maintaining food security can come through adding a new objective for existing projects,” he says, giving an example. “Ashghal is in the process of expanding the Doha Central Market, which was originally built in the 1980s. This market is not only critical to how we trade imported and locally-grown food, but it’s also a vital link in getting food to customers in a safe, nutritious and affordable manner. Bringing food security-related design, operation and performance parameters into these kinds of infrastructure improvements can often mean that the same project delivers even greater value for the public.” Another, more exciting, collaboration is the one with the Qatar 2022 team in the

research and development of efficient cooling technologies, announced at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York this year. “Our challenges are similar: reduce energy demand, conserve water and deliver an environmentally and economically responsible solution for cooling large spaces. The model we are investigating with Q22 will increase water efficiency by nine times. We are also working with Q22 to see if the training fields being built for the World Cup, with their hectare-sized pitches and hybrid cooling systems, can be converted to high-efficiency greenhouses for local food production. So the nation gets the added benefit of a 20-plus-year return on infrastructure that was originally only required for a matter of months. This is just one of the examples of how Qatari farmers, business owners and consumers will benefit for years to come from bringing a food and water security focus to large national projects such as Q22,” he says. “The bottom line, if you took the whole body of recommendations as they stand today, over the next 10 years, we’d spend about QR4 billion a year, roughly equivalent to subsidy levels that Qatar already invests, on food issues,” Smith concludes. All things considered, the plan seems to be as economically sound as one could hope for. Beyond local farms But there are sceptics who fear Qatar might be over-reaching. "Qatar can produce some food locally, but I doubt that it should do it to the extent QNFSP envisages," says Eckart Woertz, Senior Research Fellow Associate at Barcelona Centre for International Affairs. He specialises in Middle East affairs and was previously with the Gulf Research Centre in Dubai. Woertz's concerns lie in the use of copious amount of desalinated water and the ecologically harmful disposal of brine. "Even for other countries with a larger population like Saudi Arabia, domestic production by these means and to this extent is not an option. They will need to focus on food trade and storage," he says. And rest assured, the planners at QNFSP have given these crucial concerns their due. Even though we have dwelled largely on the part of the plan that focuses on domestic production, Smith assures us that this is only because “it is an exciting, innovative chunk of the plan that is fun to unpackage”. In reality, this is only one fourth of the plan, which has “a significant focus on improving coordination and connectivity between the parts of the national food system and

updating policies and regulations around pricing, food safety, import procedures etc.” “We need more food warehousing, more cold storage and more transport infrastructure. Fortunately we are in a period of development and so this is the right time to fix these kinds of market infrastructure,” Smith says. The team has also worked on responses to situations like disruption of trade routes. “We have to ensure we have contingency plans for alternate supply routes for key classes of food. Nearly all of the food we import comes through either of the two points of entry – Strait of Hormuz or the KSA border (a small amount of perishable food is delivered by air). And typically a majority of each category of food comes through only one of these pathways. In other words, certain vegetables only come to us by road while others only come by sea. While that is sufficient for day-to-day conditions, without contingency plans and business arrangements in place with suppliers and logistic providers, it can be difficult and costly to respond to a closure or interruption. Even beyond the issue of route interruption, strategically diversifying routing and suppliers puts Qatar in a better position to negotiate when conditions in the global market fluctuate. We have to diversify the routing and strategically diversify the supply system,” he says. Also, since trade is and will remain an important chunk of food security, the strategies involved will also have to be revisited. “There was a time when it looked like buying up farmland was one of the better options available to countries like Qatar. But today there are a wide variety of food security-driven strategies for investment, both in farm operations abroad and in companies that are involved in innovative agro-technologies,” he says. Danielle Nierenberg, Co-founder of Food Tank, echoes Smith's sentiments about ‘land grabs’. “Qatar and other countries need to find ways to regulate governments and corporations so that these land acquisitions don’t come at the expense of smallscale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa,” she says. And the National Food Security Plan seems to put forward recommendations that address her concerns. “Instead of just owning farmland in another country, Qatar is well positioned to make farm operations abroad even better through the technology and investment resources we have available. We believe that these sorts of models are going to be critical to international

trade strategy,” Smith says. Sailing in the same boat Qatar is one of the 60 countries (together home to over two billion people), categorised as drylands, that face food insecurity. Many of them are our neighbours. “Countries of the MENA region share commonalities that leave ample space for synergies and complementarities,” Al Assiri comments. “This opens opportunities for dedicated studies and analysis on at integrated level, possibly fostered through entities such as the GCC Secretariat.” He also has another grand, far-reaching idea – an integrated system of food storage at the level of the Gulf sub-region. “This could represent an ambitious endeavour for co-operation among countries, and Qatar could soundly contribute at the political, as well as at financial and technical, levels to both these opportunities.” Smith outlines another reason why close collaboration with other dryland nations would be mutually beneficial. “The scariest thing that can happen when 92% of your food comes from trade is a crisis in the market. Import-dependent countries like us often hurt each other by driving the price into a panic,” he says. Currently only 18% of the world’s wheat production and 6% of rice production is exported. When the markets are so thin, even slight imbalances in supply and demand will result in major shifts in prices. The Global Dry Land Alliance was born out of this need to collaborate (“think of it as a NATO for food”). Conceptualised and led by Qatar, the alliance proposes to bring together “countries with similar challenges to support each other in building resiliency and minimising the human and economic impact of food-related risk and crisis”. In his first international speech at the UN General Assembly this year as the new leader of Qatar, HH the Emir touched upon this, calling upon countries to join in and support the initiative. Smith says the working group building the alliance is currently doing the development and diplomatic work required to bring nations together for a treaty-based alliance. “The GDLA working group is bringing the countries to the table to work on the very difficult, sensitive and even emotional issue of food. For the past two years an expert team based in Qatar and led by HE Ambassador Bader Al Dafa has been conducting face-toface bilateral meetings and technical sessions to hammer out a deal. It’s slow and steady work, but when it is done dryland nations will have a table at which to address this critical issue.” QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 67

development > tag this

SUN IS THE SOLUTION Qatar explores all the alternative energy options to meet the growing demand for power and zeroes in on solar energy as the next big resource. BY V L SRINIVASAN 68 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

atar is keeping its tryst with destiny, to make the country a solar hub of the Middle East, and has already charted its course to achieve the goal for a sustainable future as envisioned in Qatar National Vision 2030. Qatar has one of the highest levels of solar irradiation in the world, and plans are under way to utilise the sun’s rays as a sustainable energy source in the coming years. With every square kilometre of land in the country receiving yearly solar energy equivalent to 1.5 million barrels of crude oil, Qatar is geographically well positioned to significantly benefit from solar energy. Solar energy holds great promise in the region because of abundant solar radiation for more than 300 days a year, and this oil rich nation is determined to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and look at renewables to meet its growing demand for power. In fact the six countries of the GCC region have been actively exploring solar power opportunities and have approved solar projects worth approximately QR564.2 billion ($155 billion), which will generate more than 84 GW of power when complete in 2017. Saudi Arabia and the UAE account for most of these solar projects. HE Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, says Qatar has vast reserves of natural gas to generate power but has been looking at renewable energies to sustain the environment. “There are many institutions which are doing lot of research in this direction,” he adds. A briefing paper on "Solar Energy and Other Alternate Energy," by the Brookings Institution says Qatar’s solar development was jump-started by the Qatar Science and Technologies Park (QSTP). QSTP, a venture between Qatar Foundation, Germany’s SolarWorld AG and the

“Qatar has vast reserves of natural gas to generate power but has been looking at renewable energies to sustain the environment. There are many institutions which are doing lot of research in this direction.” HE DR MOHAMMED BIN SALEH AL SADA Minister of Energy and Industry

Qatar Development Bank, aims to produce polysilicon, manufacture photovoltaic panels and install the devices. In May 2013, the venture obtained financing for a QR3.64 billion ($1 billion) poly silicon plant in Ras Laffan City from Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan. The facility will initially produce 8,000 metric tonnes of polysilicon a year and enough of the raw material for 6.5 GW in panels when at full capacity, the report says. “Chevron and GreenGulf, a Qatar renewable energy company, invested QR36.4 million ($10 million) in the solar test facility located in the QSTP to advance solar energy, solar air conditioning and energy efficiency,” the paper adds. Qatar has finalised plans to add 1.8 GW of solar energy to its installed capacity to meet its growing demand for electricity by QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 69

development > tag this “Renewable energy offers a compelling alternative. The same geography that made the Gulf countries affluent in hydrocarbons has made them rich in another vast source of energy: solar power. The region has so much potential that it can generate more solar energy than it needs and export it either to Europe or to Africa.” ADNAN Z AMIN Director–General, IRENA

2020 as the present demand for generation, which is around 6,000 MW, is expected to reach 10,000 MW by 2020. In fact the country has set a target of generating 20% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030, and despite soaring demand for electricity it has been able to meet the same. Qatar is also marketing surplus power to neighbouring countries through the GCC power grid at present. “We are planning to set up mini solar power generating units of 5 MW to 10 MW spread over an area of 100,000 sq. m. These units will come up on the roof tops of the buildings and on lands owned by the company, and most of them will be located in Doha,” says Saleh Hamad Al Marri, Head of Renewable Energy Technologies, Kahramaa (Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation). He says tenders for consulting services

are expected to be floated by the end of this year and for the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) before the end of March 2014. “We expect the successful bidders to commence work on the project within a month or two after finalising the companies,” he says. Kahramaa is also aiming to minimise cost as much as possible, as generating 1 MW of solar power is likely to incur an expenditure of around QR7.28 million ($2 million) while the traditional way of generating power, by using fossil fuels cost around QR3.64 million ($1 million), he says. Since the land on which these solar units are being planned belongs to Kahramaa, there will be no transmission and distribution losses, as the power generated will be synchronised with the 11 kV feeders within the pumping stations of the reservoirs, he says; thus the cost of generating 1 MW of solar power will be lower. Some 1,70,000 sq m of land is needed for setting up a 1 MW of solar unit, Al-Marri says. “The government can save the amount of natural gas that will be used for every one kWh of solar energy produced which can be exported to other countries, which in turn will increase the revenues,” says Al Marri. The Renewable Energy Readiness report on the GCC countries, brought out by Masdar Institute of Science and Technology as a result of collaboration between the GCC Consortium on Clean Energy and the EUGCC Clean Energy Network, says that Qatar’s peak electricity demand was 1,800 MW in 2000. The electricity demand growth in recent years in Qatar has been about 5.1%, while the power generation is projected to grow at an annual rate of 2.9%. Demand is projected to grow at a moderate rate of 5.2% every year, the report says. “Renewable energy offers a compelling alternative. The same geography that made the Gulf countries affluent in hydrocarbons

“For solar energy to gain a significant share in power generation in Qatar there needs to be a viable market. To achieve that, some barriers need to be overcome, namely connection to the grid. At the moment, most solar projects in the region are still independent with only a handful feeding into the national grid, mostly as pilots, making the learning very limited.” AMR BELAL Managing Partner, Innovations Unlimited ME

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has made them rich in another vast source of energy: solar power. The region has so much potential that it can generate more solar energy than it needs and export it either to Europe or to Africa,” says Adnan Z. Amin, Director–General of the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). According to Amin, the demand for power in the GCC countries is likely to be around 100 GW by 2020 and most of the electricity is produced from oil and gas. “But every barrel of oil burned–at a cost of around QR36.4 ($10) a barrel–is a barrel of oil not exported at the prevailing price of around QR364 ($100),” he says. With the demand for power growing at a rate of 8% per annum in the GCC–which means the member states have to double power generation every decade–Saudi Arabia plans to generate 41 GW of solar energy by 2032, Abu Dhabi has set a target of producing 7% of its total power from solar by 2020, Oman looks to generate up to 200 MW and Kuwait, which initially considered nuclear power as an option but gave it up following Fukushima disaster, wants to generate 60 MW. Bahrain has plans to produce 5 MW through its solar grid at Awali. Barriers to using renewable energy An Irena report on renewable energy in the Gulf says that despite the potential, some barriers remain that prevent renewable energy from becoming a reality in the GCC. They include an absence of renewables-friendly regulations and the existing highly subsidised fossil fuels. “Changes in the regulatory framework will be necessary. Policies and regulations that promote the development of renewable energy should not solely address large-scale centralised generation. Governments can promote small and medium–scale projects such as installing rooftop solar PV panels and solar water heaters in the cities,” the report says. Altogether, the GCC member states could save around QR728 billion ($200 billion) by adding solar power to their respective power grids, the IRENA report adds. Innovations Unlimited ME is working projects like Msheireb Downtown Doha, Kahramaa Awareness Park, Al Sadd Multipurpose Hall and Falcon Tower. Managing Partner Amr Belal, who leads the company’s Green Division, says Qatar has taken big strides in recent years towards adopting sustainable practices. “COP 18 was an ideal platform for Qatar to announce a number of major

“The government can save the amount of natural gas that will be used for every one kWh of solar energy produced which can be exported to other countries, which in turn will increase the revenues.” SALEH HAMAD AL MARRI Head of Renewable Energy Technologies, KAHRAMAA

sustainability initiatives, the most notable being Kahramaa’s 200 MW solar energy project. These are exciting times for the renewable energy industry in the region, especially with governments encouraging the participation of local players to drive socioeconomic growth. Our expanding partnerships with leading technology providers stem from our belief in the big potential of the region as countries gear up to achieve their long-term national visions,” Belal says. Belal however feels there are several challenges at present. “For solar energy to gain a significant share in power generation in Qatar there needs to be a viable market. To achieve that, some barriers need to be overcome, namely connection to the grid. At the moment, most solar projects in the region are still independent with only a handful feeding into the national grid, mostly as pilots, making the learning very limited." This also means that incentive plans are non-existent thus, decreasing the appeal of renewable energy to the private sector compared with the highly subsidised fossil-generated power. Another barrier, according to Belal, is the lack of qualified specialists in the region for marketing renewable energy solutions, installing and maintaining them. “To bring solar energy into the mainstream, the governments need to prepare for policy and market change to eliminate these challenges. This will instantly trigger major investments towards developing a comprehensive solar energy industry in the world’s sunniest region,” he says QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 71

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MICROCREDIT MISSES ITS MARK? BY V L SRINIVASAN

Three decades after the microcredit movement came into existence, the controversy over how effectively it has tackled poverty continues to be a hot topic for debate across the world. Qatar Today delves into the arguments. 72 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

icrocredit was started with an intention to provide small amounts as loans to those in the lowest income brackets so that they could establish a range of income-generating activities and become financially stable. The concept is most closely associated with the US-educated Bangladeshi economist and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Muhammad Yunus. Using the example of the iconic Grameen Bank he founded in 1983, Dr Yunus promised that microcredit would very quickly enable the poor to rise above their poverty and deprivation, thus helping to abolish poverty in many of the developing countries with millions living below the poverty line. As the concept caught the eye of several global agencies, developing countries responded by establishing rafts of their own microcredit institutions along the lines of Grameen Bank. Even countries in the Middle East started replicating microcredit programmes, notably Kuwait through its Kuwait Fund. The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), which relies on financial contributions from the Middle Eastern nations, including Qatar, has been supporting these programmes. While champions of the movement like Arije Al-Amad from Jordan claim that it has been a successful experiment and helped in lifting the weaker sections above the poverty line, critics like Dr Milford Bateman point out its failures and say that such schemes have in fact pushed the poor into an endless pit of penury, as they have to pay high interest on the loans taken. It is true that microfinance schemes were originally targeted at people who had little or no access to financial institutions like commercial banks for loans, as they were mostly employed in the informal sector. But as time progressed these microcredit institutions, which had been offering loans to the poor on a “not-for-profit” basis, turned into “for–profit” organisations as they were acquired by commercial institutions. Dr Bateman, who is a freelance consultant on local economic development and and who has worked with the United

Nationd Development Ptogramme, says: “The microcredit model of Dr Yunus was actually based on a fundamental misunderstanding of a basic economic principle. He failed to appreciate that the overarching problem in poor communities is not a limited supply of the goods and services needed by the poor to ensure their survival–even the poorest communities generally have enough grocery stores, basket-makers, bakeries, personal transport suppliers and so on–but it is the spending power they lack to access these important items.” He says Dr Yunus made a “famous” mistake in economics, believing wrongly that “supply would create its own demand.” The significance of this was that the microcredit model addressed the wrong side of the poverty problem: it helped create largely unnecessary local suppliers of the simple goods and services consumed by the poor, but provide no meaningful additional source of income with which to actually purchase this expanded local supply. Dr Bateman points out that the movement has failed in South Africa, Brazil, India and Mexico and other countries where microenterprises experienced a reduction in their turnover, and so also their profits and wages. “In other words, they are made poorer. Cramming more and more new microenterprises into poor communities tends to reduce the average price level, and so also reduce their average profits and wages. This negatively affects both new and existing microenterprises,” he says. Khaled Al-Ghazawi, General Manager of Grameen–Jameel Finance Company, the first social business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, says however that most countries in the region have an extensive system of publicly–funded social safety nets in addition to private transfers and other private provisions that are linked to the tradition of zakat and other charitable activities. Such mechanisms have proved to be ineffective and often do not reach the poorest of the poor. This is where microfinance has been successfully filling the gap in the region. While the Bangladeshi microfinance model has been replicated around the world, the level of success has not accrued

“Of course, we would have to turn to a study of international politics to understand why it is that the rich developed countries continue to recommend to poor developing countries a radically different approach in microcredit to the one that ensured their own escape from poverty and underdevelopment.” DR MILFORD BATEMAN Freelance consultant Local economic development policy

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development > tag this homogeneously. Grameen-Jameel believes that the key to success lies in the adoption and execution of microfinance programmes to meet local needs, rather than a commercial replication. “One aspect that might have played to our advantage in adopting the Bangladeshi model in the MENA region is the cultural resemblance, such as the role that families play in the lives of every Arab, which is quite important for a model that is ultimately based on cultural values and trust,” Al-Ghazawi says.

“One aspect that might have played to our advantage in adopting the Bangladeshi model in the MENA region is the cultural resemblance, such as the role that families play in the lives of every Arab, which is quite important as the model is ultimately based on cultural values and trust.” KHALED AL GHAZAWI General Manager Grameen-Jameel Finance Company

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Poverty averted? Not yet Microcredit is certainly a noble idea and a genuine innovation that has provided some positive impact to its clients, particularly in women’s non-economic empowerment. It also helps the poor during cyclical or unexpected crises, and thus reduces their vulnerability. But the critical issue is whether microcredit helps eradicate poverty. And on that front, it falls short. Al-Ghazawi admits that microfinance has not always been successful in the MENA region, and the Moroccan microfinance crisis a few years ago clearly highlighted some weaknesses. After years of success and rapid expansion of the model, Morocco had emerged as the premier microfinance market in the region. “This was the case until the Moroccan microfinance crisis in 2009, where weak internal control structures led to a continuous decrease in portfolio qualities throughout the country and ultimately the collapse of a leading microfinance institution. With the help of the Moroccan Central Bank (BAM), the microfinance sector in that country is on the right track to recovery and there are some valuable lessons to be learned for the MENA region,” he says. According to Al-Ghazawi, when implemented correctly microfinance can be a powerful tool for poverty alleviation. Therefore, what microfinance practitioners need to do is to transit from a culture of quantity and speed to a culture of quality and accuracy. “In other words, we need to move away from fast-food microfinance to sustainable microfinance. By developing poor people to become successful entrepreneurs in their communities we can enable them to create more jobs and prosperity in the region,” he adds. China, Vietnam, and South Korea have significantly reduced poverty in recent years with little microfinance activity. On the other hand, Bangladesh, Bolivia and Indonesia haven’t been as successful at re-

ducing poverty despite the influx of microcredit. And these are the countries that Dr Bateman cites as examples where even informal microenterprises experienced high rates of failure, when a majority of new microenterprises failed within just a year of getting started in the 2000s. “The problem that arises here is that individuals are forced to use family savings, remittance flows, and finally sell off family land and other assets in order to repay a microloan taken out for a microbusiness venture that failed. This all-too-often-ignored occurrence typically leaves a very large number of individuals in much deeper poverty as a result of having unwisely engaged with microentrepreneurship,” he avers. While there is no proof whatsoever that poverty has been reduced in the poor communities in which the system works, there is evidence of microcredit banks taking a greedy turn from the initial “social” role. “Mexico’s largest microcredit bank, Banco Compartamos, charges almost 195% interest rates to its poor female clients, and it uses the very healthy surplus generated to pay out large dividends to its wealthy, often US-based, shareholders (in 2012 it paid out $100 million in dividends), as well as spectacular Wall Street-style salaries and bonuses to its senior managers,” Dr Bateman says. Most microcredit institutions do not actually aim to support microbusiness projects, but simply channel their funds to poor individuals who want to purchase a range of consumer goods. Today, in fact, the vast bulk of microcredit actually goes into supporting the day-to-day consumption spending of the poor. All over the developing world the poor are more and more forced into using expensive microcredit simply in order to survive from one day to the next. The long-term consequences of this growing indebtedness in the poorest communities are quite frightening. During the initial post-Apartheid period in South Africa, the poorest black communities were encouraged to get into microcredit-supported microenterprise activity. The main impact, however, was to push down self-employment incomes, which fell by a staggering 11% per year in real terms from 1997-2003. Poverty was thus not resolved but actually intensified and then redistributed among the now larger population of informal microentrepreneurs. This was hardly an economically efficient, still less socially equitable, result. Even in the village of Jobra in Bangladesh

development > tag this

“Jordan followed the Bangladesh model created by Dr Yunus nearly 25 years ago but modified it to suit the local requirements. It has proved to be a grand success as the beneficiaries are leading a good life. Microcredit is a tool and one of the solutions to ensure people get income on a regular basis. Now they are investing in educating their children to become selfreliant.” ARIJE AL AMAD Freelance consultant on microfinance, training and mentoring SMEs

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where Dr Yunus pioneered his microcredit model, and the citizens have had access to more microcredit than probably any other place on earth, the village is unfortunately still, just as poor as it was in the 1970s. The only apparent change brought about by the arrival of such a large volume of microcredit is a negative one: Jobra now has a very serious problem of individual over-indebtedness, which is causing an increasing number of local men to seek poorly paid jobs in nearby Dhaka and Chittagong. The problems today were largely caused by far too much microcredit being taken out to underpin consumption spending, far too many microenterprises unable to find any business, and far too many microenterprises simply collapsing. “All these factors help to explain why it is that in practice microcredit programmes generally create no net additional employment or income, but most often gradually undermine the functioning of the local economy,” Dr Bateman comments. Arije Al-Amad, a freelance consultanton microfinance, training and mentoring SMEs in Jordan, describes the criticism against the microcredit movement as baseless. She recalls the success of the movement in her country and says microcredit has been aimed at helping people, both men and women, in pursing income-generating activities. “Dr Yunus is father of the movement and promoted it in a big way. There are several good programmes which can be modified to suit your needs,” she says. “It is a platform for those who cannot provide collateral security to the banks to get loans. “Jordan followed Bangladesh model created by Dr Yunus nearly 25 years ago but modified it to suit the local requirements. It has proved to be a grand success as the beneficiaries are leading a good life. Microcredit is a tool and one of the solutions to ensure people get income on a regular basis. Now they are investing in educating their children to become self-reliant,” she says. While microcredit was meant to help everyone, the focus was more on women as they lacked access to the banks to take out loans and start small businesses compared with men. The movement has been growing in the MENA region steadily, but there are still certain limitations in disbursing the loan products. This has to be changed, and the needs of clients should be kept in mind by the financial institutions. “Women in the region constitute almost 50% of the population, and how can any

nation in MENA prosper if women remain unproductive and do not contribute to the growth of their country’s economy?” Al-Amad questions. But she sees a change in their approach to playing an active role since the movement gained momentum. “Earlier, they were taking up domestic businesses like embroidery and food processing. But their mindset has changed and they have diversified into different businesses by coming out of their homes today,” Al-Amad says. With regard to repayment rates, AlAmad says it is between 95% and 98% in her country. “This is because the beneficiaries, particularly women, want to take more and more loans to become financially strong, and hence they are prompt in clearing the old debts,” she points out. On why the West did not follow the same model to eradicate poverty, Al-Amad says the conditions are different in those countries compared with the developing nations. “There are no microcredit institutions in those countries as the environment is different and so are the challenges. Their levels of poverty are different and they are implementing social welfare measures for people. Their literacy is also very high and we cannot compare both,” she says. Dr Bateman also says that due to the support given by the US in the 1990s, the global microcredit industry abandoned its civil society roots and turned itself into a for-profit business sector. This included the iconic Grameen Bank, which in 2002 also became a for-profit institution. “The result of commercialisation has been a calamity for the poor on an unprecedented scale. Exactly like sub-prime mortgages in the US were designed to do, the microcredit industry now exists simply to suck up as much value as possible from the poorest communities and place it into the hands of the richest communities,” he says. He suggests that creating a sustainable route out of poverty can only be achieved by directly channelling as much finance as possible towards growth-oriented formal small, medium and large enterprises. The rich Western economies found this out during their climb to economic power in the 1800s and 1900s, as did the East Asian "miracle" economies more recently. “The sooner we accept this sour reality, the sooner we can begin to support more developmental local financial institutions, such as Brazilian-style development banking and Italian-style financial cooperatives, and the better it will be for the poor everywhere,” he adds

ENERGY AND THE WORLD

SPOTLIGHT

ENERGY AND THE

WORLD

GLOBAL ENERGY DEMAND IS ON THE RISE AND QATAR, WHICH IS THE LARGEST PRODUCER OF LNG IN THE WORLD, IS MAKING EFFORTS TO MEET THAT DEMAND. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 77

ENERGY AND THE WORLD

SPOTLIGHT

SECURING THE

WORLD’S ENERGY FUTURE

COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD ARE LOOKING TO SOURCE ADDITIONAL ENERGY TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THEIR GROWING POPULATIONS, AND IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THE DEMAND FOR ENERGY WILL GROW BY 40% BY THE END OF 2030.

ccording to WEO-2013 (the World Energy Outlook report, released in November), 1.3 billion people in the world do not have access to electricity and another 2.6 billion lack clean cooking facilities, and although there has been a renewed focus on energy efficiency, carbon emissions too are on the rise. “Some long-held tenets of the energy sector are being rewritten. Countries are switching roles: importers are becoming exporters and exporters are among the major sources of growing demand. The new supply options reshape ideas about distribution of resources,” WEO-2013 declares. Global gas demand was estimated at 3,427 billion cubic metres (BCM) in 2012, up 2% from 2011 levels. The demand has increased by around 800 BCM over the past decade, or 2.8% per year. Gas has a 21% share in the global primary energy mix, behind oil and coal. Qatar, whose gas reserves are said to be 885 trillion cubic feet (33.6 trillion cubic metres), is the world’s largest producer

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of LNG, and its liquefaction capacity is roughly one-fourth of global LNG liquefaction capacity as of late 2013. LNG liquefaction capacity has also witnessed massive growth – it has increased by 63 BCM since early 2009 to reach 105.4 BCM today. Qatar produced 157 BCM of gas in 2012, making it the fourth-largest gas producer during the year. About 80% of Qatar’s gas exports are in the form of LNG, about half of which is shipped to Asia. Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and Algeria are also significant LNG exporters, and Russia and Yemen also started exporting in 2009, Peru in 2010 and Angola in 2013. Papua New Guinea is expected to start exporting in 2014 and Australia is set to become the second-largest LNG exporter, behind Qatar, by 2016 – as seven projects are currently committed or under construction, representing over 80 BCM of new capacity. On the domestic front, Qatar expects the demand for power, the key for developmental activities, will increase by 10% annually over the next five years. To meet the growing demand for power, Kahramaa (Qatar General Electricity and

ENERGY AND THE WORLD

SPOTLIGHT

SOURCE: World Energy Outlook 2013

Water Corporation) has decided to construct an independent water and power plant (IWPP) with a desalination capacity of 30 million gallons per day (MGD) besides generating 2,400 MW of electricity. The plant is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2016. The government is planning to invest around QR80 billion ($22 billion) in its power and water sector in the next eight years. This will include the opening of new electricity substations besides laying new transmission and distribution lines. Aware that Qatar cannot depend on fossil fuels alone to meet its growing demand for power in the years to come, the government has also finalised plans to add 1,800 MW of solar energy to its installed capacity to meet its growing demand for electricity by 2020 as the present demand for generation, which is around 6,000 MW, is expected to reach 10,000 MW by 2020. The peak demand for power crossed 6,000 MW in September this year and hence plans are under way to increase the installed capacity by reorienting Qatar’s power generation and looking at alternative energy sources such as renewable energy to add to the installed capacity. “We cannot substitute fossil fuel to generate electricity for the next eight years but [we can] complement it by adding solar energy to the grid. We have a commitment to produce 2% of solar energy, that is 200 MW of the total demand, by 80 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

2020,” says Saleh Hamad Al-Marri, Head of Renewable Energy Technologies at Kahramaa. Although the corporation faces two major constraints in rising land prices and harsh environment, Kahramaa is using the rooftops of its substations to generate solar energy. With regard to the harsh environment due to sand and dust, Qatar is no different from other countries in the region, but several entities like the Qatar Science and Technology Park have been doing research to overcome the problem. While generation and transmission are taken up on a large scale, Kahramaa has also launched Tarsheed, a national campaign for the conservation and efficient use of water and electricity by the two million residents of the country. With this campaign, Kahramaa's target is to reduce water consumption per capita by 35% and electricity consumption by 20% in the next five years. Since Qatar is expected to be in power surplus even after meeting its demand beyond 2022, it will be able to export the additional power to neighbouring countries in the GCC region. To minimise transmission losses, new substations are being planned at Gharrafa, University South, Bin Mahmoud and other places. According to Business Monitor International, the transmission and distribution losses in Qatar are said to be around 8% and this needs to be improved if the country is to become a major exporter

ENERGY AND THE WORLD

SPOTLIGHT

GWSC ACHIEVES BREAKTHROUGH IN

THE CONOCOPHILLIPS GLOBAL WATER SUSTAINABILITY CENTRE (GWSC) IS A WORLD CLASS CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR KEY WATER TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO PRODUCED WATER MANAGEMENT AND DESALINATION. IT OCCUPIES 1,000 SQ. M. IN THE QATAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARK (QSTP) AND EXAMINES INNOVATIVE WAYS OF TREATING AND RECYCLING BYPRODUCT WATER FROM OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION AND REFINING OPERATIONS, AS WELL AS OTHER PROJECTS RELATED TO INDUSTRIAL AND MUNICIPAL WATER SUSTAINABILITY.

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WATER DESALINATION TECHNOLOGY

WSC recently celebrated the conclusion of the second phase of its joint pilot research project with Qatar University, Kahramaa and Qatar Electricity and Water Company. The project is the result of an agreement signed in 2011 between ConocoPhillips and the Faculty of Chemical Engineering at Qatar University. The project tested and focused on evaluating desalination of high-salinity brines discharged from thermal desalination

plants by membrane distillation (MD), a novel desalination technology that evaporates water at low temperature and pressure and passes it through a membrane before condensing it to produce distilled water. MD is a breakthrough technology that presents a much-needed solution to Qatar’s shortage of freshwater. It’s a technology that is cost-effective and environment-friendly. MD uses less energy, has a lower environmental impact and is less costly than conventional methods for desalinating high-salinity brines. The preliminary tests indicated that excellent

“I am optimistic regarding the project results; our field testing of MD in Qatar confirmed that the technology can increase the productive capacity of desalination plants without the need for capital and operational costs associated with the establishment of additional infrastructure to draw water from the sea to the desalination plants and with the initial processing of these waters.” DR SAMER ADHAM Managing Director, GWSC

quality freshwater can be produced from both seawater and the hot, high-salinity brine that is a by-product of conventional desalination facilities. The partnership agreement provided an excellent opportunity for researchers to use desalination facilities at the Ras Abu Fontas power and desalination plant to evaluate the process under industrial conditions. A waste heat audit was conducted to identify opportunities whereby

the energy needed by MD could be obtained from sources within two Qatari desalination facilities. GWSC Managing Director Dr Samer Adham, commenting on the completion of the second phase of the project, said: “I am optimistic regarding the project results; our field testing of MD in Qatar confirmed that the technology can increase the productive capacity of desalination plants without the need for capital and operational costs associated with the establishment of additional infrastructure to draw water from the sea to the desalination plants and with the initial processing of these waters. Thus we can get a higher output of freshwater from desalination plants currently in Qatar with lower costs and a reduced amount of energy that will in turn have a positive impact on the environment.” ConocoPhillips Qatar President Gary Sykes also said: “We are extremely proud to be in the driving seat on such an ambitious and innovative endeavour. To my knowledge, this is the first field testing project being done in the Middle East and arguably in the world for such a unique application of MD technology.” This endeavour showcases ConocoPhillips’ collective commitment to reduce the environmental footprint of the oil and gas industry and to support the development of Qatar in its pursuit of prosperity in the context of the Qatar National Vision 2030 and related national development plans

“This is the first field testing project being done in the Middle East and arguably in the world for such a unique application of MD technology.” GARY SYKES President, ConocoPhillips Qatar

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development > tech talk

GETTING CONNECTED

A new report identifies what governments can do to ensure that everyone can benefit from broadband.

BY DAMIAN RADCLIFFE

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ast year, according to statistics published recently by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 250 million people came online for the first time. As a result, it is estimated that 40% of the world's population will be online by the end of 2013. Of these, 5% are "digital natives" - a generation networked aged 15-24 years with five or more years of online experience. These 363 million digital natives represent 30% of the world’s youth, with the figure rising to an astounding 86% in developed countries. Collectively, this sounds like a lot, but it still leaves 1.1 billion households or 4.4 billion people - who are still offline. It is against this backdrop that US computer programmer and internet entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg announced a global

partnership-Internet.org- with the aim of getting everyone online. Founder members of the initiative which will focus on mobile and reducing the data needed by apps and other online tools included Facebook, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung. This move follows the recent launch of “Project Loon” by another tech giant, Google, which uses high-altitude balloons to help fill coverage gaps, offering a way to connect people in rural and remote areas who do not have the means to enjoy internet access. The focus on mobile announced by Internet.org should be seen in the context of a market where mobile broadband has already surpassed fixed-line broadband in a ratio of almost 3:1. Globally, there are an

estimated 6.8 billion mobile subscriptions across the planet. And for many people who are not currently connected to the Internet, particularly in the developing world, mobile will be their first route to getting online. According to a new report by the Broadband Commission: “Over 80% of broadband is expected to be mobile by 2016 and many people’s first and only access to the Internet will be via a mobile device.” The 76-page document "Transformative Solutions for 2015 and Beyond" talks of “the game changing potential of mobile broadband,” placing it in the context of the potentially positive effects broadband can have on people, environment and society. Produced by the Broadband Commission’s Task Force on Sustainable Development, the report seeks to outline the role that ICT can play in the context of the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. Says Task Force leader Hans Vestberg , CEO and President Ericsson: “We see so many opportunities for broadband to transform all aspects of society, technology evolves faster than policy, and we wanted to make a concerted effort to do everything we could to raise awareness of the potential.” To support this view, the document included case studies from five countries Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, Rwanda, and Sweden - to show how broadband goals and wider development ambitions can be aligned, as well as offering ten recommendations which, Task Force felt, could meet the ambitious goals around issues such as improved health and well-being outcomes, curbing human-induced climate change and empowering inclusive and resilient cities. Not surprisingly, the authors note in particular a number of ways in which “mobile broadband is delivering far-reaching social and economic benefits in the form of healthcare, education, retail, payments, banking, public services and improved productivity”. Examples of where this activity is already taking place include the Kenyan-originated mobile banking tool M-Pesa and mobile money services provided by Ooredoo, Qatar

THE 10 RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Make ICT and high-speed broadband universally available at an affordable cost for all.

6. Twin broadband innovation and investment with sustainable multi-stakeholder business models to capitalise on the transformative potential of universal ICT.

2. Ensure ICT and broadband are embedded in all of the universal goals and national targets to be defined as part of the post-2015 global development agenda to fully capture transformative and sustainable solutions.

7. Drive the game-changing potential of mobile broadband through the optimised use of radio-electrical frequency spectrum for universal ICT for development penetration.

3. Deploy national development policies and plans to actively drive cross-sector integration of economic and social outcomes deliverable and scalable through ICT and broadband.

8. Promote the utilisation of global standards to enable the harmonisation and interoperability of ICT and broadband-enabled services and applications, putting special emphasis on affordability and accessibility.

4. Create a streamlined and enabling regulatory environment for the broadband era that accelerates removal of barriers to market entry for broadband ICT uptake.

9. Establish a comprehensive monitoring framework for broadband deployment and robust accountability mechanisms to track development progress via industry-wide broadband ICT metrics and indicators.

5. Provide consumer incentives and harness government procurement to drive demand and stimulate private-sector innovation and investment.

10. Develop appropriate solutions to maximise resource mobilisation, innovation and investment in broadband.

(Source: http://www.broadbandcommission.org/documents/working-groups/bb-wg-taskforce-report.)

National Bank and others, as well as education services such as BBC Janala which delivers English lessons via mobile phones in Bangladesh. What may be more surprising, and less well known, are the examples included in the report which the authors feel can support wider development issues such as poverty reduction and food security, or efforts to tackle gender and youth issues, or the promotion of good governance. Many of these factors are closely interlinked. The report notes, for example, the synergy between poverty reduction and food security by outlining how ICT can be used to “increase monitoring of food production and distribution systems to manage supply and demand”. Alongside this it also notes the role of ICT in promoting better health outcomes and in increasing literacy. These components can also play a role in lifting people out of poverty, along with new employment opportunities and environmental sustainability. As a result, it can be difficult to look at any of the report's overarching goals (like Goal 5: Achieve health and well-being at all ages,

or Goal 6: Improve agriculture systems and raise rural prosperity) in isolation. The report acknowledges that these proposals are “hugely ambitious”, and notes: “It will require fundamental transformation of food, energy, transport and production and consumption systems to stay within natural resource limits and manage climate change. And it will depend on strong partnerships, shared vision and firm commitment to pool the necessary skills, knowledge and resources to make it happen.” Of course it may take some time for means to deliver these goals and recommendations to manifest themselves, but Professor Jeffrey Sachs, one of the Broadband Commissioners, argues that this will be possible only through the adoption of a multi-stakeholder approach. “Any issue in sustainable development – clean energy, resilient cities and sustainable agriculture – will require public-private partnerships. PPPs are needed for 21st–century infrastructure, R&D and social fairness,” he says, predicting that they will become a key tool of sustainable development for 2015 and beyond QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 85

development > tech talk HOW TO START A SUCCESSFUL COMPANY

“You jump off a cliff and you assemble an airplane on the way down.” REID HOFFMAN, LinkedIn co-founder

THE WORLD’S FIRST BITCOIN ATM OPENS People who own digital currency can now trade it in for hard cash at this Bitcoin ATM in Canada.

S AFP PHOTO / Deborah Jones

lowly but surely, Bitcoin is creeping into the mainstream. The world’s first-ever Bitcoin ATM has opened at a coffee shop in Vancouver, and it allows users to exchange their Bitcoin currency for Canadian dollars and vice versa. ABC News reported that a total of 81 transactions took place on the first day, with more than $10,000 exchanged from one currency to another. In fact a third of these were first-time users of the currency. The machine is operated by the Bitcoin exchange companies Bitcoiniacs and Robocoin, and will perform transactions after a palm and ID scan, ABC reported. Four more ATMs are planned for the country in the near future.

BEGINNERS’ ARABIC MADE EASY

Qatar Foundation International (QFI) and Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) recently launched Madar Al-Huruf, a mobile application that introduces native English speakers to the Arabic alphabet.

iterally meaning "wheel of letters,"’ Madar Al-Huruf uses an interactive Arabic language wheel created by Moneera Al-Badi, a Qatari graphic designer, to allow non-Arabic speakers to learn how to match English letters and sounds to their Arabic phonetic counterparts. Originally launched in the US as a physical device, the wheel is being brought to the digital world through the combined efforts of QCRI, QFI and the original designer, in an effort to extend its reach globally. Users can download the app from the iTunes store.

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HAJJ IN THE PALM OF YOUR HANDS Dubai-based start-up Hajjnet has launched a smartphone app dedicated to supporting Hajj pilgrims.

ounded in January 2012 by ex-banker Ali Dabaja, Hajjnet has released HajjSalam, which “offers today’s pilgrims the real-time, location- and process-based support required to allow them to be more focused on the spiritual aspects of Hajj, avoid possible pitfalls and make the experience more safe and personal.” The app, which can run without live internet, provides features like appropriate prayer prompts, include prompting pilgrims to read or hear the appropriate prayers at the right time and place, a packing list, instructional videos, counting the number of circuits made around the Kaaba, map with key locations, and social media integration. HajjSalam has a special feature that allows them to tag their tent in the app’s map to easily find that specific tent when returning to Mina, which is the largest temporary city in the world and the site where millions of pilgrims stay for two of the five nights. HajjSalam is available for a limited time as a free download on the iPhone, and soon on Android.

CASA DE APPLE IS GREEN-LIGHTED Apple’s new “spaceship” campus has been cleared for construction and will open in 2016 in Cupertino, California.

T MICROSOFT’S CHEEKY MOVE

he 2.8 million-square-foot, oval-shaped Apple headquarters will sit on a 176-acre plot, most of which has already been cleared. The site, which was previously occupied by HP and Compaq, will be entirely transformed, with 80% green cover (that’s 6,000-7,000 trees), according to rendering of the plans available on the City of Cupertino website. The four-storey building is being designed by Lord Norman Foster (the man behind the Gherkin in London and the refurbished Reichstag in Berlin) and will house 13,000 Apple employees. The smart building, which will be powered by renewable energy from on-site fuel plants and solar cells, will also not need air conditioning for 70% of the year thanks to its natural ventilation and radiant cooling. The campus is likely to cost QR18 billion ($5 billion) or more.

The software giant is selling T-shirts, hats, mugs and sweatshirts with slogans aimed at its rival Google.

or QR44 ($12) you can now buy a T-shirt that proclaims Google’s nefarious intentions with regards to your private data. Google has responded with a short yet witty reply in the LA Times: “Microsoft’s latest venture comes as no surprise; competition in the wearables space is really heating up.” Ouch!

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 87

business>auto news BMW X5 ARRIVES IN QATAR

Alfardan Automobiles, the official BMW Group importer in Qatar, has welcomed the all-new BMW X5–pioneer of the sports activity vehicle segment and global market leader in its class – ––at its showroom in Al Sadd.

ince its launch, the BMW X5 has been setting milestones in its class – a class of which it was the founding member. And now it’s back. In its third generation, the BMW X5 has again surpassed its own benchmark – as an SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) that delivers outstanding luxury and unparalleled comfort in every regard. The BMW X5 is one of BMW’s best-selling series, accounting for almost a third of all BMW models sold globally. By February 2014 the BMW X5 xDrive35i, with TwinPower Turbo six-cylinder in-line petrol engine will be introduced. Commenting on the launch of the allnew BMW X5, Alfardan Automobiles General Manager Mohamed Kandeel said: “The BMW X5 has been the pinnacle in sports activity vehicles since its inception. The new vehicle builds on these foundations and combines added comfort, design and power in a Sports Activity Vehicle that appeals to our clients in Qatar.”

INFINITI Q50 STEALS SHOW The Dubai International Motor Show 2013 offered the Middle East public its first opportunity to view the eagerly–anticipated Infiniti Q50 sedan first-hand.

aking centre stage on the Infiniti stand alongside an Infiniti Red Bull Racing display and the full model line-up, visitors saw for themselves the latest contender in the global premium compact sedan segment. Juergen Schmitz, General Manager, Infiniti in the Middle East, said: “The event offers us a biennial opportunity to present the full breadth of our offering to Infiniti’s audience. Our brand promises of passion, precision and performance are represented across all our exhibits, from our desirable product range to the Infiniti Red Bull Racing display, against the backdrop of our provocatively differentiating stand design.”

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BOUQUETS FOR LEXUS LS460

The dynamic handling, bold new design, superior craftsmanship, refinement and innovative features of Lexus’ flagship LS460 catapulted it to the top spot at the 2013 Middle East Motor Awards (MEMA) in Sharjah as it swept up the award in the Best Luxury Sedan category.

peaking about the LS460’s accolade, Nobuyuki Negishi, Chief Representative for Lexus Middle East & North Africa, said: “It gives us joy and pride at Lexus to see the LS460 crowned the winner in the MEMA Best Luxury Sedan category. The current

PORSCHE 911 TURBO S DEBUTS IN QATAR

ow, on this 40th anniversary, Porsche Centre Doha, Al Boraq Automobile Co. WLL is introducing the new 911 Turbo S. Porsche Middle East and Africa FZE Managing Director Christer Ekberg says: “The legacy of the iconic Porsche 911 continues to grow, and it’s especially exciting to watch the continued development of the Turbo range.”

fourth generation is an evolved and premium product of automotive engineering and brings a bold new design, sharper driving dynamics and the highest levels of refinement and luxury to its segment as well as the backing of industry-leading technology.”

For 50 years the Porsche 911 has been viewed as the iconic automobile and sports car par excellence. In 1963 the first 911 was unveiled at the Frankfurt International Auto Show; ten years later the first–ever Turbo prototype debuted at the very same event.

Porsche Centre Doha, Al Boraq Automobile Co. WLL Chairman and CEO Salman Jassem Al–Darwish says: “Interest in the new 911 Turbo S has been high, given the success of the new generation 911, but the ongoing legacy of the car has also been a factor. The 911 has been 50 years in the making and this Turbo S is a model which has been perfected over four decades.” QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 89

business > auto news

SPURT IN ROLLS-ROYCE CAR SALES

ALFARDAN AUTOMOBILES INCREASE SALES

lfardan Automobiles is confident of achieving another record year after the company posted a 25% increase in sales for the year 2013 to date at the closing of Q3 compared with the same period in 2012. The official BMW Group importer in Qatar registered 25% and 19% growth in BMW and Mini sales respectively.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Doha, the authorised dealer of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in Qatar, has announced a 17% growth in sales of the ultra-luxury vehicle in the third quarter of 2013 compared with the same period in 2012.

ommenting on the results, RollsRoyce Motor Cars Doha General Manager Mohamed Kandeel said: “We are committed to delivering the best and most luxurious motor cars in the world. Furthermore we believe in offering the highest standards of customer service. This commitment has allowed us to record such impressive growth.” The latest expression of Phantom has

redefined the luxury car market, as the Phantom Coupé continued to drive growth for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Doha, contributing 100% in terms of sales for the third quarter in 2013. There was also solid growth in the Ghost range, particularly the Ghost Extended Wheelbase (EWB) model, which saw growth of 175% as of the third quarter in 2013.

F-1 DRIVERS RIDE IN ELECTRIC CAR

Days before the results of the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Formula 1 drivers Mark Webber and Charles Pic, who drive for the Renault-powered Infiniti Red Bull Racing and Caterham F1 Teams respectively, electrified the roads of Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai, and Safa Park in Dubai by riding in iconic electric-powered Renault TWIZYs. 90 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

MARK WEBBER SAYS: “DRIVING DOWN DUBAI’S ICONIC ROADS AND ALLEYS WAS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE. WHAT MADE IT EVEN MORE SPECIAL WAS THE FACT THAT THE TWIZY IS A GREEN CAR. THE SILENCE INSIDE THE VEHICLE WAS PRETTY IMPRESSIVE!” CHARLES PIC SAYS: “WE ENJOYED OUR TIME IN THE UAE, MORE SO WITH THE INTERESTING RENAULT TWIZY. I HAD A PLEASANT DRIVE IN A 100% ELECTRIC CAR, WHICH COULD BE THE STAR CAR OF THE FUTURE. IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE TO DRIVE THE CAR IN SUCH A WONDERFUL PLACE.”

“The results achieved reflect the increasing confidence and appetite for BMW vehicles and after-sales services in Qatar. Our goal is to exceed customer expectations and deliver premium services in Qatar, and we continue to invest in our facilities and staff to ensure exceptional service standards.” MOHAMED KANDEEL General Manager, Alfardan Automobiles

business>marketwatch

DARWISH TECHNOLOGY TO LAUNCH SECRET TREASURES Swarovski has opened its latest boutique at Lagoona Mall, debuting with its A/W 2013 collection, Secret Treasures. The boutique opening event featured a unique Indian tabla performance that set the tone for the evening’s journey into Swarovski’s collection, which was inspired by travels around the world.

SPANISH CUISINE EVERY FRIDAY

PS4

Darwish Technology, the exclusive distributor of Sony in Qatar, has announced that the official product launch of the new Playstation 4 in the local market will be on December 13.

T THE DIPLOMATIC CLUB RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THE BEGINNING OF ITS WEEKLY “SPANISH DAY” AT LE GRILL RESTAURANT AT AN OPENING CEREMONY ATTENDED BY HER EXCELLENCY THE AMBASSADOR OF SPAIN TO QATAR, CARMEN DE LA PEÑA. THE CLUB ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF “SPANISH DAY” AT LE GRILL RESTAURANT, WHERE GUESTS CAN SAMPLE SPECIALTIES OF SPANISH CUISINE PAINSTAKINGLY PUT TOGETHER BY THE CLUB’S SOUS-CHEF IN RESIDENCE, ANTONIO GARCIA DE QUIROS SANCHEZ, A GRADUATE OF THE WORLD’S FINEST KITCHENS AND AN EXPERT IN MOLECULAR CUISINE. “SPANISH DAY” WILL BE HELD EVERY FRIDAY FROM NOON TO 4 PM AND PROVIDE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO SAMPLE THE BEST OF TRADITIONAL SPANISH SPECIALTIES. A WARM ENVIRONMENT FOR FAMILIES, AS CHILDREN ARE KEPT ENTERTAINED WITH OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES BY THE BEACH AREA.

he Playstation 4 will be available at all Fifty One East outlets located in Al Maha Centre, City Centre Doha and Lagoona Mall, in addition to locally supplied channels at a unified market price that will start from QR1,699 (for a standalone unit) and will include a one-year manufacturer’s warranty. Darwish Technology, also emphasises that any Play station 4 console sold in Qatar before December 13, is unofficially bought from a different market, retailed at a false price and not covered by a warranty. Darwish Technology will not be responsible for the pricing, servicing and warranty status of any Playstation product that is bought in Qatar through unauthorised dealers.

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business > market watch

CLASSIC FURNITURE WITH A CONTEMPORARY TOUCH

ngelo Cappellini has been an expert interpreter of essential and timeless classic furniture since 1886. It leveraged its extensive experience in 2010 to create Opera Contemporary, a new brand with more contemporary inclinations that will complement and complete the offer while remaining true to the style of the company. Angelo Cappellini is considered to be a leader in the production of classic

NOKIA LAUNCHES TWO NEW SMARTPHONES IN QATAR The Finnish-owned Nokia has launched two large-screen Lumia smartphones, the sixinch Lumia 1520 and 1320, the company’s first-ever Windows tablet, the Nokia Lumia 2520, and also three new Asha models, including the first 3G device in the Asha platform family of smartphones, in Qatar. 92 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

furniture, and specialises in the reproduction of authentic models hailing from the major European styles such as Louis XV, Louis XVI, Regency, Empire and Biedermeier. With a turnover of around 90% for export, the company is now present in Eastern European markets. In particular, the company has been in Russia for more than 15 years and is also present in the Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Middle East.

okia Lower Gulf General Manager Vithesh Reddy says: “Mobile devices are at the centre of consumers’ lives. Especially in markets such as Qatar, consumers are looking to capture, curate and share experiences on the go. Today we are inviting people in Qatar to switch to Nokia. With our latest range of products,we are delivering industry-leading design and imaging innovation to bigger devices at more accessible prices. The quality and value that Nokia products deliver continues to grow as we partner with developers to introduce app experiences that are unique to Lumia,” he adds. “Building on Nokia’s industry-leading innovation in imaging, the latest range of Lumia and Asha products enables people to capture and share the world around them. Nokia has spearheaded delivering high-quality, stylish devices that enable Qatar’s evolving consumer-tech community to make the switch to Nokia,” says Tawfeeq

Salem, CFO, Consolidated Gulf Co. (CGC), which is Nokia’s distributor in Qatar. The Lumia 1320 and 1520 are perfectly suited for entertainment and productivity while Windows tablet Lumia 2520 is designed to work anywhere, with a vivid 10.1-inch HD display. The Nokia Asha 500, Asha 502 and Asha 503 join the Asha 501 in pushing the boundaries of affordable smartphone innovation.

QATAR’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW THE QATAR INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW (QIBS) 2013, WAS HELD AT LUSAIL MARINA IN LUSAIL CITY FROM NOVEMBER 12 TO 16 AND SAW A LARGE TURNOUT OF VISITORS WHO CAME TO ENJOY THE LUXURIOUS BOATS AND BEAUTIFUL WEATHER.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CELEBRATED BY OXY QATAR

ccidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd. (Oxy Qatar) recently invited its 2012-2013 social responsibility partners for a night of celebration and recognition. The event, held at the Idam restaurant at the Museum of Islamic Art on October 23, 2013, celebrated the mutual achievements of Oxy Qatar and the beneficiaries of its recent social responsibility projects. The partnerships between Oxy Qatar and the organisations represented at the event have helped promote sustainable development in Qatar and support local communities. Steve Kelly, President and General Manager of Oxy Qatar, welcomed the group, saying: “It is an honour to be among so many people who are dedicated to improving all aspects of life in Qatar. We look forward to continuing these partnerships and supporting further advancements for Qatar in the future.” QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 93

business > market watch

THE FRAGILITY OF TIME

BY ABIGAIL MATHIAS

What does a man associated with an international timekeeping brand long for? Precisely more time. Pierre Bernheim, grandson of Raymond Weil, owner and founder of the watch company of the same name, recently launched his new brand of watches, 88 Rue Du Roune, in Qatar.

s the co-founder of a new brand and someone who travels worldwide promoting both his and the family business, Bernheim has a lot on his plate. Though he longs for time with his one-month-old daughter, seeing another working father puts it all in perspective. “After I met a driver from Sharjah (UAE) who has not been able to see his wife since last December, I don’t complain anymore,” smiles Bernheim. Pierre’s father Olivier Bernheim shared an equally illustrious career in the watchmaking industry, just as his father-in-law, Raymond Weil. The Bernheim sons, Elie and Pierre, were aware that they had pretty big shoes to fill. “My grandfather founded the Raymond Weil company and has about 66 years of watch-making experience behind him, and my father has more than 35 years, so that combined is more than 100 years,” explains the young watch manufacturer. “I have learnt a lot from joining Raymond Weil in 2005,” he adds. The brothers started work on the 88 RDR brand five years ago, and selected the number 8 due to its affinity to infinity. The title also relates to the famous street that runs parallel to Geneva’s river of the same name. Conscious of his Asian clients, Bernheim adds: “We prefer to refer to the brand as ‘88 RDR;’” The new watches were available ex-

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FROZEN IN TIME

During the BAFTA weekend Hollywood actor SAMUEL L JACKSON shares a moment with co-founders of 88 RDR ELIE and PIERRE BERNHEIM Pierre's wife JULIANE BERNHEIM

clusively at London’s Selfridges store for three months. This was followed by launches in the US and China. Bernheim wants to peg his new Swiss watch brand in an accessible price range. “Many watch brands are out of reach,: he says. You do not find many international brands that are affordable and yet can boast of such a rich heritage. Our watches are aimed at 25 to 40-year olds for whom QR2,000 is a lot of money. Most people feel there is a gap we have filled,” explains Bernheim. The company has a subsidiary through Raymond Weil. Being the apple of his grandfather’s eye, getting his grandfather’s seal of approval to start a new brand was not that difficult. “My grandfather is 87 today and he supported us from the start.” Other corporate partners were easily convinced of the brand thanks to the family name. “If you are a new entrant most manufacturers may not trust you, but we coming with good credentials opened a lot of doors for us.” The parent company shares an association with other partners ring back more than 35 years. Bernheim believes that Qatar is "exquisite. Qatar is a key market for my family for many reasons, and Raymond Weil has 25 stand alone boutiques here," he says. "We want people to recognise the DNA of our new watch brand.” The company will spend two years to extend the line. Carrying the load of such a long legacy is challenging. For a family that lives and breathes watchmaking, their passion is apparent. “A watch means a lot to people.

Both my father and grandfather wear two watches at a time sometimes. Many regard watches as a status symbol. A lot of our Chinese clients buy a watch for their families in the US and send them back as a validation of their success.” As cinema buffs, the brothers have chosen to make their watch the official partner of BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, which bestows the industry’s awards for excellence, for the next three years. Their watches have been worn by celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson. The title piece for 88 RDR, Double 8 Origin, has a number of details, but one that stands out is that the diamonds set on the cases total in 88 numbers. Bernheim travels to Hong Kong one day, Vienna the next, followed by the UK and then the US. He has logged more than one million miles each year on business travel, but he does not complain. “With 88 RDR we are now in 40 countries, and with Raymond Weil that adds up to 87 countries. I need to travel back and forth to support the brands ,but I also make it a point to go back to see my family. I am never away for up to three weeks,” he asserts. Watching his grandfather and father balance work and family life, Bernheim feels “it is in my blood to juggle both worlds. My wife sees me four days a week on average, and when we meet there is always love. My parents have been married for 35 years, and to this day they seem as much in love, as day one.” The eternal battle with time is perhaps universal QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 95

focus > sports file

AL ANNABI ARE GOING DOWN UNDER

he 1-0 defeat of Malaysia in Selangor last month, which followed a 4-1 thrashing of Yemen in Al Ain, UAE, means Al Annabi have already done enough to qualify for the 16-nation tournament even before their final game against Bahrain on March 5 next year. But Thani, whose team are still one point behind their March 5 opponents, won't be happy with coming second to his near neighbours. “The result was as expected,” said Thani following the win in Malaysia. “We came here with the intent to win and we are happy that we achieved that goal. Now we will focus on taking the top spot in the group with

AFP PHOTO / KAMARUL AKHIR

Qatar coach Fahad Thani has said he remains focused on securing the top spot in Group D despite already qualifying for the 2015 Asian Cup. a win against Bahrain.” A 65th-minute strike from substitute Abdulkareem Al Ali set up the win at the Shah Alam Stadium, while Sebastian Soria, Abdelkarim Hassan, Mohamed Kasola and Mohammed El-Sayed scored the goals in Al Ain. Meanwhile, Oman have qualified from Group A with a game to spare, while Jordan, who were beaten in the 2014 World Cup intercontinental play-off by Uruguay last month, look good for the second automatic spot. In Group B, Iran and Kuwait have ensured their progress to the tournament in January

QATAR HAS POTENTIAL IN

CRICKET 96 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013

2015, while Iraq and China will meet at the Al Rashid stadium in Dubai in March to see who qualifies automatically from Group C with Saudi Arabia. The UAE and Uzbekistan have cemented their places from Group E. This means that all six GCC countries have booked their places in Australia along with the automatic qualifiers: hosts Australia; 2011 Asian Cup winners Japan; South Korea, who finished third in 2011; and the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup winners, North Korea. Al Annabi have qualified for every Asian Cup since 1980 bar one – in the UAE in 1996 – but have never gone beyond the last eight.

Officials of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) who met with their counterparts in the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) recently described the meeting as “very productive in many aspects” and felt that Qatar could make the leap to International Cricket Council Associate status.

ASPIRE4SPORT GETS SHAQ-ATTACKED

Ex-NBA basketball star Shaquille O’Neal says that Qatar could host an NBA game in the near future.

haq", who spoke during the "Stars Chat" segment on day two of the Aspire4Sport conference and exhibition last month, recently acquired a stake in the Sacramento Kings franchise and he said he was in talks with HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Secretary-General of the Qatar Olympic Committee, about hosting an official NBA game here. O’Neal said: “I give you my word that

I’m going to try to come [to Qatar] in the next two years with my team. I know that Qatar’s premier basketball arena will be finished by October next year, which is probably too soon to bring a pre-season game, but we will be back. “I’ll be talking to my co-owners and I’m sure they’ll do it. I also had a conversation with HE Sheikh Saoud today about it, so we are all going to be working to get that going, but regardless, I’m going to be

coming back [to Qatar], insha'Allah.” Living up to his larger-than-life persona, O’Neal engaged the audience with jokes and anecdotes, drawing regular laughs from a clearly excited audience. Earlier in the day he toured the Aspire4Sport exhibition held at the Aspire Dome, where he met with his fans and the media. O’Neal also toured the entire Aspire Zone Foundation facility, including Aspetar.

AL HAJRI REVEALS HIS LIFETIME DREAM

Qatari rally driver Saeed Al Hajri says he has achieved a lifetime’s dream – to become an competitive international player on the circuit – but intimates that it took a lot of hard work and effort to reach the top.

l Hajri, who boasts 18 international rally victories, drove for Rothmans Porsche (1983-1986), Audi Quattro (1987) and Rothmans Ford (1989 and 1990) and was known as the King of Dunes. He spoke at the Aspire4Sport Conference last month. Al Hajri said: “Thirty years ago, nobody had heard of the term ‘rally racing’ here in Qatar, let alone knew what the sport was about. We didn’t have a problem getting the cars, but we had a problem organising and hosting races, so in those days we organised amateur competitions.” However, rallying’s low profile never deterred him from his pursuing his passion. “I dedicated all my time to working on my performance," Al Hajri recalled. "I

participated in local, regional and international championships, which eventually got me sponsorship, even though this is an expensive sport. I was on a mission to raise the Qatari flag on an international platform, and I’m proud to have achieved it. However, I appeal for more support for this sport because it really needs it.” Abdelaziz Al Kuwari, who represents the new generation of Qatar rally driving talent, noted how important it is for budding drivers to learn from pioneers like Al Hajri. “Saeed Al Hajri is my idol and we have a strong relationship,” Al Kuwari revealed. “He has mentored me before every competition, offering me sound advice. He has been a wonderful supporter and source of motivation in my pursuit of championship success.”

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY

TENNIS WHAT QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN 2014 WHEN DECEMBER 30-JANUARY 4 WHERE KHALIFA INTERNATIONAL TENNIS AND SQUASH COMPLEX MORE INFO HTTP://WWW.QATARTENNIS.ORG

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 97

culture>doha diary THE SINGING SAILOR FROM OMAN

An ambitious project is currently under way at the British Library, where more than 350,000 government documents relating to the Gulf, newly unearthed from the depths of the library archives, are throwing light on the history of the region. In this, the second in a series of articles, the British Library unravels the story of sowt singer Salim Rashid Suri.

ust over a hundred years ago, in the town of Sur in Oman, a man named Salim Rashid Suri was born. Suri was to become one of the most popular sowt singers in the Middle East. Sowt music is an urban music genre of the Arabian Peninsula, inspired by the region’s Bedouin and fishing communities. Suri’s story is just one of those that have been rediscovered as part of a joint project between the British Library, Qatar Foundation and the Qatar National Library. The plan is to make stories like Suri’s available to people across the globe via an online portal. Suri’s journey is brought to life through a series of his songs which he recorded with the British record label His Master’s Voice in the early 1930s. Those recordings inspired Rolf Killius, sound curator at the British Library, to look further into the life of Salim Rashid Suri. What he found was the incredible story behind the life of a man who would become known as the "singing sailor" and what this meant for the development of sowt music across the world. Suri was one of the few people who could

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play this popular style, and his music was able to gain popularity largely due to his profession. As a sailor Suri was able to travel across the Middle East, Asia and Africa as part of his work. This brought his music to a range of audiences and enabled him to gain followings in places as diverse as India, Iraq and Somalia. Suri was faced with a great deal of hostility from his family, who opposed his involvement with music and demanded that he stop playing. This opposition became so intense that his elder brother threatened to shoot him with a gun if he did not stop singing. Eventually Suri managed to escape his family’s influence and settled in Bombay, India. The move allowed him to pursue his music more vigorously. It was in Bombay that he recorded twelve shellac discs which will be available on the portal in 2014. This will greatly open up the possibilities for how researchers and people around the world will be able to access and study sowt music in a way that until now has not been possible. These recordings sold very well commercially, especially among the Arab

population in Mumbai, showing just how popular this music was with multiple communities across the world at this time. The popularity of the music was further highlighted when Suri recorded with Colombia Records and Bombay Record Co at Kalyan. His audience continued to grow, and he also began recording in Urdu as well as Arabic. People’s love for sowt music only increased and when Suri fled to Bahrain after World War Two, a country that was booming following the discovery of oil in the 1930s, he found himself in the position of being a much sought-after freelance artist. He was so successful that he was able to establish his own record label, Salimphone, to record both his music and that of other well-known artists. Despite many of his recordings now being almost 80 years old, Suri’s music has been given alegacy. The British Library-Qatar Foundation Partnership’s digitisation of his work will allow future generations and researchers to listen to his music at the click of a button on its online portal, which will be launched next year

FROM LISTENING TO DOING

Motivational speaker Brian Tracy takes some time out from his two-day session in Doha to speak to Qatar Today about setting goals, getting out of your comfort zone and the universal desire for success, happiness and contentment. luck. It was only when I realised that each person has unlimited potential, and is also fully responsible for their own success, that my own potential was unlocked. From that point onward I have spent many thousands of hours reading and studying in every field of interest to help me be more successful, both personally and professionally. Eventually, I realised that I had a natural gift to synthesise ideas from many sources and then share them with small groups of people. From that point, the groups became larger, starting with seven people in my first seminar and exceeding more than 20,000 people in my seminars some years later.

racy attributes his success to his ideas being simple and timeless and easy to apply. “The challenge is not in hearing the ideas and strategies. It is putting them into action every single day until you get results. I encourage people throughout my courses to try these new ideas, even on a small scale. Once people have tried these ideas on a small scale, and have achieved results, they are internally motivated to try even more,” he says. Where and when did you learn your most important lessons? When did you realise you were ready to share this knowledge? I began studying success when I was 24 years old. Up until that time, I thought that success was a matter of accident or

Why/where do people fail in applying the learning from a motivational lecture or book in their lives? The reason that people do not apply more of the lessons that they learn is because of the “comfort zone.” Virtually everyone is comfortable doing what they are already doing and they have a natural resistance to change of any kind, even positive change. We have found that unless a person takes action immediately on a new idea, the enthusiasm or motivation of that action will drift away like cigarette smoke, and by the next day the person will have no more energy to apply the new idea. He or she will be back into their comfort zone. What were some of the important lessons that helped you in your journey from real estate agent to worldrenowned speaker and prolific author? The most important lessons I have learned revolve around setting clear, written goals

and then making detailed plans of action to achieve those goals. This will account for perhaps 90% of success. The second most important lesson was that you can learn anything you need to learn to achieve any goal that you can set for yourself. There are no limits except for the limits that you place on yourself, which means that there are no real limits except the ones in your imagination. Can inherent habits and ingrained manners really be changed? Is the person who comes out of the transformation the same as the person who went into it? The basic rule is that people do not change their basic character and temperament. Like cement, the basic temperament of the individual is usually quite clear from early childhood and sets in their mid teens. From that point onward, the character and personality is largely fixed. What is completely changeable and which brings about transformation is the learning and applying of new ideas and skills to get better results in a particular field. Just as you cannot change your adult height or eye colour, but you can change your skills and abilities and use them to accomplish more than ever before. How are the people who attend your seminars in the Middle East similar to or different from those in the West? It is both amazing and gratifying that the people in the Middle East are very similar to people everywhere else in the world. They want to be successful, happier, healthier, and earn more money. They are open and eager to learn some of the best ideas being used and applied by the most successful people in other parts of the world. Many people ask me if these ideas are cross-cultural or if they can travel from one civilisation to another. I reply to them that 80% of the principles of success are common to all people everywhere. The other 20% of the principles depend upon the local culture, climate, economy and many other factors. But the basic success principles are universal and timeless and are applicable worldwide QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 99

culture > doha diary

A NEW ERA IN BUSINESS

The fourth annual Qatar International Business Women Forum, which was attended by over 1,000 women delegates from 39 countries, brought together inspiring speakers and ideas.

usiness women from around the region came together at the twoday event hosted under the patronage of HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al Thani, the Minister of Economy and Trade, to discuss the issues that most seriously affect them and work towards coming up with the right solutions. The theme of this year’s event was “Arab businesswomen as change makers,” and many global speakers and thinkers were invited to share their views on it. Malaysia’s First Lady Datin Seri Rosmah binti Mansor addressed the gathering on the first day. She opined that it was "time to put women at the heart of the global growth story.” “I am proud that more Arab women are stepping up to make a difference. Today I see Muslim businesswomen running prosperous and profitable companies throughout the world. The list of powerful Arab women in business is getting longer,” she said. The whos who of Doha’s business scene were part of the opening ceremony. Aisha Alfardan, the Vice-Chairperson of Qatari Business Womens Association, Barton Cahir, President of ExxonMobil Qatar, WaelSawan, Managing Director and Chairman

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of Qatar Shell and Raed Chehaib, CEO of Interactive Business Network also addressed the delegates. HE Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, honoured Qatar University President Professor Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad; Dr Maryam Matar, the chairman and founder of the UAE Genetic Diseases Association; and Founder and Chairman of the Arab International Women’s Forum Haifa Al-Kaylani. In one of the most highly anticipated talks of the series the Indian mystic Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev narrated his experience, from attending the World Economic Forum a few months ago to the economic crisis in 2008. The heavy air of gloom around the event had made him think about the economic strategy. “The structure of the economic engine today is such that success leads to damnation and failure to depression. We desperately need to rethink the whole economic process. Our idea of success is to be a step ahead of someone else who has already made a mistake. But there is an opportunity for women entering the business world to reassess vision and success,” he said. He also commented on how women tend

to have better vision. “Most people think their vision comes from outside, but vision is from seeing. When you are a leader, you have the privilege of observing the situation from a higher perch. So you should be able to see something that others can’t. If you don’t, you’ll make a fool of yourself and be disconnected with the existing reality. A woman has, traditionally, had the privilege of sitting back, looking and seeing things that man, who has been in the thick of the action, might have missed. That’s why when you picture an oracle you immediately think of her as a woman. They have been gifted with a special intuition,” he said. Explaining the change he envisions, he said: “It’s time to evolve in other dimensions of human potential. This is where the feminine becomes important. Women don’t have to become like men to be successful, they just have to change the nature of business from within. Our idea of strength has to change, our idea of success and conquest has to change. Over the course of the years, we have misunderstood gentleness as weakness. But we can now relax our masculine nature a little bit and allow the feminine to flourish.”

THE WOMEN FOR THE JOB Elsbeth Blekkenhorst and Danielle Duttenhofer are the team behind the startup Global Women Qatar, which was established in January 2012 as Qatar’s first employment agency to focus exclusively on the recruitment of women. They trace their association with How Women Work and explain how networking with professionals helped their business.

“W

e both saw the need for women to find work here and we also knew that this wasn’t really a transparent job market. It still isn’t. So when we met each other, we decided to set this up and to focus on women and to ‘untangle’ the market and find jobs that fit them,” says Blekkenhorst. Both participated in a panel on social media at the How Women Work conference a few years ago, and were encouraged to find that their idea was feasible. “The conference opened our eyes to the possibilities here in Doha in social media,” says Duttenhofer. “In Europe, Facebook would be more for friends, but in Qatar it is also very much to do with business and to reach out to your candidates. “We met a lot of expats, but also a lot of Qataris, and that is another great value of the How Women Work conference,” she adds. Talking about their participation in another series of workshops called How Women Find Work, Duttenhofer noticed that a lot of women were not fully informed on the documents needed to start work in Doha. “That was a good platform for us to educate women. On the other hand it was also a fantastic place to meet all the candidates, because though we knew some of them, as they had uploaded their CV already on our website and on our database, we hadn’t

met them face to face. So it was good that we could meet them and talk to them and discuss things with them.” The conference helped them get a better understanding of what the candidates are looking for and what the person is like. The How Women Work conference also helped them understand the mind-set of women who look for work in Doha. “We are living here in a very male-dominated society, and when there is someone out there who creates this platform, it really appeals to you. It’s looking for sources: how is she doing it? Why is she doing it? Who are the people attending it? Are there really these women who would like to pursue a career here in Doha? Reflect on why women choose to pursue their careers when they are here. Do they have to? Is it an interest? Is it for personal growth? So, when a platform like this is created, it is very appealing to us,” says Blekkenhorst. Speaking about the influence the conference has had on them, Blekkenhorst says: “How Women Work gives a good environment where you help each other and support each other. It excelled my expectations.” It is more like a community where everyone is helping each other and everyone is very friendly, they add. Both Blekkenhorst and Duttenhofer had the advantage of being employed before they set up to start a business on their own. “Our clients were already working in

international companies situated here and it helped because we had a good relationship with our clients. It was easy to call them and say that we had started something new. That was a very good start,” says Blekkenhorst. Duttenhofer had a network too by working for a Big Four company. She was also the chairman of the Dutch Business Council, which gave her a lot of contacts and a big platform to tap into. On their process of handpicking jobs, Duttenhofer says: “We have so many different types of people flying in to Doha with all kinds of backgrounds. From health and safety officers to shipping and logistics and to teachers, nurses, PAs, secretaries, PR, communication, we have a wide variety of qualified women. The only common thing they have is that 90% of them are women.” Talking more about the vast pool of talent that Doha can boast about, Blekkenhorst says: “We are amazed by some of the things the candidates have done. Like working for the UN, embassies, at research companies etc. Some of them have qualifications we haven’t heard of. We also have women who are in roles that are unusual for women, like engineers, civil engineers. Basically we have everything. Anything you might be looking for is in our database. We have a few males for recruitment but the focus is on females.” The process for applying to this recruitment firm is simple enough. Uploading to the website is the best way, says Duttenhofer QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2013 > 101

culture > doha diary SHARQ VILLAGE HOSTS CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY Over 250 guests gathered at the hotel’s ballroom for an event held in recognition of their support through the year. The Al Dasha ballroom was filled to the brim with the hotel’s loyal customers, and business partners, management and ladies and gentlemen of the hotel, and a number of invited guests including public and private sector representatives for Customer Appreciation Day. The event was organised to coincide with the opening ceremony of the Good Life Festival. Guests mingled and feasted on delicacies to the sounds of some soothing music courtesy of the Doha Jazz band and the hotel's resident Cuban band presented by Master of Ceremonies Bassam Nader, the event featured an exclusive presentation of raffle prizes including stays at various global Ritz Carlton hotels, memberships at the Six Senses Spa, Qatar Airways tickets and more.

FIVE-STAR DHOW CRUISES AND A NEW HOTEL A new hotel has been added to the Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels chain: the Al Bidda hotel located in the heart of the souq area. In keeping with the other hotels of the same family, the modern rooms are all furnished with an Arabian-inspired and modern décor. The collection of hotels now offers a taste of authentic Qatari hospitality with special cruises on three Arabian dhows Lusail 1, 2 and 3. Tickets are available in all Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels.

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QATAR’S THIRD DHOW FESTIVAL SEES SMOOTH SAILING Katara’s third Traditional Dhow Festival, recently concluded in Doha. The festival is one of a number of specialised festivals on marine heritage in the region and introduces the world to the culture and history of dhows. Several competitions and activities including a rowing competition were held to encourage the Arab youth to participate and appreciate Qatar’s maritime history. Held in cooperation with the Qatar Museums Authority, what made this year particularly special was the announcement of the Fath ElKheir trip launch, one of the most prominent events emanating from the unique festival held to revive ancestral heritage in travelling and navigating through the world by sailing. This trip began on November 22 from Katara Beach, sailing to its first stop in the Kingdom of Bahrain then heading to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and after that Oman, then navigating to the United Arab Emirates and finally leaving the UAE to reach Doha again on December 18 to participate in the Qatar National Day celebrations, after crossing the estimated distance of 856 nautical miles.

REMEMBER THE DATE LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED THIS FESTIVE SEASON. WE BRING YOU A FEW OF THE FESTIVE DATES TO MARK ON YOUR BUSY CALENDAR.

CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING THE ST REGIS HOTEL is hosting its annual tree lighting ceremony on December 1 between 6 and 8 p.m. Be sure not to miss it.

ON THE RED CARPET Doha Film Institute’s Ajyal Film Festival rolled out the red carpet for visiting delegates, directors, actors and other members of the film fraternity from around the globe at the opening ceremoney. The five-day film festival with showcase a number of youth focused-films.

The RITZ CARLTON HOTEL's celebrations will kick off with the opening of a Festive Market and a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Fountain Courtyard on December 8. The market is a great place to pick up unique hand-made gifts as well as to embrace the spirit of the holiday season, with guests singing along with the carollers.

BISCOTTI CHRISTMAS For all your favourite Christmas specialties, drop by Biscotti at the GRAND HYATT during the month of December to pick up savoury or sweet treats. The selection available includes turkey, mince pies, Stollen, Christmas pudding, chocolate Santas and much more.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE A grand gingerbread house will on display from December 1-25 between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. at the ST REGIS HOTEL. Entry is complimentary. THE RITZ CARLTON will also be setting up a magnificent gingerbread house at the lower lobby level.

KIDDIE TIME Save the date on December 7 from 12 noon to 4 p.m. at the GRAND HYATT for a day of festive fun for the little ones including a gingerbread house cooking class, a bouncy castle and more surprises.

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Qatar Today looks at two expatriates from everyday life, one who has lived here for a significant amount of time and another who has just made Doha her home, for their take on life in this city.

MY HOME IN QATAR CARLO KAZAN

Senior Sales Manager, The Torch Doha hotel Here Since: July 2011 (two and a half years) REMINISCENCES I visited Doha with my brother in May of 2011 when I saw one of the country’s most iconic landmarks – The Torch. I knew this where I wanted to work, and sure enough found myself here within a couple of months. CHANGE THAT HAPPENS IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES Since then Doha has evolved intensely with new developments and projects popping up in every corner of the city. It is great to witness the rapid growth of the country in terms of hospitality, sports, education or healthcare. And despite what people say, I love the city’s roundabouts. Traffic signals

irritate me. WHAT DOHA HAS TAUGHT ME Working here added to my experience in dealing with guests, Qataris or other nationalities. In the hospitality industry, you come across a variety of personalities each day. This is especially intensified by Doha’s global atmosphere and the fact that more people from different parts of the world are visiting the city. Each one has their own demands, service attributes or means of communication. Once you grasp that and understand exactly what they like or dislike you will better anticipate your guest’s needs.

NEW BEGINNINGS FREDERIKE GAUSS

Group Marketing Manager, Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels Here Since: Three weeks

JUST ARRIVED Having previously lived and worked in South Africa, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain and the United States, I was aching for another change – a new place, a new challenge, some new people. The hospitality industry in the Middle East is continuing to grow rapidly and I wanted to be a part of that. I was offered this perfect opportunity at the perfect time. Everyone has been telling me that, on top of it all, I arrived at the right time to enjoy the best weather that Doha has to offer.

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS Doha is the perfect mix of Arab traditions and modern sensibilities. There is so much investment going into making the city more attractive and global. Also, it is not as saturated as cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi; there are still plenty of opportunities here. I have just started finding my own way to work, around all the construction work going on here. So I am in a good place. Being from Berlin, I miss the organised traffic of the city. That’s probably the hardest thing for me to get used to.

I love walking around the souq and exploring the little markets and restaurants. This is exactly what I pictured in my head before I landed here. The beautiful skyline is an added bonus. ASPIRATIONS I am hoping to stay here at least for another two years. I want to pick up some basic Arabic. There is so much to see in Qatar and I am looking forward to exploring the outdoors in the coming weeks. I also want to travel to some of the other gorgeous Middle Eastern countries like Bahrain and the UAE.