Qt march '14 by Oryx Group of Magazines

inside this issue MARCH 2014 / VOL. 40/ ISSUE 3

COVER STORY

36 RIDING THE FUTURE ON SUKUK

As the popularity of Sharia-compliant bonds rises not only in Islamic countries but also around the world, the importance of Middle Eastern markets could rise alongside it. Qatar Today takes a look at shifting global investment patterns.

26 THE FUTURE IS POWERED BY SOLAR ENERGY

HE Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, talks about the ambitious renewable energy projects that the country is focusing on, in an exclusive interview with Qatar Today.

32 LIFE AS IT IS AT CARNEGIE MELLON

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar's Dean Ilker Baybars talks about his lifetime at Carnegie Mellon, both in the US and at its trailblazing Qatar campus.

44 THE ANNUAL BONUS

How can you make sure that the annual bonus is seen as a incentive to exceed expectations rather than taken for granted?

52 TECHNOLOGY TO AID DISASTER RESPONSE

A new programme from the Qatar Computing Research Institute can analyse and sort social media feeds during a crisis and direct humanitarian workers to locations where help is needed most.

84 GOING MOBILE IS SERIOUS BUSINESS

The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona attracted thousands of industry players and enthusiasts from around the world. Qatar Today recaps some of the biggest announcements and new technologies to come out of the week-long event.

inside this issue MARCH 2014 / VOL. 40/ ISSUE 3

22 THE TICKING CLOCK

How will Qatar meet the burgeoning demand for construction materials to minimise future supply risks?

24 PROJECT MONITORING, A MUST FOR BANKS

Independent project monitoring plays a key role as part of comprehensive risk management.

48 CONSERVATION SHOULD START WITH INDIVIDUALS

Qatar is taking prudent steps in the management of energy but has miles to go and prejudices to change before achieving the desired goal.

60 PLAYING THE HOST

Qatar’s visibility on the global athletic stage is growing by the year, but the country isn’t necessarily making waves as a participant in sports. Where it excels is in its ability to host them.

63 RESEARCH COMES OF AGE

This annual QSTP report takes you inside some of the exciting research projects currently underway at the Qatar Science and Technology Park.

88 FITNESS TRACKERS GO THE EXTRA MILE

Things have been built and designed for us so that we can move around with less effort. From automated sliding doors to elevators, everything slowly contributes to the unfit people that we are.

and regulars 12

NEWS BITES

BANK NOTES

O&G OVERVIEW

REALTY CHECK

TECH TALK

SPORTS

AUTO NEWS

100

MARKET WATCH

110

DOHA DIARY

from the desk Another catastrophe in Doha; another incident that calls into question safety in public places, the rules and the enforcement of those rules; but all of this introspection, sadly, comes only after an accident that took the lives of 11 people and left 35 injured. The tragedy – an explosion at a restaurant within a petrol station located near Landmark Mall – blew wide open the pertinent issue of safety at petrol stations. It brought back into focus earlier mishaps: a filling station on C-ring road recently witnessed the caving in of its floor, as did another one near The Mall. While the partly state-owned Woqod petrol stations do seem to follow a standard design with safety features in place, the older-style petrol stations are more commercial complexes than filling stations. As we wait for the final verdict on the cause of the blast at the restaurant, let us start by implementing safety norms within our homes, instilling a culture of safety in our kids, and hope that this will be continued across all spheres of life. Meanwhile, the construction sector in the country is heating up. Infrastructure projects are at a busy juncture, with March showing all the signs of shaping up to be a difficult month for Doha commuters, with two temporary closures of parts of the Corniche. But traffic woes are going to become a regular feature of life in Qatar, with the pace of construction to intensify in the years to come. In less than a year from now 15 huge high-tech tunnel-boring machines will plough through the land beneath for the Doha Metro project. These are exciting times, indeed, for Dohaites as the country gets ready for the 2022 World Cup, and a critical issue at a time of such high-intensity construction activity should be safety for all. Qatar Today 's March issue keeps track of all the relevant issues; the sukuk market’s record year for Islamic bond sales; the importance of renewables in our energy mix; the American education institution Carnegie Mellon celebrating 10 years of operating a Qatar campus; the ground-breaking technology insights of the Qatar Science and Technology Park; and another interesting breakthrough by the Qatar Computing and Research Institute (QCRI) to help humanitarian workers in times of disaster. It was ironic that as the entire nation grieved over the untimely death of 11 unsuspecting expats, close by at the Qatar National Convention Center the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition carried on with business as usual. The exhibition is now one of the biggest of such shows globally, and does considerable amount of business in the small country where it is hosted. Luxury seems to be a staple in Doha even when tragedy strikes at close quarters. SINDHU NAIR

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affairs > local

TURKISH SOJOURN

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is welcomed by Turkish President Abdullah Gul in Ankara during a visit to discuss bilateral issues as well as recent regional developments. AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN

ES’HAILSAT CELEBRATES THE COMMENCEMENT OF OPERATIONS OF

ES’HAIL 1

Some of the biggest satellite players in the region, along with Es’hailSat’s partners, came together to congratulate the homegrown satellite operator on its success with its first satellite.

SHAKE-UP AT THE TOP Only a few months into the new government, HH the Emir decided to implement several major changes at many of the ministries. Close on the heels of the revamp of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee (its role is now divided between two new organisations – the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and the Local Organising Committee), further changes were implemented at the Supreme Council of Health, the Supreme Education Council and the Ministries of Environment; Justice; Culture, Arts and Heritage; and Municipality and Urban Planning. 14 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

s’hailSat, which has always been rather low-key about its operations and successes, spoke to the local media for the first time at the Grand Hyatt to celebrate Es’hail 1’s commencement of service on National Day, December 18. The evening was attended by Minister of Information and Communications Technology HE Dr Hessa Sultan Al Jaber; US Ambassador Susan L Ziadeh; Stephane Israel, the CEO of Arianespace, which launched Es’hail 1 into orbit on August 29, and several key members from satellite companies in the region. The new satellite, broadcasting along the 26E hotspot, will cater to the growing communications needs in the region and has superior anti-jamming capabilities, CEO Ali Ahmed Al Kuwari said. Though Al Kuwari confirmed the plans for Es’hail 2, he didn’t go into further details about the specifications, manufacturers and launch partners, only saying that the new edition of the satellite will have a bigger capacity that the current one in orbit and will be launched towards the end of 2016 or beginning of 2017.

QATAR ISSUES NEW WORKERS’ CHARTER

Just a day before the expiry of FIFA’s deadline to submit a concrete plan on how Qatar intends to improve the condition of migrant labourers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy announced its 50-page Worker’s Welfare Standards.

THEO ZWANZIGER (L), member of the FIFA Executive Committee, talks during a joint press conference with the Chair of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights, BARBARA LOCHBIHLER, after their meeting on the situation of migrant workers in Qatar at the EU Headquarters in Brussels on February 13 AFP PHOTO/JOHN THYS

n National Sport Day, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy issued new guidelines to protect the migrant workers involved in World Cup construction projects, in response to worldwide condemnation of workers’ deaths and FIFA’s demand for constructive action. The charter will ensure that workers are paid promptly and also that their living conditions are up to global standards, the committee said. Contractors will also be required to set up bank accounts for all their employees to ensure proper transfer of funds. The charter was submitted to FIFA and then the European Parliament, where the sporting association, while appreciating Qatar’s first tangible efforts at righting labour malpractices, said it wouldn't “turn a blind eye” to abuses and would maintain a

BOOTS ON THE GROUND

As part of its efforts to ensure effective implementation of the Qatari labour laws, the Ministry of Labour conducted over 40,000 inspections in 2013 at various worker accommodations across the country, and this number will double in 2014, HE Abdullah Saleh Mubarak Al Khulaifi, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, was quoted in an English daily as saying.

close scrutiny of the situation here. However, international labour organisations are still not convinced that this charter is a serious enough effort. The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI),

French-Algerian footballer, ZAHIR BELOUNIS, whose dispute with the club El Jaish over unpaid wages meant he was not allowed to leave Qatar for over two years, was also present during the press conference.

which carried out an inspection in the country last year, has condemned the charter as “an insult to the internationally accepted system of setting labour standards”. The Geneva-based organisation has pointed out that “instead of pushing the government to make a systematic overhaul of its labour policies, the committee’s guidelines merely apply to the contractors of the stadiums”, and not the construction industry as a whole. BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson said in a statement: “ The guidance is not legally binding, does not guarantee workers’ rights to change employer, their right to leave the country or their right to join a trade union to bargain collectively for decent pay and conditions, and it applies only to a tiny proportion of migrant construction workers in Qatar.”

HE THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR DEFENCE, MAJOR-GENERAL HAMAD BIN ALI AL ATTIYAH, HAS ANNOUNCED THAT NATIONAL SERVICE WILL COME INTO FORCE THIS YEAR, STARTING WITH 2,000 QATARI MEN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18-35 UNDERTAKING THREE MONTHS OF MILITARY TRAINING FROM APRIL. THIS IS MANDATORY FOR ALL QATARI MEN, AND SEVERAL BATCHES WILL FOLLOW, IT WAS ANNOUNCED. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 15

affairs > local TRADE SURPLUS FALLS

Double-digit growth in imports together with lower exports led Qatar to report a 7% year-onyear shrinkage in its trade surplus to QR33.92 billion in December 2013. According to preliminary estimates released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, Qatar’s total exports fell by 3% to

QR43.32 QR9.4

billion, while imports of merchandise amounted to billion, an increase of 17.8% compared with last year. The main import goods were motor cars, floating docks for drilling and production of oil and gas, and aircraft spare parts.

The beautifully-crafted, technologically-superior new Airbus A350 made an impressive takeoff, did a steep climb and then expertly manoeuvered a smooth landing on the tarmac of Qatar’s Hamad International Airport.

16 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

ACCIDENT AT RESTAURANT KILLS 11 A LPG tank explosion at Istanbul Turkish restaurant at Duhail has led to 11 deaths and at least 35 injuries.

he blast was felt over a 50-m radius, shattering windows and overturning cars. The Thursday morning peace was destroyed when a 1,000 litre-gas tank exploded at the Turkish restaurant in a petrol station near Landmark Mall, killing many of the employees and customers in the neighbouring restaurants, who were mostly Asian expats. The explosion resulted in a small fire at the roof of the restaurant; however firefighters, who were at the scene within eight minutes of the incident, were able to control the blaze. The injured

were immediately rushed to Hamad. HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani visited the site and oversaw the rescue efforts. He has also directed the authorities concerned to conduct a thorough, accurate and transparent investigation of the accident. This is the second incident at a petrol station in the past few months and authorities have directed eating establishments in petrol stations to immediately stop LPG use and make the switch to electric appliances within the next 10 days.

LAUNCH CUSTOMER QATAR AIRWAYS WELCOMES A350

atar Airways welcomed the spanking new Airbus A350 XWB in Doha before it proceeded to its next stop, the Singapore Airshow. Qatar Airways, which is the launch customer of the Airbus A350 XWB, will receive the first of the fuel-efficient, mid-sized wide-body airliners later this year and nine more in 2015, Group CEO Akbar Al Baker said, as he and Didier Evrard, Executive Vice-President, Airbus A350 XWB Programme, and Phil Harris, Senior Vice-President, Rolls Royce, addressed the media at a special event. “The first A350 XWB delivery will be at the end of this year. The test programme is going absolutely perfectly, without any glitches. Airbus has been very transparent with us on the subject of its test results,” said Al Baker. “Once Airbus ramps up production we will receive larger numbers of Airbus A350

a year. It will be more than one aircraft a month starting from 2016, after which we will receive more than two aircraft a month. In 2017, we will start receiving the stretched version A350-1000, for which we are also the launch customer,” Al Baker said. The A350 XWB is a family of mid-sized wide-body airliners designed to enhance fuel, operating cost and environmental efficiencies during medium- to long-haul airline operations. Featuring the very latest in aerodynamics, design and advanced technologies, these highly efficient aircraft provide better fuel efficiency by up to 25%. Qatar Airways has ordered some 80 aircraft to date, leaning towards the larger A350-900 and A350-1000 models, which better suit its business model and passenger requirements.

DOHA, BRASILIA BECOME SISTER CITIES

Marking Qatar-Brazil Year of Culture 2014, Doha and Brasilia have become sister cities and will enhance cooperation and share information, expertise and experience in several areas, it was announced.

A NEW SPORTING LANDMARK

A computer-generated handout image released by the Qatar Handball Federation shows the Al Sadd Sports Hall in Doha, one of the venues where the 2015 World Men’s Handball Championship will take place.

he Director of Doha Municipality, Mohamed Ahmed Al Sayed, and the Governor of the Federal District of Brazil, Agnelo dos Santos Queiroz Filho, signed the twinning agreement, which will bring Qatari and Brazilian professionals together to exchange knowledge and provide training in better construction, hygiene, education and waste recycling. The two cities have identified construction and permitting as key shared interests.

TOURISM STRATEGY 2030 ANNOUNCED The Qatar Tourism Authority has released its long-term strategy to boost tourism and attract more non-GCC leisure tourists.

ight after wrapping up the first day of the two-day Tourism in Tomorrow’s World conference, the QTA released the much-awaited Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030, which seeks to implement policies and procedures across various levels – from awareness to regulatory matters, and from investment to human capital – to increase the number of visitors to the country to about 6.7-7.4 million by 2030 (it currently stands at 1.2 million). The contribution of tourism to GDP will be raised from 0.8% currently to 5.1% in the next 16 years with the help of investments to the tune of QR145-165 billion ($40-45 billion).

AFP PHOTO/QATAR HANDBALL FEDERATION

Projected Tourist Arrivals in Qatar by Country of Origin 2012

2015

2020

2022

2025

2030

GCC Arrivals

70%

67%

58%

50%

~44%

36%

Non-GCC Arrivals

30%

33%

42%

50%

56%

64%

Euromonitor, World Bank, WTTC, Qatar Tourism Authority, Booz & Company analysis In 2012 70% of all visitors to Qatar were from the GCC and only 30% from the rest of the world. The new strategy will help reverse that ratio, drawing proportionately more visitors in 2030 from the rest of the world than from the GCC alone (64% vs 36%).

Projected Breakdown of Non-GCC Tourist Arrivals by Purpose of Travel 2012

2015

2020

2022

2025

2030

Business

73%

67%

54%

46%

42%

36%

Leisure

27%

33%

46%

54%

58%

64%

Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy Sector Economic Impact Model; Booz & Company analysis

In 2012 73% of all non-GCC tourists to Qatar visited the country for business purposes, while the other 27% chose Qatar for leisure. By 2030, 36% of all non-GCC tourists will visit Qatar for business purposes and 64% for leisure. The world average today stands at 83% leisure-oriented tourists versus 17% business-oriented tourists.

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 17

business > bank notes “We invested in our international strategy with the acquisition of ABank in Turkey, which we intend to develop into a market-leading Turkish bank. Following the acquisition, Commercial Bank and its associates in the UAE and Oman are now well positioned to capture the growing trade and investment flows between Turkey and the GCC.”

ABDULLAH BIN KHALIFA AL ATTIYAH Chairman, Commercial Bank of Qatar

FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR 2013 BANK

PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN NET PROFIT SINCE DECEMBER 2012

Doha Bank

0.6%

QR750 million

I3.7%

QNB Masraf Al Rayan QIB

QR1.3 billion

IO.5%

QIIB

I3.2% 7.6

NET PROFIT

QR9.5 billion QR1.7 billion QR1.34 billion

BANKING BRANDS OF THE GCC IN 2014 NAME OF THE BANK

BRAND VALUE

Qatar National Bank

QR6.55 billion

Al Rajhi Bank

QR6.26 billion

Emirates NBD

QR4.62 billion

First Gulf Bank

QR3.94 billion

National Bank of Abu Dhabi

QR3.09 billion

Kuwait Finance House

QR2.93 billion

National Bank of Kuwait

QR2.86 billion

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

QR2.54 billion

Samba Financial Group

QR2.55 billion

SABB

QR2.21 billion

Dubai Islamic Bank

QR1.73 billion

Doha Bank

QR1.15 billion

Bank Muscat

QR1.12 billion

Masraf Al Rayan

QR666 million

Ahli United Bank

QR644 million Source: Brand Finance survey

18 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

IBB GETS QR451.36 MILLION FROM MASRAF AL RAYAN

Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), the UK’s only Sharia-compliant retail lender, has received a QR451.36 million ($124 million) cash injection from its new Qatari owner, Masraf Al Rayan, to support the bank’s expansion plans.

he investment brings IBB’s capital to QR608.86 million ($167.27 million), after it was acquired in January by Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar’s largest Islamic bank by market value. This will allow IBB to grow its retail operations and develop its commercial business, targeting both British and Gulf-based firms, according to Sultan Choudhury, IBB’s interim managing director.

business > oil&gas “We have an open budget, there is no limit for good opportunities.” HE ABDULLAH BIN HAMAD AL ATTIYAH Chairman of Woqod, the fuel distribution company, when asked about a fixed budget for overseas investments.

ARGENTINA SEEKS QATARI SUPPORT

rgentina is seeking Qatar’s support to build a new LNG terminal to enhance the country’s capacity to receive gas from Qatar. Visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs Héctor Timerman held meetings with Qatari authorities including HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh Al Sada, the Minister of Energy and Industry, and discussed some important areas of mutual cooperation. “We have plans to build more LNG terminals in Argentina and for that we are having conversations with Qatargas and other organisations such as QIA [the Qatar Investment Authority] to foster gas imports from Qatar,” said Agustin Wydler, Under-Secretary for Investment Development and Trade Promotion at the Argentine foreign ministry.

HIGHLIGHT

A study by Qatar University’s Environmental Studies Center (ESC) revealed Jurassic rocks in Qatar that contain the most economic accumulations of oil. The accumulations amount to 98% of all Qatar’s oil production and lie deep underground at 13,000 to 17,000 feet, the study found, with the most important inshore fields in Dukhan and offshore in Idd El Shargi and Bul Hanine.v.

WOQOD’S PROFITS INCH HIGHER Woqod's net profit exceeded

QR1.2 5.75%

billion for the year 2013, an increase of

compared with the year 2012. Earnings per share (EPS) increased to

QR18.72 QR17.70

compared with

for the same period of 2012. Total assets reached

SHIP-TO-SHIP TRANSFER SUCCESSFUL

Qatargas-chartered LNG ships recently carried out the first ship-toship (STS) LNG transfer operation between two Q-Flex-type ships, following an incident involving one of the ships while transiting the Singapore straits.

he STS transfer, according to Qatargas, took seven days, and was done successfully without any reported injuries to personnel or impact on the environment. However, the incident caused minor damage to the vessel. The transfer of 211,000 cubic metres of liquefied natural gas (LNG) was conducted at anchor in open waters in Singapore utilising specialised equipment and a contractor with LNG ship-to-ship expertise.

QR9.7 20.45%

billion,

up by

from 2012.

Total equity recorded a growth rate of

15.47% QR6.3 to reach

billion

in 2013.

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 19

business > realty check

QATAR TO BUILD NEW SKYSCRAPER NEAR SHARD The Qatari government has entered into an agreement with a London property developer to build a new residential skyscraper in the vicinity of The Shard.

PROPERTY PRICES UP

Propertyfinder.qa, one of the leading property portals in Qatar, has reported a 5% overall rise in values of residential real estate between December 2013 and January 2014.

racking price rises across key neighbourhoods, the portal revealed that whilst properties stood at QR6.6 million in December last year, the figure rose, within a month, to QR6.9 million in January. Residences in The Pearl, one of Qatar’s most glamorous addresses, went from QR3.8 million in December to QR3.9 million in January whilst West Bay, another prominent district, saw prices move up to QR2.4 million from QR2.3 million during the same period.

he project will see Fielden House, an office block on London Bridge Street built in the 1970s, redeveloped into a complex with approximately 150 apartments. Qatar will develop the 27-storey tower alongside Sellar Property Group. It will be designed by Renzo Piano, the architect responsible for The Shard, and the residences will have a total of 160,000 sq.m. in space, along with retail facilities. The area in which the project is being developed is in close proximity to the City of London, the British capital’s financial district. Qatar has already snapped up a string of British assets in recent years including 80% of The Shard, Western Europe’s tallest building, luxury department store Harrods and the US embassy building. It is also funding the redevelopment of the long-delayed £3 billion (QR18.3 billion) Chelsea Barracks housing project.

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS Total volume of transactions at the end of Q4, 2013: Over

Total value of land transactions at the end of Q4, 2013: Over

1,500 6.3 QR

billion

Total value of land transactions at the end of Q3, 2013: Over

5.7

billion

REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS IN QATAR SUMMARY Total Value of Transactions Total Number of Transactions Average Value of Transactions

20 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

2012

2013

CHANGE %

43,487,615,101

46,816,147,060

7.7%

8,298

8,909

7.4%

5,240,735

5,254,927

0.3%

news bites > regional

22 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

DA N C I N G TO T H E T U N E S? Britain's Prince Charles, wearing traditional Saudi uniform, dances with a sword during the traditional Saudi dancing, best known as 'Arda', performed during Janadriya culture festival at Der'iya in Riyadh, on February 18. He arrived in Saudi Arabia on a private visit. TOPSHOTS/AFP PHOTO/POOL/FAYEZ NURELDINE

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 23

business > viewpoint

THE TICKING

CLOCK

How will Qatar meet its burgeoning construction materials demand to minimise future supply risks?

I Qatar will see a staggering

QR570

billion or more of construction projects completed

24 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

n the years leading from now until 2030, recent estimates say Qatar will see a staggering QR570 billion ($156 billion) or more of construction projects completed. Indeed, a November 2013 report by EC Harris suggests that for the years 20142019 alone, Qatar will see a 45% increase in its current level of construction sector activity. At the same time too, Qatar’s Gulf neighbours are also forging ahead with massive building programmes. The same report suggests Kuwait will see construction activity up 100% over the next five years, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE will see 20% more activity, and Oman 30% more. In many cases, much of this extra work is being done in similar sectors too, with transport infrastructure among the most popular, along with real estate. Put all this activity together, then, and the numbers signal an enormous jump in regional demand for specific kinds of construction materials. The question thus on many lips in Qatar now is, how well-placed the state to meet that demand–and what

needs to be done to minimise future supply risk? Port authorities Qatar’s domestic production of construction materials is relatively low, with the vast majority of the sector’s needs imported. In addition, these imports are currently from a limited number of sources. At a meeting in October 2013 of the Qatar Contractors’ Forum, it was indeed suggested that some 80% of the state’s primary construction materials were being imported from just two countries–Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In some areas, the sourcing has become even narrower. Bitumen, vital for road construction, has historically come from either Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, the Gulf’s two main producers. Nowadays, however, Saudi Arabia is using practically all of its bitumen for domestic road construction. This leaves Bahrain as effectively the sole provider in the region. Naturally, the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), which uses some of its heavy crude for bitumen production, periodically needs to schedule shutdowns

of its bitumen plants for maintenance or expansion. At the same time, Bahrain is also the principal bitumen source for many other Gulf countries. This all makes for some serious supply concerns for those now building Qatar’s new roads. In addition, when it comes to aggregates – the range of crushed stones and sands used to make concrete–Fujairah, in the UAE, currently supplies around 85% of all Qatar’s imports. Indeed, according to sources recently interviewed by Oxford Business Group, Qatar takes around 18 million tonnes of Fujairah’s total 22-million-tonne output of aggregates, with the rest going largely to Kuwait and Bahrain. This again represents a very narrow sourcing, a risk that may well be heightened in the years ahead, as Fujairah may start to supply more of its output to its fellow emirates, particularly to Dubai in the lead-up to the 2020 World Expo. At the same time, another supply risk is represented by transport bottlenecks. With such a dramatic and rapid increase in demand volume, and with supply so import-based, Qatar’s ports, airports and overland road networks are naturally coming under increasing pressure. This is already showing in prices, according to the Qatar Contractors’ Forum, where businesses claimed construction material costs had risen to a point where they were already 20-25% higher than in neighbouring countries. This then poses further concerns for inflation overall in a country in which the construction sector is a high growth driver. Building capacity In recognition of the potential stresses on the supply chain at the ports, the Qatari authorities created the Qatar Primary Materials Company (QPMC) back in 2006. This has been increasing capacity and efficiency while also building stockpiles to overcome bottlenecks. With aggregates and gabbro (a type of stone much used for paving and cladding), QPMC has thus overseen a major expansion in import capacity and efficiency, boosting Qatar’s ability to import these key materials from 9-10m tonnes in 2007 to 21 million tonnes today, QPMC told OBG. This capacity is set to rise still further in the third quarter of 2014, when a new jetty in Lusail becomes operational and adds an extra 3 million tonnes. By year-end 2014 too, floating jetties at Ras Laffan should add another 7 million tonnes of capacity, while a further 3 million tonnes will be added when

several berths are leased from Qatar Steel by QPMC. Thus, by 2015, the aggregate capacity should have risen to some 34 million tonnes. A further 10 million tonnes should then be added by first quarter of 2016, when the Gabbro Terminal Expansion Project, which in August 2013 saw its EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) awarded to FLSmidth and Six Construct, comes online. Thus, into 2016, total capacity for aggregates should be around 44 million tonnes. Meanwhile, there is now capacity to stockpile some 5 million tonnes of aggregates at Mesaieed, while cement silos are also on the way, capable of storing 70,000 tonnes each, due to be operational by the first quarter of 2015 and reserved for strategic emergencies. This is an impressive expansion, yet one question that continues to preoccupy project and supply managers is whether the boosted level will be enough. Part of the problem with the calculation is that few can be sure what actual demand will be at the precise moments when the new capacity comes online. The long pipeline of projects will likely produce demand at an uneven rate, and some projects may be cancelled, postponed or delayed while other new ones begin. The other question that remains too is the availability of other sources of supply, given that aggregate capacity is set to more than double. Fujairah’s total production capacity is only around 22 million tonnes, with even this availability subject to question as the UAE ramps up its own building programmes. Other sources are out there, of course, with the likelihood being that Qatar will have to look to other countries for its extra supplies–principally those relatively close by, to keep down shipping costs. What some contractors are saying, however, is that more coordination is also necessary, along with more regulation to enable government intervention should prices rocket as contractors bid against each other for scarce imported resources. One consequence of such a bidding war would be higher overall project costs, with the $156 billion now estimated for the next 15 years perhaps climbing even higher, itself adding inflationary pressure on the economy as a whole. There is still time for such a move to be made, analysts and sector players agree – but there are some ticking clocks to be heard these days on Qatar’s booming construction sites

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

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 25

business > viewpoint

Independent project monitoring plays a key role as part of comprehensive risk management.

26 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

PROJECT MONITORING A MUST FOR BANKS

et me start by sharing a recent event that I was party to. A large international bank with representation in the GCC had financed a Qatar-based construction project for a property development company, and was caught unawares when the bank’s officials decided to make an unannounced visit to the “completed project” site. The last finance disbursement had just been approved for the developer, and they were astonished to find an incomplete concrete structure at the project site and also no construction activity.

It transpired that the bank’s officials had only visited the construction site once, and that was at project commencement. The bank had relied on the monthly progress reporting from the developer’s project manager. The issue was that the project management consultant was in fact a sister company to the developer. These are the risks typically faced by banks when funding such projects, and risk processes should cater for stronger controls to validate the stage payments made for drawdowns of funding on capital projects. The way the banks validate stage payments

can be numerous. Either they can validate the physical completion through regular site inspections to corroborate the progress certificate received, or they can use third party consultants who are quantity surveyors and who can give the banks comfort around the physical completion and value of the stage of construction in relation to the progress certificate submitted for drawdowns. There have been several incomplete projects around the region since the downturn that banks have funded, resulting in the banks consequently having to assess the recovery of their loans against these incomplete projects, which form all or part of their collateral. It is not unusual for projects in the region or in Qatar either to be delayed or to have exceeded allocated budgets, or both. In fact this is often the case with a majority of projects and is typical of the construction sector in the GCC, as most owners and contractors will testify. Some of the delays and budget overruns are discovered by the project owner’s decision-makers when it’s too late to provide any meaningful mitigation assistance. In most instances, project owners would not necessarily be equipped with the relevant technical construction or project management background to proactively identify these issues themselves, either. This often translates into significant cost overruns, which potentially impacts the original feasibility of the project and could also result in several other risks that need to be understood and assessed as a project owner. Stakeholders and owners often instruct changes to ongoing construction projects, as designs are often not complete at the commencement of construction, and simply do not understand the impact these changes may have on the cost, timeline and quality of the project. The majority of projects are typically delayed because of incomplete designs at the start of the project. In some extreme instances, the construction costs and project duration have both doubled as a result of these unplanned and unbudgeted changes. Independent expert project monitoring from financially-focused, experienced and qualified professionals is, therefore, recommended to clients who have an interest in construction developments. This would be an integral part of the owner’s risk

management programme and should create an awareness of risk, programme clashes on projects, potential cost overruns and plans for how to proactively mitigate these issues that typically occur on projects in the region. This type of proactive risk management from owners will also assist owners in ensuring that their capital projects achieve the planned returns on their investments. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) defines project monitoring in its guidance notes as “protecting the client’s interest by identifying and advising on the risks associated with acquiring an interest in a development that is not directly under the client’s control”. When a project monitoring engagement is undertaken by a competent and well-qualified independent professional, the following task stages are usually undertaken:

BY MANFIELD MANDIGORA, Head of the Qatar Infrastructure and Capital Projects, Deloitte

1. Analysis of the project owner Every project owner has different requirements, strategies and risk appetites. This information is vital for client risk profiling. 2. Initial report This document should be a detailed actual status report of the project, focusing on cost, time and quality. This initial report should also flag owner’s risk and propose solutions for mitigating the flagged risks. 3. Periodic progress reporting Where risks identified are medium to high, periodic reviews should be undertaken more frequently than when the risks are considered low. Progress reports should focus more on risk items. 4. Close-out report This completion report should detail remaining risks and other outstanding issues that require finalisation and/or further monitoring by the owner. The effectiveness of project monitoring and the success of recommended risk management and mitigation solutions will not only depend on the experience, thoroughness and professionalism of the engaged professionals, but also on the willingness of the owner to make some very tough decisions on their projects

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Manfield Mandigora leads Deloitte’s Infrastructure & Capital Projects advisory practice in Qatar. A chartered quantity surveyor with 20 years’ experience within the built environment, delivering commercial, contractual, risk and project management services and project governance across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, he has managed crosscultural teams for construction/ real estate investment projects worth billions of dollars. He maintains extensive knowledge and experience in commercial, contract and project management. He is also ViceChairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ Qatar National Board. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 27

AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER KLEIN

development > listening post

28 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

THE FUTURE IS POWERED BY SOLAR ENERGY H E DR MOHAMMED BIN SALEH AL SADA, MINISTER OF ENERGY AND INDUSTRY, TALKS ABOUT THE AMBITIOUS RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS THAT THE COUNTRY IS FOCUSING ON, IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH QATAR TODAY.

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 29

development > listening post

ENERGY HIGHLIGHTS Qatar’s current electricity installed capacity is

8,760 6,000 8,700

megawatts (MW).

Peak demand reached

MW in 2013.

Electricity demand could reach

MW by 2020.

30 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

atar has drawn up an ambitious plan to install 1.8 GW of solar capacity by 2020. What measures are being taken to meet this target? Qatar’s announced plans to build up to 1.8 GW of solar power by 2020 are moving forward. They are part of a new thinking, not just in Qatar but throughout the entire region and across the globe, to seek alternative environment-friendly renewable energy sources. There are a number of institutions working on this front, exploring various avenues in that direction. Let me mention, as an example, the leading work being carried out by the Qatar National Food Security Programme (QNFSP), which places strong emphasis on solar power as part of its master plan to devise a holistic solution to food security. The QNFSP’s efforts to utilise renewable energy is motivated by the objectives of Qatar’s National Vision 2030, which aims to reduce our economic dependency on hydrocarbon resources, in addition to developing environmental sustainability as we create a knowledge-based economy. It places emphasis on harnessing the abundance of solar energy in our country as a potential renewable energy source to operate desalination plants. This will not just help boost desalination capacity, but will also help increase the capacity for farming. Recognising the need to produce about 40% of Qatar’s food locally in an efficient and sustainable fashion, the QNFSP addresses several critical challenges which relate largely to the scarcity of irrigation water and the need for cooling. It estimates that through improved efficiency, the agricultural sector in Qatar will require between 750 and 800 MW of energy from renewable sources to deliver irrigation water and other production requirements such as cooling. High-efficiency cooling boosts fresh food production in Qatar by allowing farmers to produce a much wider range of fruits and vegetables year-round (i.e. stretching the growing season by more than three months). Cooled facilities also reduce demand for water by nearly nine times; this further reduces the amount of energy required to produce food for the nation, as less desalination is required. It also increases the volume of food produced per plant due to reduced heat stress, and

dramatically reduces spoilage/waste. You have said that Qatar will launch pilot projects in the solar sector as part of a 200-MW solar programme. What progress has been made in this direction? Kahramaa, while providing water and electricity for the country, is also a leading initiator of solar energy projects. During the “COP18” UN Climate Change Conference in Doha in December 2012, Kahramaa announced a creative initiative to produce 200 MW from solar energy sources by the end of 2020. Kahramaa has been utilising unused spaces on its own premises as home to the pilot project. This is important for reducing the cost of the project by eliminating the cost of land. It illustrates how solar energy technologies that require vast areas could be implemented in a country with limited geographical area like Qatar. Pilot projects like the ones adopted by Kahramaa will also enable Qatar to determine the most suitable technologies with the highest levels of efficiency. A consultancy tender was floated for the strategies implementation, technical ranking and project locations, and an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) tender is expected to be awarded by end of the first quarter of 2014. What is the present installed capacity and what will be the demand for power by 2020? Qatar’s current installed capacity is 8,760 megawatts (MW). Peak demand reached 6,000 MW in 2013. Kahramaa expects electricity demand to reach 8,700 MW by the year 2020. This rise is driven by population and industrial growth as Qatar’s economy continues its dynamic expansion. To help meet the rising electricity demand, Kahramaa has targeted a 20% reduction in electricity usage by 2018 through rationalisation and public awareness programmes. Kahramaa’s “Tarsheed” campaign is credited with reducing electricity per capita consumption by 10.5% in the first half of 2013, compared with the same period in 2012. With more emphasis on environment-friendly policies and practices, there are increasing efforts to ensure that project delivery conforms to the highest energy and water efficiency standards. We also have better-insulated buildings and an increasing use of energy-efficient appliances.

And thanks to increased public awareness, per capita usage was down by 10.5% in the first half of 2013, compared with the same period in 2012. What is the investment required for installing 1.8 GW of solar energy, and how does the government plan to raise the funds for the project? Partnership with various stakeholders, like technology developers, is paramount to success. Besides Qatar’s growing importance as a hub for research and technology, and its ongoing transformation into a knowledge-based economy, it is only logical that many of the planned solar energy projects recommended by the food security plan are designed to encourage public-private partnerships and private investment. We believe investors can benefit from various existing and planned incentives, as well as from the fact that Qatar enjoys an excellent power infrastructure that can support a future solar energy infrastructure. What progress is being made on the QR4 billion ($1.1 billion) solar-grade polysilicon production plant at Ras Laffan Industrial City? The polysilicon manufacturing facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City is being built by Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec). This facility will produce 8,000 metric tonnes per year of high-quality, solar-grade polysilicon. QSTec is also constructing a 150MW per annum module fabrication facility, as well as installing a 1.6MW solar farm, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2014. In the future, this facility is planned to increase polysilicon and module production to meet the market’s requirements. It will also expand along the solar value chain to include ingots, wafers and cells, and provide a wide variety of solar applications and technology solutions. Kahramaa is currently building the substation for the project, which is in an advanced stage of implementation. The key production system equipment is being manufactured, while some has entered the testing phase. Tell us about the other programmes supporting this renewable source of energy. Progress is witnessed by several initiatives

that promote solar energy in Qatar. One important project is the Solar Resource Map Project sponsored by QNFSP and executed by the German Aerospace Centre DLR, which will assess the solar irradiance profiles and solar energy potential for Qatar. Another project is the Solar Test Facility located at the Qatar Science and Technology Park, which is sponsored jointly by Green Gulf and Chevron. This is a 35,000sq. m (7-acre) facility that undertakes photovoltaic and solar thermal systems testing in order to identify the most suitable solar technologies for Qatar. The Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, a subsidiary of Qatar Foundation, is focusing on a pilot water desalination plant powered by solar energy. We are also seeing various real estate development companies that are beginning to incorporate solar technologies into building design for power production, heating and cooling needs. While many of these initiatives are small-scale and distributed in nature, they are expected to be a major contributor in the energy mix of the future. As for the FIFA football World Cup finals, the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee is planning a green event by utilising various means and technologies including solar energy cooling technologies in sports stadiums. An important development to mention in this regard is the establishment of a New Energy Department within Qatar Petroleum, which constitutes an essential feature for government efforts to promote an overarching strategy for both renewable and nuclear energy. QP, with the intention of staged development in renewable energy, has initiated a feasibility study to install a 2-MW solar PV (photovoltaic) pilot project on its own premises. The activity at QP will facilitate gaining operational knowledge, better policy formulation, and setting up a business environment for renewable energy. This effort supports QP’s emerging leadership role in renewable energies, and sets a foundation for revenue diversification. The pilot project is expected to be commissioned in early 2015. The solar energy future in Qatar is in the process of steady development. The combination of efforts made in the solar sector will lead to a comprehensive strategy towards achieving national development goals specifically targeting economic diversification and energy mix objectives

SOLAR UPDATES  The polysilicon manufacturing facility being built by Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) will produce 8,000 metric tonnes per year of high-quality, solargrade polysilicon.  QSTec is also constructing a 150-MW per annum module fabrication facility, as well as installing a 1.6-MW solar farm, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2014.  The Solar Resource Map Project sponsored by QNFSP and executed by the German Aerospace Centre DLR will assess the solar irradiance profiles and solar energy potential for Qatar.  QP has initiated a feasibility study to install a 2-MW solar PV pilot project on its premises to be commissioned by 2015.

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 31

news bites > world view

32 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

N E XT STO P Dancers perform at the Closing Ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics at the Fisht Olympic Stadium on February 23. The 2018 Winter Olympic games are scheduled to take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea. AFP PHOTO/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 33

development > listening post

LIFE AS IT IS AT

CARNEGIE MELLON BY SINDHU NAIR

34 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

CMU-Q DEAN ILKER BAYBARS TALKS ABOUT THE CAMPUS THAT IS BRINGING ABOUT CHANGE THROUGH TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION AS IT FOLLOWS THE PATH OF CMU'S MAIN CAMPUS IN PITTSBURGH.

arnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q)'s Dean Ilker Baybars has spent more than four decades at his alma mater. Talking about the college and taking pride in its achievements is only natural for Baybars, given his long association with it. Reflecting on his 43 years as a student and later on as a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon, Baybars says quite simply: “I was very lucky to be here.” He arrived from Turkey to CMU in the 70s, and two decades later the internet age made its debut. “It was confusing times, hard to survive, different environment; nonetheless very exciting times,” he reflects. “I lived through the era of mainframe computers, then PC usage to laptops, and am now at the mobile internet era.” Baybars reveals that his first salary was a grand total of $2.40 when he began his oneyear faculty appointment at CMU in 1978 after earning a master’s degree and a PhD from the very same campus. That one year turned into a second, and then a third, and here he is a few decades later in Carnegie Mellon’s first branch campus, miles away from where he started, in Qatar, continuing to work for a university that has rewritten the future of some of the world's most life-changing technological innovations. He recounts an incident at a Christmas party in Pittsburgh when he was chatting with a Carnegie Mellon professor, who disclosed in casual conversation that he was the inventor of touch screen technology. And that describes Carnegie Mellon, according to Baybars: “Things happen here.” Even after all these years of mentoring students, Baybars says he still feels quite accomplished when he inadvertently meets

one of CMU-Q's Qatari alumni at a West Bay office and sits alongside them for a meeting. “That brings it home to me that we are here; we have made an impact; we have graduated these young men and women; they are working, and here they are alongside me in a business meeting, representing their company, and being rewarded for their hard work.” That, he feels, is quite an achievement, but more challenging still is being accepted in his current role in a country that, even with its economic and technological advancement, is considered to have a culture that is more reticent than open. In this scenario, being greeted with the traditional Qatari embrace and treated to the famed Qatari hospitality endorses beyond doubt that Baybars and the work of CMU-Q have been accepted and appreciated. Here and there And that transports Baybars to the start of CMU-Q’s journey in Qatar, “with just a handful of faculty members, a few staff members, some 45 students and no facility of our own; and now, 10 years later, we are in this beautiful campus of more than 40,000 sq.m., a faculty of more than 160 and 400 students. This place is live, real and vibrant with student activities.” This could well be shrugged off as mere numbers; the real success of the institution is when it has truly replicated its home campus principles in an entirely different surrounding and cultural ethos. Baybars explains: “Our contract with Qatar Foundation (QF) stipulates two important conditions. One, that the Qatar campus delivers all the prerequisites befitting a CMU campus – exactly the same curriculum,

similar quality programmes, that nothing be diluted; the second condition is that we admit only those students who would be admissible in the Pittsburgh campus.” So it was not just the quality of the course but also the quality of students undergoing the course that had to remain uncompromised. And that, in essence, Baybars believes, is the reason behind the success of such a programme, in comparison with many such models replicated around the world. Carnegie Mellon has no precedent for what it is doing in Education City. It has presence (offering programmes) or affiliations, and some joint ventures in other universities like in Portugal, China, Japan and Singapore, but not a branch campus as it has in Qatar. “Universally, almost all the programmes which have followed the concept of a branch campus in other countries are, in one form or the other, a diluted version,” says Baybars. “Qatar is the only country

“The Arab Spring has resulted in an exodus of intellectual minds. It is a shame. I get applications for jobs from deans of universities in Iraq, Libya and Syria. It takes time to grow deans.” QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 35

development > listening post

NEW PROGRAMMES ON THE ANVIL It’s early days, says Baybars, but new programmes are being contemplated, especially in areas relating to smart cities and cyber security. 36 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

which has pulled it off quite well. They have not compromised on anything, and that is truly unique.” That the country had the resources to pull it off is secondary, as the ambition of a knowledge-based economy was the driving force that catapulted the inception of these US-born, Qatar-bred campuses. Meeting all the standards stipulated by the QF was not an easy task. “We had to go behind people to aggressively market our institution, but that did not mean that

we compromised on any of the standards we were expected to deliver,” he says. The challenges were in finding faculty members who would move to the Middle East. “It is not just transferring our staff but about moving complete families, uprooting them. We tried to move younger couples, single members, with some ties to this part of the world, so that the change and move would not have a huge impact on them,” he adds. “Even with all these trials, we have been able to bring and keep worthy talent.” Then came the equally important task of getting the right students, or, in the initial years, just getting applicants. “Initially, when we started the school here with no presence, no name, the challenges were to get enough applicants. It takes time, especially being in the field of education, to get people to learn about the facilities, build our reputation, for word of mouth to spread to the community,” he says. “The applicants were less, as is expected in a small country like Qatar,” says Baybars. “But from those applicants, we chose the best and they had all the prerequisites that we looked for in our students in our Pittsburgh campus.” But then in some cases an impetus was needed, which Baybars explains thus: “There were some cases of students meeting most requirements but lacking in some criteria, and for them a

remedial programme to strengthen their background to survive in our system was created, like the Academic Bridge Programme, the Summer Programme etc. But I have to mention,” he clarifies, “that we have such programmes in the Pittsburgh campus too.” While Baybars has outlined how the campus here is similar to the one at Pittsburgh, we probe him on the differences between the two institutions. “Our actions here,” he says, “in terms of adding new programmes and increasing our student numbers, are mostly governed by QF. For example, we cannot decide that this year, instead of admitting 100 students we will take 150. That directive comes from QF. Each time we have added a new programme, such as the Information Systems programme in 2007 or the Biological Sciences programme in 2011, it has been at the invitation of QF. “It is also a matter of size, as the Pittsburgh campus is huge, with close to 12,000 students while Qatar has 400, and 65 faculty members to Pittsburgh’s 1,400. “Size also means that there is a variety in everything that we do there. The intellectual activities are numerous, with events, seminars and talks happening around the clock. While it does happen in CMU-Q too, the magnitude

is huge at Pittsburgh,” he says. To validate what he has just stated, Baybars says that there are five programmes in Qatar while the home campus has 70 departments in total. The torch-bearers Coming back to the dean’s favourite subject, his students, the torch-bearers of the institution, Baybars elucidates their success stories. The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship for Europe, the Middle East and Africa is given to 40 of the most deserving students from this huge geographical expanse. In 2012 two brilliant students (Sidra Alam and Hanan Alshikhabobakr) from CMU-Q won a scholarship and in 2010 and 2009 there was one winner each time. Sharing his pride by emphasising this achievement and comparing Qatar’s population with the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, he says: “From a population of 2 million we had two winners, while the rest of the winners were from a population of 98 million.” Reflecting on some other achievements by his students, Baybars shares the triumph of Amna Al Zeyara, a computer science student who won first place in the undergraduate research competition at the 2013 Grace Hop-

FAST FACTS

In 2004, QF invited Carnegie Mellon to join Education City. As Carnegie Mellon Qatar celebrates its 10th anniversary, the campus now has 400 students from 42 countries. The university offers five undergraduate degree programmes, in Biological Sciences, Business Administration, Computational Biology, Computer Science and Information Systems. Students in Qatar join more than 12,000 Carnegie Mellon students across the globe.

per Celebration of Women in Computing conference in Minneapolis, USA. We wondered if this win reflects the tech revolution the country is going through, but Baybars is quick to correct us and add that these achievements reflect not the tech revolution but the high standards of Carnegie Mellon, with the best programmes, globally, in computer technology. “We get credit for this. This is a good place to be,” he insists. Having spent a majority of his time exalting the Pittsburgh campus and the spirit of innovation that the students there emanate, he still feels there are some traits of the students on the Qatar campus that he wishes students in Pittsburgh would imbibe: “The respectful reserve that the students here reflect is quite poignant.” But he is quick to add that it is this spirit of casual confidence that makes the students at Carnegie Mellon go beyond the norm, explore, invent and think beyond boundaries (the Pittsburgh campus has produced 19 Nobel laureates and 11 Turing Award winners to date). He puts it this way: “The students in Qatar have a good genre, a mix of the best technology backed by a strong culture, and they are equally excited about their future.” QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 37

38 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

sukuk issuances are redefining the economic agenda of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, particularly the GCC countries. A relatively unknown term in world markets until two decades ago, sukuk (Islamic or Sharia-compliant bonds) are a house-hold name among the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial institutions, and are playing a dominant role in global economic development at present. v l srinivasan investigates

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 39

S WORLDWIDE SUKUK ISSUANCE 2000-2013 YEAR

CUMULATIVE TOTAL ISSUANCE ($ BILLION) SINCE 2000

2000

2001

2.5

3.5

2002

3.3

6.8

2003

5.3

2004

4.9

2005

11.1

2006

22.6

50.7

2007

87.7

2008

20.3

108

2009

33.8

141.8

2010

50.4

192.1

2011

79.2

271.3

2012

131.2

402.6

2013

114.2

516.8

ukuk are not only an established alternative source of funding in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and the Asian markets but are also evoking considerable interest in Europe, Africa and the CIS countries. The first ever ringgit sukuk issuance was by Malaysia for $33 million (QR120.12 million) in 1990, and the global sukuk market crossed the $136 billion (QR495.04 billion) mark in 2012. In fact the market has experienced a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27% in the past five years. However, the market witnessed a slump in 2013. In terms of statistics, the Islamic bonds issued globally amounted to $116 billion (QR422.24 billion) through 782 issues, a 15% drop compared with 2012, through 728 issues. The Malaysian sukuk market was particularly hit, indicating that the sell-off in emerging market currencies might have been driving the decline, whether or not that was driven by concerns about the US Federal Reserve’s decision-making regarding tapering asset purchases. What is interesting is that not only the Islamic nations in the Middle East but even countries like Japan, Australia, Ireland, France, the US, the UK, Luxembourg, China, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal and Kenya have become enamoured of the Sharia-compliant bonds and want to tap into Islamic markets. All these countries are looking to tap the sukuk market and are at various stages of laying down the legal and regulatory frameworks for Islamic finance.

“The Ooredoo sukuk issue was a significant milestone for the sukuk market given the innovative structure that was applied, and being the first US dollar sukuk issued globally using the airtime structure.” HANI IBRAHIM Head of Debt Capital Markets, QInvest

40 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

British Prime Minister David Cameron, addressing the World Islamic Economic Forum in London in October last year, said his government would make a sukuk issue in 2014 for £200 million (around QR1.2 billion), the first non-Muslim sovereign entity to do so. “When Islamic finance is growing 50% faster than traditional banking, and when global Islamic investments are set to grow to £1.3 trillion (QR7.64 trillion) by 2014, we want to make sure a big proportion of that new investment is made in Britain,” he said. In the East, Hong Kong has already passed an ordinance, in July 2013, to create a “level playing field” for sukuk, and in the US the Washington-based investment bank Taylor-DeJongh has established a sukuk practice in order to leverage the company’s energy and infrastructure expertise and to develop sukuk finance solutions. The bank is making an effort to offer Islamic financing in the form of a security for US railcar operator Continental Rail. “The financing of infrastructure through sukuk, an Islamic financing instrument that resembles asset-backed securities, is beginning to mature and could contribute to filling the investment gap that exists in infrastructure markets, particularly in the US,” Taylor-DeJongh says in a report entitled “Sukuk: Bridging the Gap”. QInvest’s Head of Debt Capital Markets Hani Ibrahim says the decline in sukuk issuances in 2013 was due to a slow third quarter, which saw a decline in US dollar issuance on the back of the emerging market fixed-income sell-off during the same period. However, the global sukuk market is expected to grow in 2014 as there are a number of new issuers looking at sukuk, especially following recent reports on the topic in the UK, Luxembourg and Hong Kong. “We would expect that even the Qatari market will continue to mature on the local currency side in the coming 12 to 24 months, given the continued issuance by QCB [Qatar Central Bank] and the initiatives from the Qatar Exchange to promote a domestic fixed-income market. On the US

GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF SUKUK MATURING IN 2014 ($ MILLION) dollar side, the active issuers are likely to be the Islamic banks, although this will depend on the bank liquidity position, which is currently very healthy,” Ibrahim says. Qatar accounted for a total of QR8.55 billion ($2.35 billion) of issuance between November 2013 and January 2014, with QR4 billion ($1.1 billion) coming from the Qatar Central Bank and QR4.55 billion ($1.25 billion) from the debut sukuk from Ooredoo. When looking at the medium-term US dollar sukuk market, the sukuk debut by Ooredoo was the only issuance from Qatar, which accounted for 7% of the global medium-term US dollar sukuk issued by value. “The Ooredoo sukuk was a significant milestone for the sukuk market given the innovative structure that was applied, and being the first US dollar sukuk issued globally using the airtime structure,” Ibrahim says. Growing sukuk players Sharing Ibrahim’s views, Franklin Templeton Investments’ Chief Investment Officer (Global Sukuk and MENA Fixed Income) Mohieddine Kronfol asserts that 2013 was a “very healthy year” in terms of new issuers, new structures and relative performance. The sukuk market saw the issuance of instruments that covered the entire capital structure, from senior paper with secured features (e.g. Dana Gas sukuk) to deeply subordinated instruments in both the financial (e.g. Bank Asya Tier 2 and ADIB Tier 1 sukuk) and non-financial (GEMS perpetual sukuk) corporate spaces in 2013. “It would be misleading to judge the health of the sukuk market by looking at only one metric. Issuance volumes were impacted by the Malaysian elections early in the year (2013) and subsequently by the effect of Fed tapering on primary markets everywhere, especially emerging markets that bore the brunt of investors’ fears of the unwinding of large capital flows. Compounded by Ramadan and a slow summer, the third quarter was very quiet for sukuk, but picked up robustly in September and carried through to the end of the year,” Kronfol says.

Explaining the global trends in this market, Barwa Bank CEO Steve Troop says that sukuk issues that were held back in 2013, due to volatility in the financial markets, should come through in 2014. US dollar issuers would also look to take advantage of low rates ahead of anticipated upward rate curve movement once current market unrest settles. “Investment-grade US dollar issuers from the GCC will take advantage of a 2014 issuance and the market will see some sub-investment-grade paper come to market,” he says. An indication among the latest trends that the global sukuk market is growing once again is that Malaysia-based International Islamic Liquidity Management (IILM) has already issued sukuk for $1.35 billion (QR4.91 billion) in January and another $490 million (QR1.78 billion) threemonth Islamic bond in the last week of February this year. Even Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) plans to sell $728.49 million (QR2.65 billion) worth of Islamic bonds around now to finance the relocation of Malaysia’s defence units from land marked for government development project Bandar Malaysia. According to a Zawya Islamic finance report, Malaysia sold $79 billion (QR287.56

BAHRAIN

1,516.88 BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

315.81 GAMBIA

6.27 INDONESIA

3,217.62 KUWAIT

44.22 MALAYSIA

26,789.29 SAUDI ARABIA

1,353.19 CHINA

91.38 PAKISTAN

1,819.35 QATAR

9,064.69 SUDAN

130 TURKEY

904.57 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

3,330.66 UK

10.21 US

“Over 2014, it is anticipated that sukuk issues held back in 2013 due to volatility in the financial markets should come through. USD issuers would also look to take advantage of low rates ahead of anticipated upward rate curve movement once current market unrest settles. Investment-grade USD issuers from the GCC will take advantage of a 2014 issuance, and the market will see some sub-investmentgrade paper come to market.”

600

STEVE TROOP CEO, Barwa Bank

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 41

Sovereigns make up the lion’s share Sovereign issuers continued to dominate the sukuk landscape with QR276.64 billion worth of Islamic bonds, followed by corporate and quasi-sovereign issuers with QR112.84 billion and QR29.12 billion respectively in 15 countries. In comparison with the results of 2012, sovereign and quasi-sovereign issues declined by 18% and 60% respectively, while corporate issues increased by 34%. Governmental institutions remained the dominant sector in 2013, making up QR258.44 billion (61% of the total), followed by financial services at QR61.88 billion (11%) and power and utilities at QR32.76 billion (8%). The transport sector came fourth with QR21.84 billion, a downward move as it relinquished its 2012 third place ranking with QR54.6 billion. Around 85% or 753 sukuk issues were sold domestically, raking in QR356.72 billion, while the remaining QR65.52 billion were sold internationally through 29 deals.

billion) in 2013 compared with $100 billion (QR364 billion) in 2012. Nevertheless, Malaysia represents the largest issuance – 68% of the total amount of sukuk issued in 2013. In the GCC, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar accounted for 95% of the total sukuk issuances in the region. Qatar took sixth place with $2 billion (QR7.28 billion) worth of issues in 2013, dropping a couple of notches from its fourth place in 2012 with $5 billion (QR18.2 billion) issuance. Steve Troop says project Sukuk have not been active in the region due to the current regional investor appetite in terms of shorter tenors, and he doesn’t foresee any material shift from that in 2014.

“Qatar will remain active in the domestic market to support increasing liquidity of Qatar’s Islamic banks, which themselves might issue sukuk. Other corporates might also opportunistically tap the sukuk market for funding or refinancing needs following the example of Ooredoo’s debut sukuk in December 2013, a very welcome development for investors.” MOHIEDDINE KRONFOL Chief Investment Officer (Global Sukuk, MENA Fixed Income), Franklin Templeton Investments

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However, it is an area that needs to be developed as the region, and particularly Qatar, pipelines material project and infrastructure spend. “It would be very interesting to see a government body support this type of project Sukuk issuance in the region on a regular basis in order to stimulate market activity and ultimately a supporting liquidity pool,” Troop adds. The future is optimistic KPMG’s Partner (Audit and Advisory Services) in Bahrain Mahesh Balasubramanian is optimistic that although there was a decrease last year, sukuk issuances are in the pipeline in 2014. “The primary reasons for the drop were not attractive pricing but borrowers worrying about the quantitative easing (QE) effect of the US Federal Reserve,” he says. Balasubramanian expects Qatar to have more sukuk issues to support the largescale infrastructure projects for the FIFA World Cup in 2022. These activities and sovereign spending are expected to drive the need for sukuk issues. “In the recent past, we have seen sukuk issued by Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), shortterm treasury sukuk by QCB, and Ooredoo Tamweel. This is expected to grow with the demand for funding, and large corporates are also expected to participate in this trend,” says Balasubramanian. There is a lurking fear that some of the sukuk issuances maturing this year may impact the economies of the countries in the region. However, this would provide some refinancing opportunities that could lead to more sukuk issues. On the other hand, if no financing is required, then investors will most probably look for reinvestment opportunities, increasing the liquidity in the market. “As per IMF estimation, about $64 billion (QR232.96 billion) of debt held by Dubai and government-related entities (GREs) will be due between 2014 and 2016. This is a result of the restructuring carried out during the financial crisis in 2008-09. Some of these sukuk requiring restructuring, and the additional funding requirements to support large-scale infrastructure development projects, may have an impact on the economies as well as be a driving force for the development activities,” Balasubramanian says. A different perspective Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Gateway Community Leader Blake Goud says there will be significantly larger sukuk

issuance by Qatar in 2014, which will be beneficial for corporate issuers to use as a benchmark for new issues, but that does not necessarily mean that increased volume will come in 2014 because sukuk might be more expensive than conventional bond issuance due to secondary market illiquidity and additional costs. Even Kronfol expects Qatar, which is behind the UAE in terms of the size and diversity of its sukuk market, to remain active in the domestic market (as the government has announced that it will not tap the global debt market in 2014) to support increasing liquidity at Qatar’s Islamic banks, who themselves might issue sukuks. “Other corporates might also opportunistically tap the sukuk market for funding or refinancing needs,” Kronfol says. With regard to the prospects of sukuk in the GCC region, Kronfol feels the conditions supporting the market remain largely unaltered and constructive this year. “The region should continue to benefit from increasing market liquidity in the region and the probability that benchmark interest rates will remain low for some time to come, even as quantitative easing in the US fades. The GCC continues to benefit from strong government finances, abundant currency reserves and low correlation of GCC sukuk to assets in other regions, and continued economic growth,” Kronfol adds. GCC focus What makes sukuk occupy centre stage in the GCC region is the financing requirement for various ongoing infrastructure projects in countries like Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Quoting an OECD report, the Malaysia International Islamic Finance Centre says a whopping $71 trillion (QR258.44 trillion) will be needed for the infrastructure projects to be executed around the world by 2030, and it is estimated that the demand for sukuk will exceed $600 billion (QR2.18 trillion) by 2015, compared with a supply of only $500 billion (QR1.82 trillion) at present. The market is witnessing a unique trend today where there is a growing demand for sukuk issuances while the supply is low. It is here that sukuk will play a key role in bridging the $100 billion (QR364 billion) gap with many countries trying to take advantage of the situation. These investments are required for investments in road, rail, telecommunication, electricity and water infrastructure, without taking into account seaports, airports

Qatar’s credit growth to accelerate Despite some headwinds, long-term prospects for the sukuk industry remain promising, as regulators continue to build and strengthen their frameworks to minimise barriers in the market and deepen liquidity, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services says. In a report entitled “After A Mixed 2013, The Global Sukuk Market Looks Promising In 2014”, published last month, the rating agency says that despite a slowdown in credit growth in Qatar, largely due to administrative delays in certain projects in 2013, it expects credit growth to accelerate in 2014. “The Qatari Islamic banks continue to maintain strong credit growth, and we anticipate that they will become more active issuers of sukuk over the next few years,” the report says. The report also says that Malaysia has already benefited from a broad sukuk investor base and liquid debt market. So the increased interest from issuers, notably in the Middle East and Asia, in tapping the Malaysian ringgit and US dollar markets should continue over the next few years as Malaysia cements its leading position in the industry. “After a slowdown in 2013, with sukuk volumes declining by 13%, we anticipate that the sukuk industry will expand again in 2014, partly driven by corporate and infrastructure issuers in the Gulf,” says Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Samira Mensah, one of the authors of the report. “What’s more, total issuance will exceed $100 billion (QR364 billion) for the third year in a row if yields remain attractive for issuers. And, after weakening in 2013, we believe issuance could pick up again in Malaysia in 2014 as its investment programme resumes,” she adds.

and social infrastructure. The amount represents approximately 2.5% of global GDP to 2030. The GCC, which is one of the key markets for sukuk issuances, is expected to witness substantial infrastructure investments during the decade 2010-2020, with market estimates ranging from $535 billion (QR1.94 trillion) to about $2 trillion (QR7.28 trillion).

“The GCC market in particular will play a greater role. With a huge number of infrastructure projects planned, the potential for sukuk funding can be expected to be significant. The infrastructure financing gap is estimated to be over $1.5 trillion (QR5.46 trillion) until 2022.” MAHESH BALASUBRAMANIAN Partner, Audit and Advisory Services, KPMG

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 43

BREAKDOWN OF TOTAL SUKUK ISSUANCE BY SOVEREIGNRELATED AND NON-SOVEREIGN ISSUERS 2008-2013 AS OF JANUARY 27, 2014 ($ BILLION) SOVEREIGN AND QUASI-SOVEREIGN

NONSOVEREIGN

2008

10.6

9.7

2009

28.6

5.2

2010

39.8

10.6

2011

67.5

11.7

2012

110.1

23.1

2013

31.2

Saudi Arabia is expected to invest $80 billion (QR291.2 billion); Qatar has rolled out plans to spend $250 billion (QR910 billion); Dubai, which will be hosting the prestigious World Expo in 2020, will spend $8.1 billion (QR29.48 billion); Abu Dhabi has committed a capital expenditure of $90 billion (QR327.6 billion) till 2017; and Oman will invest over $50 billion (QR182 billion) to develop the transport, oil and gas and manufacturing and industrial sectors. So the GCC certainly seems primed for more sukuk issuance if for no other reason than that the sukuk markets are characterised by a significant excess in demand over supply. The gap between supply and demand in sukuk issuance is estimated at $229 billion (QR833.56 billion) for 2014, up from $210 billion (QR764.4 billion) in 2013, according to the Thomson Reuters Zawya Sukuk Perceptions and Forecast Study 2014. QInvest’s Ibrahim says: “Given the infrastructure plans in countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, it is expected that the GREs, banks and corporates of these countries will issue sukuk in the near future. Sukuk is also a natural choice for many issuers in the GCC as it takes advantage of the abundant Islamic liquidity in the market. The gap between demand and supply of sukuk is expected to remain in the short term, and GCC issuers are well positioned to capitalise on this dynamic.” Balasubramanian too foresees a greater role being played by the GCC in the development of the sukuk market in view of the implementation of various infrastructure projects in the region. “With so many infrastructure projects

“The relative GDP of the GCC countries is much larger compared with Malaysia. Considering just the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia (the three largest GCC sukuk issuers), there is $1.11 trillion (QR4.04 trillion) in GDP as of 2011 while that of Malaysia is $287 billion (QR1.04 trillion). So the potential in the GCC is much larger, but it still needs to see greater development in debt markets away from bank debt towards capital market instruments like sukuk to realise the potential.” BLAKE GOUD Community Leader, Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Gateway

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under way, the potential for sukuk funding can be expected to be significant. The infrastructure financing gap is estimated to be over $1.5 trillion (QR5.46 trillion) until 2022. The successful placement of a number of sukuk structured for such projects in the past is a good indicator for the marketability of the instruments, the investor appetite, the confidence in sukuk and their ability to successfully raise funds from a wider investor base. “Based on current growth forecasts and increasing liquidity in Islamic retail banks, Islamic financial institutions will require at least $400 billion (QR1.45 trillion) of short-term, liquid securities for liquidity and capital management by 2015. There are various estimations and indications that the global sukuk demand could be in excess of $600 billion (QR2.18 trillion) by 2015,” Balasubramanian adds. With more infrastructure projects being undertaken in Qatar and other countries in the GCC region, more project-financing sukuk are likely to be issued in the next couple of years. “Like the Ruwais Power Company project bond or Emirates' Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates last year, we can see large issuances of project-financing sukuk in 2014. However, this will depend on primary market conditions and banks’ appetite for such financing and the relative cost of each for funding a given project,” Kronfol points out. Toppling Malaysia from top position? Does all this mean Malaysia will be replaced by the GCC as leader of the global sukuk market? Moody’s Investors Service’s Senior Credit Officer Khalid Howladar disagrees: “Malaysia’s domestic sukuk market will remain the largest for the near future, but it is unlikely that one will see a single sukuk capital emerge, given the fragmentation of investors and issuers across many different markets and time zones. "GCC states are increasingly comfortable with sukuk issuance, and their funding needs are increasing in step with economic development plans. The prospects for the sukuk market are very strong. However, there is still a lot of complexity and opacity around the sector, so more education and awareness is needed to ensure that the ideals and benefits of Islamic finance are preserved and delivered,” Howladar says. Blake Goud too says there will not be an immediate shift of global sukuk market leadership from Malaysia to the GCC

because the former market is significantly more liquid than the latter. This liquidity is representative of the greater development in that market. “However, the GDP of the GCC countries is much larger compared with Malaysia. Considering just the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia (the three largest GCC sukuk issuers), there is $1.11 trillion (QR4.04 trillion) in GDP as of 2011 while that of Malaysia is $287 billion (QR1.04 trillion). So the potential in the GCC is much larger, but it still needs to see greater development in debt markets away from bank debt towards capital market instruments like sukuk to realise the potential,” Goud adds. According to Balasubramanian, Asia will continue to dominate sukuk issuance in the short term due to its deep local-currency, fixed-income market, with Malaysia and Indonesia being the driving forces in the region. “We are also likely to see the GCC and Middle Eastern share in the sukuk market get bigger, with heavy future funding for a series of infrastructure projects planned, coupled with greater participation from corporates in the sukuk market,” he says. With changes in market conditions in Europe due to the ongoing financial crisis and regulations (Basel III requirements), coupled with abundant liquidity in the sukuk market, European entities may also take advantage of the current favourable pricing prevailing in the sukuk market, Balasubramanian adds. Tapering impact Will the ongoing quantitative easing policy of the US affect the world sukuk market in 2014? Though the idea of tapering was floated in May 2013, sending bond yields up around the world and making it less attractive to issue debt, GCC banks have largely escaped the global liquidity crunch, as the region has only limited dependency on foreign capital for its funding. “Also, the region had high credit spreads due to sovereign ratings (the UAE, Bahrain etc.) until previous years, leading to sukuk issues with attractive pricing and substantial participation from regional investors (GCC and Asia),” Balasubramanian points out. Howladar feels that tapering would leave an impact, as fund flows would come down or reverse from emerging markets, which, in turn, would reduce the demand for sukuk. “However, the prospects for the sukuk market are very strong, given that many of the world’s fastest-growing

Key Growth Factors

Large pools of Muslim wealth and abundant liquidity

Strong demand (still exceeds supply)

Thriving Islamic funds industry

Alternative source of funding

Divergence from risky equity

Safe haven, asset-backed/based

Huge financing and refinancing requirements

Drying up of syndicated loans market

Adoption of Islamic finance by post-Arab Spring regimes Islamic banks less connected to Europe's problems Islamic banks relatively more liquid

economies are Islamic. But there is still a lot of complexity and opacity around the sector, so more education and awareness is needed to ensure that the ideals and benefits of Islamic finance are delivered,” Howladar says. Blake Goud adds: “Any changes to the Federal Reserve policy are likely to affect world financial markets, and sukuk would be no exception. A dramatic shift in the Fed’s policy, particularly how it is transmitted through the GCC countries that peg their currency with the US dollar, could affect sukuk markets. The other factor is that the large supply-demand imbalance could cushion some of the impacts of a Fed policy move, but it will not insulate sukuk from global and regional financial market conditions.”

“Malaysia’s domestic sukuk market will remain the largest for the near future, but it is unlikely that we will see a single sukuk capital emerge, given the fragmentation of investors and issuers across many different markets and time zones.” KHALID HOWLADAR Senior Credit Officer, Moody’s Investors Service

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 45

business > bottom line

THE ANNUAL BONUS

REWARDING YOUR PERFORMANCE?

How can you make sure that the annual bonus is seen as a incentive to exceed expectations rather than taken for granted?

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

ABOUT AON HEWITT Aon Hewitt is a global leader in human resource solutions. For more information, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.

46 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

raditionally, this is the time of year when pay reviews are conducted and bonuses awarded. The so-called annual performance bonus is fairly common practice among the private sector across most employee groups. It varies in amount and prevalence, but on average 70% of employees in Qatar would receive a performance-related bonus equivalent to between 10 and 50% of their annual salary, depending on the seniority of the job. Usually managing directors/CEOs would take home the highest awards, and the further down the organisation’s hierarchy, the smaller the value of the bonus. The logic behind this is that the individual performance of a CEO generally influences the overall company performance much more than the performance of a more junior individual. Hence the pay of the CEO is more “at risk”. Of course the CEO also stands to gain more than the average employee. That’s the intention of the annual performance bonus. It should reward those employees who perform best and differentiate those who do more than others in their job. It’s a simple enough concept but in reality is often quite a challenge for organisations to implement, particularly in this region, where we very often think of the performance bonus as a sort of 13th-month payment, since it’s not a large proportion of total pay and is usually awarded alongside the annual salary increase. However, more and more organisations want to break out of that entitlement culture and adopt true pay-for-performance practices. In order for the practice of performance bonuses to work:  the practice of setting targets for individuals must be in place;  the targets agreed on must be measurable;  the bonus amounts need to be meaningful enough to provide sufficient incentive for employees to stretch themselves;  managers must be trained in the methodology so that performance is assessed the same way throughout the organisation; and, obviously,

 an organisation must be reasonably successful in order to afford to pay the annual bonus. Let’s assume your organisation has had a good year and all the targets have been met. So how will the size of your bonus be determined? Usually, the bonus is calculated as a proportion of your basic salary. In most cases it varies from 10% to 50% depending on the job. Were you to meet your targets you might get 15% of your basic salary as a one-off payment. Typically, you should have a fairly good idea what that number will be in advance. But do you also know the maximum your bonus could be? Should you far exceed your targets, how much further could your bonus grow? Is it even worthwhile for you to “go that extra mile” if the extra reward is just a couple of riyals more than what you would receive if you simply “met expectations” rather than exceeded them? Within very aggressive organisations the maximum bonus can be as high as twice the target amount, but it varies from organisation to organisation and also depends on the sector. The financial industry, for example, is well known for having a more common and more mature performance bonus culture than other industries. Furthermore, many organisations will apply a “calibration process”. When the finance department accrues for bonus payments, organisations typically assume that everybody will receive a “met targets” and as such will receive the target amounts. But of course there will be top performers and there will be employees who didn’t achieve their targets. Hence many organisations will follow a bell curve when it comes to making performance ratings, ensuring that 75-80% of the workforce achieves a ranking of having met targets with the rest falling either below or above. Regardless of what the actual numbers are, it is important that you understand how your organisation’s bonus system works and what you have to do in order to get what. Ask yourself if you know what’s expected of you to get a bigger bonus next year

business > bottom line

N O I T A V O INN IN THE E C A L P K R WO Innovation can be defined as “the application of new ideas in order to create better products, services or processes.” How innovative are your employees, and how can you get the ball rolling?

48 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

arlier this year, Bayt.com conducted a poll to measure the extent to which organisations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are perceived to be innovative. The Bayt.com “Innovation in the MENA Workplace” poll (January 2014) uncovered some very interesting insights about the level of innovation in the region. For example, 83% of respondents claimed that their organisations have long-term innovation strategies, while 85% stated that they enjoy enough slack time at work to explore new ideas. In light of the above, organisations need innovation on all fronts, not just in new products, services or technologies. Unfortunately, many managers don’t innovate because they don’t think it’s their job to do so. We say that innovation is everyone’s job. Great organisations don’t depend on a small number of exclusive people to come up with innovations. Instead, they create a culture in which every employee is encouraged and empowered to innovate. A thriving innovation culture leads not only to new customer offerings but also to better margins, stickier customer relationships, and stronger partnerships with other

firms. In fact, 62% of those who took part in the Bayt.com poll said that innovation has led to improved financial performance for their company, while 64% agreed that their organisation is more innovative compared with the competition. When it comes to promoting a culture of innovation at your workplace, it might be worthwhile to have a look at these 10 ways suggested by the experts at Bayt.com.

GIVE EMPLOYEES A REASON TO CARE The fact is, if people aren’t feeling connected to your company, there’s little incentive for them to be innovative. Make sure your employees are in the loop on your firm’s strategies and challenges, and invite their input. Employees who are involved early on in processes and plans will be motivated to see them through to completion.

STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF INNOVATION Ensure all your employees know that you want to hear their ideas. Unless they understand how innovating your business processes can keep your firm competitive, your efforts at encouraging creative

job roles. Encourage people to look at how other businesses do things, even those in other sectors, and consider how they can be adapted or improved. According to the Bayt.com “Innovation in the MENA Workplace” poll, 69% stated that their companies keep up to date with other organisations in their field and adopt best practices.

CHALLENGE THE WAY STAFF WORK Encourage employees to keep looking anew at the way they approach their work. Ask people whether they have considered alternative ways of working and what might be achieved by doing things differently. Some 78% of respondents in the Bayt.com “Innovation in the MENA Workplace” poll said that new ideas are encouraged and tried out.

BE SUPPORTIVE Respond enthusiastically to all ideas and never make someone offering an idea feel foolish. Give even the most apparently eccentric of ideas a chance to be aired.

TOLERATE MISTAKES thinking risk falling flat.

SCHEDULE TIME FOR BRAINSTORMING Allocate time for new ideas to emerge. For example, set aside time for brainstorming, hold regular group workshops and arrange team days out. A team involved in a brainstorming session is likely to be more effective than the sum of its parts. You can also place suggestion boxes around the workplace, ask for solutions to solve particular problems, and always keep your door open to new ideas.

TRAIN STAFF IN INNOVATION TECHNIQUES Your staff may be able to bounce an idea around, but be unfamiliar with the skills involved in creative problem-solving. You may find training sessions in formal techniques such as lateral thinking and mind-mapping extremely worthwhile.

ENCOURAGE CHANGE Broadening people’s experience can be a great way to spark ideas. Short-term job swaps can introduce a fresh perspective to

A certain amount of risk-taking is inevitable with innovation. Allow people to learn from their mistakes. Never put off the creative flow by penalising those whose ideas don’t work out.

REWARD CREATIVITY Be among the 44% of companies in MENA that reward their employees’ creativity. Motivate individuals or teams who come up with winning ideas by actively recognising innovation, for example through an awards scheme. You could even demonstrate your recognition that not all ideas work out by rewarding those who just have a rich flow of suggestions, regardless of whether or not they are put into action at work.

ACT ON IDEAS Remember, innovation is only worthwhile if it results in action. Provide the time and resources to develop and implement those ideas worth acting upon. Failure to do so not only means your firm will fail to benefit from innovation, but the flow of ideas may well dry up if employees feel the process is pointless

BAYT.COM Bayt.com is the #1 job site in the Middle East, with more than 40,000 employers and over 15,100,000 registered job seekers from across the Middle East, North Africa and the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 49

affairs > local

CONSERVATION SHOULD START WITH INDIVIDUALS

50 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

QATAR IS TAKING PRUDENT STEPS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ENERGY, BUT HAS MILES TO GO AND MANY PREJUDICES TO CHANGE BEFORE ACHIEVING THE DESIRED GOAL. BY V L SRINIVASAN

elieve it or not, the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, whose combined population is one twentieth of that of Africa, consume more primary energy than the whole of the African continent. Does this mean that energy management systems in these countries are not in place? Although many of the Gulf countries are supposedly in a race against time to produce and use the most prudent renewable energy, it seems efficiency in using the resources available has been given the cold shoulder. The growing consumption in the region, if not managed, threatens to sap the competitiveness and economic growth of these economies. Even a moderate adoption of measures used elsewhere in the world to increase energy efficiency could significantly reduce investment needs for energy infrastructure, slow the pace of energy consumption growth, free up oil for export and help mitigate pollution and the region’s carbon footprint. The UAE launched its National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Programme in 2011 to promote efficient utilisation of energy in the residential sector. Nevertheless, the adoption of energy-efficient measures in the MENA region overall is quite limited, a result of both structural and specifically Middle Eastern barriers (see box on next page).

In Qatar, most consumers lack any knowledge of energy conservation and seem to care even less about the benefits of energy management. A fully-lit office space in the West Bay area well after working hours, a palatial residence resplendent with focus lights shining from all around its compound gate are common sights in Qatar. A few prudent steps in the management of the resources will go a long way in the conservation of energy. Concerned over the waste of electricity and water by consumers, the Central Municipal Council (CMC), meeting on January 21, suggested that Kahramaa (Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation) inspectors should be vested with judicial powers to enter residential units to stop the practice of wasting water and electricity. The CMC even wanted Kahramaa to raise this issue and refer it to the government for necessary action. Lack of awareness It is sentiments such as these that experts in the region point to when talking about the factors hindering conservation. “What is coming in the way of speedier and successful implementation of the energy efficiency measures in the region is lack of awareness among the consumers, lack of incentives to the end users and low priority by various governments accorded to initiate such measures,” says Marc Hormann, a partner in the energy practice of

“Reducing energy consumption rates will produce many benefits to Qatar: it will decrease the consumption of Qatar’s natural resources, lower CO2 emissions, reduce the environmental impact of desalination plants, and cut the impact of the increasing loads on power grids.” ENG. MESHAL AL SHAMARI Director, Qatar Green Building Council

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 51

development > tag this BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY POLICIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST STRUCTURAL BARRIERS

MIDDLE EAST-SPECIFIC BARRIERS

Dispersed benefits: Since each electrical device consumes a small fraction of the total electricity bill, consumers do not perceive much benefit from using energy-efficient devices

Lack of consumer awareness: Most consumers are unaware of how to conserve energy. (e.g. unplugging appliances when not in use)

Difficulty of quantifying benefits: It can be difficult to quantify the actual savings from energy efficiency measures, which can deter consumers and investors.

IMPLEMENTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY POLICIES

Agency barriers: Potential benefits are split among various parties (regulators, utilities, landlords, consumers etc.) reducing the incentives for each party individually.

“What is coming in the way of speedier and successful implementation of the energy efficiency measures in most of the countries in the region is lack of awareness among the consumers, lack of incentives to the end users and low priority by various governments accorded to initiate such measures.” MARC HORMANN Partner, Energy Practice Group, Oliver Wyman

52 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

consultancy firm Oliver Wyman. Hormann says these nations need to play a leading role in setting the national energy efficiency agenda, such as developing a national energy efficiency strategy that specifies measurable efficiency goals; developing the institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks that provide for incentives, enforcement and compliance monitoring; and setting up a body with adequate means and authority to monitor the achieved results and adjust the national strategy accordingly. They should also look at encouraging private investment in energy efficiency, through collaboration with the private financial sector to establish public-private tools to facilitate energy efficiency financing. This can be done, for example, by providing subsidies, soft loans and other financial incentives to key energy efficiency players, such as equipment producers, to promote the development of energy efficiency-compliant equipment, says Hormann. “In addition, Middle Eastern governments will need to review their existing energy subsidy regimes and determine how and to what degree these could be replaced with incentives that promote greater energy efficiency,” he adds. Journey, not destination Describing energy efficiency management as a “journey” and not a “destination”, Schneider Electric's Country President for Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, Ghassan Barghout, says that Qatar has certain plans and programmes under implementation that

Lack of incentives: Current energy subsidies provide little incentive to adopt energy efficiency measures. Low mind-share: Energy efficiency has not been high on the agenda for most Middle Eastern countries. Geopolitical structure of the region: Middle Eastern countries are diverse in their energy usage patterns, making it difficult to coordinate a regional energy efficiency stratergy.

will drive energy conservation. “However, I think more has to be done at the individual level,” he says. There is a clear need for laws and regulations. “There are strategies and policies of different organisations working in the direction of the Qatar National Vision 2030, and there is a need to put the required laws and regulations as part of this mission. We are working with Kahramaa and also with other stakeholders to the success of these policies,” Barghouth says. Recalling energy efficiency management in other GCC states, he says the Kuwaiti authorities have taken up a programme to reduce transmission and distribution losses and are achieving the desired results. Likewise, the Abu Dhabi government has conducted an audit of a block comprising 70 buildings including residences, offices and commercial establishments like shopping malls to know the pattern of energy consumption. “We have made certain recommendations to reduce energy consumption by 30%,” Barghout adds. Energy efficiency vital Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) Director Eng. Meshal Al Shamari says Qatar has one of the highest per capita energy consumption rates in the world and relies almost entirely on oil and gas to produce its energy needs. This factor makes energy efficiency one of the most important challenges the country faces. “Reducing energy consumption rates will produce many benefits to Qatar: it will decrease the consumption of Qatar’s natural resources, lower CO2 emissions, reduce

the environmental impact of desalination plants, and cut the impact of the increasing loads on power grids,” he says. Perhaps the most important measure needed to ensure a continued reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Qatar is to foster an environment of education. “QGBC aims to increase awareness and knowledge of green building practices to encourage the local community to realise the benefits of environment-friendly living,” Al Shamari says. “We demonstrate that applying sustainably-built standards not only helps in reducing energy and utility consumption, but also costs, improves quality of life, and [can be] more profitable in the longer term. QGBC also understands the need to partner with effective and sophisticated environmental institutions that build and strengthen public awareness about environmental protection, and encourage the use of environmentally sound technologies,” he says. Kahramaa’s strategies A peep at Kahramaa's approach to energy efficiency management, aimed at maximising the output from each unit of energy consumed, throws up some interesting facts. “Our main strategy for energy efficiency management is through sustainable, renewable energy and water resources, stable electricity and water supply at least costs and excellent quality, and commitment to low carbon emissions to maintain a sustainable environment,” says Ali Mohammed Al Ali, Director of Conservation and Energy Efficiency at Kahramaa. Since energy efficiency and conservation are key components of sustainability without compromising the needs of future generations, Kahramaa is concentrating on educating people and stressing the quality of life for Qatar’s posterity. This will result not only in cutting costs in the billions for natural gas fuel for power generation; it will ensure better living for generations to come. Energy-efficient appliances Using energy-efficient appliances to save power is also gaining currency, as the Energy Ministry has entered into cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and issued guidelines in September 2013 stating that firms manufacturing air conditioners and incandescent light bulbs and lamps should meet certain specifications before releasing their products in the market. These guidelines, which come into force from January 2014, are now being

“Our main strategy for energy efficiency management is through sustainable, renewable energy and water resources, stable electricity and water supply at least costs and excellent quality, and commitment to low carbon emissions to maintain a sustainable environment.” ALI MOHAMMED AL ALI Director of Conservation and Energy Efficiency, Kahramaa

developed to cover other electrical appliances like washing machines, refrigerators, water pumps and lights as well in the coming months. A third aspect is the legal objective, the regulations that need to be in place to ensure that new buildings – commercial, residential or industrial – consume minimal electricity and water by sticking to the standards. Kahramaa has launched a national campaign, Tarsheed, aimed at reining in electricity and water consumption growth by at least 20% and 35% respectively by 2017. Another initiative is Kahramaa Awareness Park, an educational initiative meant for schools wherein the team visits schools throughout the year, carrying with them portable equipment that is used for conservation. The park is expected to increase accessibility and affordability for Kahramaa to hold such educational programmes for schools and the public as well. But the most important policy has been to tap the abundant solar energy in the country. Plans are under way to have at least 200 MW, 2% of the projected grid demand of 10,000 MW, by way of solar energy by 2020. The country’s electricity providers seem to be looking in the right direction with a policy in place, campaigns with specific intent and even an educational initiative keeping in mind the future generation. But the results from these efforts will become apparent only when each citizen takes this as his or her personal responsibility, not only towards the country they are living in but also to the earth we all share: an investment for future generations

“There are strategies and policies of different organisations working in this direction of the Qatar National Vision 2030, and there is a need to put the required laws and regulations as part of this mission. We are working with Kahramaa and also with other stakeholders to the success of these policies.” GHASSAN BARGHOUT Country President for Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, Schneider Electric

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 53

development > tag this

TECHNOLOGY TO

AID DISASTER

RESPONSE BY AYSWARYA MURTHY

How a team in Qatar has helped citizens around the world directly help humanitarian workers on the ground during major disasters.

hen we tried to reach Dr Patrick Meier, Director of Social Innovation at the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), back in November last year, he was thousands of miles away, literally in the eye of the storm in the Philippines. His brainchild, a project several years in the making called MicroMappers, was out in the field for the first time in an environment where its true potential could be realised. A few months earlier, the application was deployed in North-West Pakistan after the tragic earthquake there but it couldn’t be tested optimally because the social media footprint wasn’t that high in the region. “But on the plus side, it was the first time we tested it and the feedback was valuable to understand the bottlenecks. If we hadn’t done it, we wouldn’t have been able to use it in the Philippines. It’s a learning environment. Disasters are not the same; we have to be agile and improvise when needed,” Dr Meier says. Essentially, MicroMappers is a tool to leverage smart crowdsourcing to sort and tag social media content during and immediately after a major disaster, to guide

54 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

humanitarian workers at ground zero. Dr Meier explains: “The tweets and Facebook posts are collected and filtered through algorithms that can check for uniqueness and relevancy; this is entirely automatic and can be done in a matter of seconds, where 80-90% of the noise is filtered out. The remaining content is uploaded on to MicroMappers.” What happens next is basically smart crowdsourcing through microtasking. Any netizen from any part of the world can log into the servers and sort the pictures or the text based on what they are seeing. Is it major structural damage or infrastructure damage than could impede rescue work? Is there an urgent demand for food or medicines in a particular area? Once at least three different users tag the information under the same category, it is pushed to the next stage and ends up on a live crisis map. Dr Meier calls this “democratising digital humanitarian response”. “It allows anyone around the world to get involved, engaged and be a good citizen. You can make a difference simply by getting online and directly support relief operations,” he says. Harnessing the wealth of real-time information on social media was something he had been trying to implement for many years, though he started working in earnest on it from early last year, a few months after he joined QCRI in June 2012. “During my time in Haiti during the 2010 earthquake I realised how humanitarian organisations were not prepared for this new information ecosystem and didn’t have the skills or the technology to handle the big data generated through social media during disasters. It’s ironic that they are used to working in an environment where there is often not enough information but this overflow is just as paralysing.” Dr Meier at that time was Director of Crisis Mapping with an NGO where he had been working on applying mapping technology for humanitarian response for over three years. “While the UN was not even looking at social media information in Haiti, other, local, first responders and search and rescue teams made active use of real-time updates we were putting on our crisis map; these were not static, they were constantly changing and evolving. By listening to the needs and the impact of the quake that was being reported, the rescue workers said they saved many lives,” he says. But it was laborious work. Dr Meier calls it the “old way” of doing things, “dumb crowdsourcing”. “In Haiti, I started to

realise some of the limitations of the existing solutions of making sense of the data. Digital humanitarian volunteers had to manually go through tweets and copy-paste them into relevant Google spreadsheets. And since we typically see millions of tweets posted in a matter of days, it was chaos and we were completely overwhelmed. Also, it was not the best use of a volunteer’s time, especially when time was so precious. After reading a hundred tweets you get tired and you make mistakes.” That’s why Dr Meier realised the need for something more sophisticated to automate this time-consuming and mind-numbing phase of the process. He had wanted to start working right away on this, but it was not to be until his path crossed with QCRI. “QCRI’s expertise in advanced computing and big data analysis was exactly what was required to get MicroMappers off the ground,” he says. And truly, the difference is stark. While in Haiti they were able to process less than 5% of the content, even with thousands of volunteers, when Typhoon Yolanda struck the Philippines, they were able to go through more than 250,000 tweets. Typically after a disaster, the UN conducts a rapid disaster damage assessment within two weeks. However two weeks is a lifetime in the digital age, and this is where MicroMappers steps in to fill the information gap. “The UN understands there is no optimal, perfect information during a crisis of this scale, but they need an initial draft of what the impact might be with some rough estimates and quick, good-enough analysis. They’d rather be able to get 10% more information than none. And they need this within the first 48 hours,” Dr Meier says. Which is why the UN OCHA (Office for

Sobering perspective... "We don't need money, TVs, cell phones, we need food. only food" #Phillippines

What does this tweet refer to?

Not Relevant / Skip / RTs Requests for help / Needs Infrastructure Damage Population Displacement Relevant but Other Not English

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 55

development > tag this (Source: iRevolution.net)

PHILIPPINES PRELIMINARY FIGURES (APPROXIMATIONS)

Although over 55,000 tweets were filtered, not all of them were successfully tagged. Dr Meier says this was a technological, rather than a human, shortcoming. “The challenge had to do with the servers we were using, based in the University of Geneva. We hadn’t tested MicroMappers on this scale before. Eventually, there were so many volunteers that the server crashed numerous times. At one point, it was down for 10 hours. This was very frustrating for everyone. But two weeks after the typhoon, QCRI purchased their very own high-end server, 100 times more powerful than the one in Geneva, to exclusively host the MicroMappers platform; this will be its one and only mission. One would hope to never use it, but in future the server won’t be an issue. We’d want to be able to have tens of thousands of volunteers at a given time, tagging millions of tweets.”

the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) was eager to enlist Dr Meier’s help during the Yolanda crisis despite being warned that MicroMappers was still a work in progress. As it turns out, however, in spite of the glitches (see above), the information generated through this application was actively used to direct coordination of humanitarian officials. “It’s experimental, it’s messy, as all innovation is. You take one step forward, you take a few steps back and go back to the drawing board, but the alternative is not looking at social media at all,” he says. For Dr Meier, there is no rest until MicroMappers has been developed and tested enough to do what it is meant to do – to get as close as technologically possible to real-time crisis information and analysis. “We are almost there; another couple of months,” he says optimistically, though he knows he is racing against time before the next typhoon season in the Philippines or another unexpected disaster. So what are the other features under development that’ll make MicroMappers battlefield-ready? “During the typhoon, we used TweetClicker and ImageClicker extensively. We have also been developing the VideoClicker, where you can tag YouTube videos and look for damage; it is 56 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

currently under testing. We will be considering SMS as well: Information collected via SMS short code set up in association with local telecom departments, where people can send reports of damages to a toll-free number. “We are also developing the GeoClicker where we ask volunteers to identify the location described in the tweet or seen in the picture on a map. This is a major challenge, as currently on average no more than 2-3% of the tweets are automatically geotagged. And this is not something that can be automated currently, and still needs the human element. Interestingly, this investigative online work – looking for geo information, trying to recognise landmarks or point out distinct features of the landscape – is something volunteers really like doing and they find rewarding. And this way we can honour the local knowledge of the volunteers from the region. Ultimately, to “finish” MicroMappers would mean to integrate all these features to make it seamless and automatic,” he says. On the horizon, Dr Meier’s team is also working on incorporating machine learning that can learn from human tagging. “So after a thousand tweets or so, the algorithm will learn what to look for when tagging

infrastructure damage, for example, and will automatically tag the remaining. It’ll be far more rapid and we’ll never need volunteers to tag 30,000 tweets ever again. It’s the holy grail we are working towards, and it’s called AIDR – Artificial Intelligence for Disaster Response.” Secondly, there needs to be a better way to verify the data being collected to filter out rumours and false information, deliberate or accidental. But what kind of advanced computing solutions can be developed to verify social media content? “For example, we are looking to develop, along with some partners in India, a credibility plugin that’ll score tweets based on predicted credibility,” he says. The other method is to again use crowdsourcing/microtasking to verify the accuracy of some of the information. Taking about QCRI, Dr Meier says: “When the opportunity presented itself to work with these world-class experts, I grabbed at it with both hands and there has been no looking back. What we have been able to do as a team, by leveraging advanced computing, has really catalysed significant innovation in the humanitarian information management space.” It’s a true game changer

development > tag this

FLYING DAILY TO DOHA The aviation sector in Asia, and even globally, is not going through the best of times. But it is during phases like this that you have to rise above the rest with products and customer service, according to Brian Yuen, Cathay Pacific Country Manager UAE & Qatar. With a new agreement between Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways, with each operating one flight between Hong Kong and Qatar daily, the innovation is underway.

BY SINDHU NAIR

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n a talk with Qatar Today, Brian Yuen, Cathay Pacific Country Manager for the UAE and Qatar, spoke about the opportunities the GCC countries present to Asian airlines, about the ailing aviation sector, and also the trends in this sector in the coming years. “Cathay Pacific has been flying to the GCC region since 1976. We are committed to providing excellent products and services to Gulf travellers and enhancing their overall travel experience. We are constantly

reviewing the market demand in the region and will adjust our frequencies or network according to the needs of travellers,” he says, “Doha and Qatar are currently implementing several developments in line with the upcoming hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2022 and with the Qatar National Vision 2030 plan. With such a promising and exciting development, Doha is certainly a potential market to explore.” And thus it became pertinent that Cathay Pacific begins operations to the country.

Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways, members of the oneworld alliance, announced a strategic agreement on services operated by both airlines between Hong Kong and Doha, effective March 30 2014. Under the new agreement, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways will each operate one flight between Hong Kong and Qatar daily, offering premium products and services to passengers travelling to and from the two cities. Cathay Pacific Chief Executive John Slosar said: “Cathay Pacific has a strong commitment to serving the Middle East and we are pleased to enter into this agreement with oneworld partner Qatar Airways, and at the same time launch our own new service to Doha. This exciting business opportunity will help us maximise the potential of the market between Qatar and Hong Kong and enable both airlines to create synergies that will improve the overall travel experience for our customers.” What are the major issues that mar the growth of airline carriers? What are the solutionsin your view? Fuel costs remain top of the list of challenges affecting profitability and growth in the airline industry. The volatility of oil prices is one of the biggest risk factors in the air travel business. Since 2012, Cathay Pacific has introduced measures to protect its business from high jet fuel prices. We have revised schedules and reduced capacity by retiring older, less fuel-efficient aircraft early. However, fuel remains the group’s most significant expense, accounting for 38.8% of our total operating costs. Thus, managing the risk associated with high and volatile fuel prices remains a high priority for Cathay Pacific. Another challenge is the air cargo market. Our cargo business has been affected by weak demand since April 2011, with still no sign of sustained improvement. Thus, capacity was adjusted in line with demand, including reducing our schedules and cancelling ad hoc flights. Meanwhile, we have developed a wide range of service options to meet the growing needs of our customers for faster and safer cargo delivery, and will continue to invest in our products and services and improve the overall customer experience. The third challenge is competition. Competition is always increasing in the airline industry, and the advent of low-cost carri-

CAPTURING THE FIRST AND BUSINESS CLASS PASSENGERS

rom the beginning of 2013, we introduced the award-winning new business class, new premium economy class and new long haul economy cabin on our flights in the Middle East routes. Since then, we have received very positive feedback from our customers on all of these products. Voted the World’s Best Business Class by more than 18 million airline passengers from around the world, our business class cabin offers the benefits of fully flat beds, worldclass inflight entertainment and one of the longest and widest beds ever provided on any commercial airline. The design allows passengers to control their degree of privacy

and openness with direct aisle access and perfect view through the windows. Majority of passengers travelling in our first and business class cabins are members of our Marco Polo Club. Along with the added benefits from the oneworld alliance, Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Club offers a range of privileges and recognitions to its members who enjoy consistent services every time they travel. In addition to Cathay Pacific’s network, we also operate close to 400 flights in 22 destinations in mainland China every week through our sister airline Dragonair.

ers has also put pressure on value-for-money travel. A distinct advantage of Cathay Pacific is its well-established reputation for market-leading products and services. Whether on-ground or onboard our aircraft, we have always been the preferred choice of discerning travellers. Thus, Cathay Pacific strives to constantly improve the overall travel experience of customers through award-winning products and services. Who do you see as competition? Cathay Pacific is a Hong Kong-based international carrier. Along with its sister airline, Dragonair, the airlines flies to over 182 destinations across the globe. Given the international nature of the air travel industry, whether on short-or long-haul flights, QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 59

development > tag this CATHAY PACIFIC'S FLEET IS GROWING

BOEING 747-8 AIRCRAFT

BOEING 777-9X AIRCRAFTS

aircrafts set to be delivered from 2014 to 2024

QR104.23

BOEING 777-300ER AIRCRAFTS

billion total price

SERVICE ENHANCEMENTS Cathay Pacific invested more than QR1.5 billion (HK$3.2 billion) between 2009 and 2012 in products and services enhancements. These include both on-board and on-ground improvements that have been designed with the comments and feedback of our valued customers and frequent flyers greatly factored in. 60 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

the airline industry has indeed become extremely competitive. There are fast-growing Gulf and Asian carriers as well as some low-cost carriers competing in the region. Are new aircrafts the answer to high fuel costs? How much of your investment goes into buying newer aircraft that are said to be fuel-efficient? At the moment, use of fuel-efficient, widebody aircraft and fuel hedging are two of the important measures being taken by most airline companies, including Cathay Pacific, to address high fuel costs. Thus, apart from using and ordering new and more fuel-efficient aircraft, we took advantage of a brief drop in fuel prices in April 2013 to extend our fuel hedging into 2016. Currently, Cathay Pacific has a fleet of 140 and Dragonair has 41 aircraft. Following the latest aircraft purchase announcement of 21 Boeing 777-9X aircraft, 3 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and 1 Boeing 747-8 freighter from the Boeing Company, the airline is set to take delivery of a total of 93 aircraft from 2014 to 2024, at an aggregate

list price of approximately QR104.23 billion (HK$222 billion). The Boeing 777-9X aircraft are scheduled to be delivered between 2021 and 2024, while the 777-300ER and 747-8 freighters will be delivered in 2015 and 2016 respectively. The 777X is Boeingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newest family of wide-body airplanes and is a larger twin-engine jet that will have both a larger payload than other twin-engine aircrafts and reduced fuel consumption and lower operating costs. The fleet will be deployed for long-haul destinations in North America and Europe. Tell us about Cathay Pacificâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plans for 2014 and beyond. For 2014, Cathay Pacific will continue to develop the Cathay Pacific and Dragonair networks. The focus will be on strengthening frequencies where possible, and getting the short-haul and long-haul networks more evenly balanced. We are also progressively rolling out our new regional business class seats and refreshed first class cabin which are due to be completed in the first quarter

and the third quarter of 2014 respectively. Apart from this, Cathay Pacific is likewise focused on further enhancing overall customer experience as well as ensuring an efficient and profitable operation. This is to be undertaken through several activities such as fleet enhancement through new aircraft orders and refurbishment of existing aircraft, as well as the continuous improvement of on-ground products and services, particularly at Hong Kong International Airport. Which are the markets you will target? Hong Kong, which attracted 48.6 million visitors in 2012 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; both leisure and business â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from around the world, is better known as a corporate travel destination but it has much more to offer to the leisure market especially for families and Arab travellers from the Middle East. As our home as the flagship carrier, along with our sister airline, Dragonair, Hong Kong is naturally our key market. Serving travellers in the Middle East, we offer seamless connectivity to over 182 destinations with the award winning products and services. In response to growing demand from travellers for onward travel, our focus will be mainland China, North Asia and Southeast Asia. At the same time, we also see a healthy demand for North America and the Southwest Pacific. In order to give customers a better travelling experience, we constantly review, improve products, networks, schedules and frequencies according to the needs of our customers. Cathay Pacific posted a negative result last year. Even with increased passengers, the airlines had a tough period the last two years. What do you attribute this to? At the end of 2012, Cathay Pacific recorded a turnover of QR46,670 million (HK$99,376 million) and attributable profit of QR430.23 million (HK$916 million). In the first six months of 2013, the Cathay Pacific Group reported an attributable profit of QR11.27 million (HK$24 million). Our passenger business in the first half of 2013 improved compared with the same period in 2012. Revenue increased by 0.8% to QR16,423 million (HK$34,978 million) and passenger demand was strong on long-haul routes in all classes of travel. As mentioned earlier, fuel costs have been the biggest challenge for the aviation indus-

try. Additionally, the downturn of the world economy has impacted on air travel in general. But we are cautiously optimistic for the future. What do you think is the reason behind the success of the Middle East carriers? In a short period they seem to have captured the market, or at least taken a large portion of the pie. Being a home carrier, Cathay Pacific has competitive advantage in network, frequency, hub and geographical positioning. The same holds true for Middle East carriersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; success in leveraging their respective hubs and building their networks from home market and beyond, not only focusing on their strengths but also partnering with the leading airlines in the alliance including Cathay Pacific to grow their international network. A good example is Qatar Airways, who formally joined oneworld alliance as a full member on October 30 last year. This means that our mutual customers will enjoy a host of alliance benefits when travelling on us as well as other oneworld carriers.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has revised its forecast for a global industry net profit to

$12.9 $19.7

billion for 2013 and

billion for 2014 (according to latest figures).

What is the future of aviation? What should be the next big step for the airline carriers globally? The aviation industry continues to be a volatile and challenging industry. It remains highly susceptible to external factors that are largely beyond our control. These include cost of fuel, strong competition, weakened premium travel business, negative sentiment in several major economies, and travel restrictions imposed by key corporate accounts. A lot is happening in the industry, for example on airport operations, IT, safety, sustainable development and airline alliance etc. It will continue to be a very dynamic industry for the foreseeable future. With no single winning formula, airlines must offer a comprehensively balanced range of products and services that exceed customer expectations and add value to the overall air travel experience. For Cathay Pacific, our focus will remain on protecting the business and managing short-term difficulties while remaining committed to our long-term strategy. Our financial position remains strong and we will continue to invest in the future. Our core strengths are a superb team, a strong international network, exceptional standards of customer service and our position in Hong Kong. These will help to ensure our success in the long term QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 61

sports focus > tag this

PLAYING THE

HOST BY CONNOR SEARS

ports are a hot topic in Qatar right now. The successful, three-yearold tradition of National Sport Day, celebrated each February, keeps athletics on our minds every year, and the heavy planning leading up to the much-anticipated 2022 FIFA World Cup generates excitement as many larger-than-life football stadiums rise up across the country. And just as Qatar is building up its local athletic environment, so too is it fortifying its place in the world of international sports. Qatar’s most striking reputation in international sports, however, is not as a participant, but as a host. Qatar has been making a name for itself by hosting international athletic events for decades. The Qatar ExxonMobil Open, an ATP World Tour event, has been bringing top-tier tennis players from around the world to Doha since 1993. Some of the most accomplished European football clubs have flown into Qatar for friendly matches held in Doha. But where Qatar really

62 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

As Qatar’s sports scene grows, it’s becoming more apparent that its true strengths in the international athletic community lie not in being a participant, but as a host. demonstrated its commitment to the art of hosting was at the 2006 Asian Games. Bringing in more than 10,000 athletes from all over the continent, the games provided Qatar with a reason – and, perhaps more importantly, a deadline – for building up its athletic infrastructure. Renovations to Aspire Zone in preparation for the Games helped turn Sports City into the athletic powerhouse it is today. Venues and resources sprang up in a manner not unlike what we are seeing now in preparing for the 2022 World Cup. And all that preparation paid off, because now Qatar is better equipped than ever to host huge international sporting events. “Qatar built so many sports venues, and they were modern,” says Fahad Nasser Al Nuaimi, General Secretary of the Qatar Golf Association (QGA) and coordinator of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, the annual international golfing tournament now in its 17th year. “Now, Qatar is ready to host any international sport. Seven years ago, if Qatar wanted to have an

international tournament, like in volleyball or in handball or in any sport, they needed time to build a venue and to prepare Qatar for the event. Now, Qatar can make the decision to have any sport event, and within one year everything’s set. We have the sports venue, we have everything.” Building more than infrastructure But the actual venues aren’t all Qatar needs to host more of these large international sporting events. One other strength Qatar brings as a host is its growing hospitality industry. The already impressive, and always increasing, number of hotels built to support Qatar’s ambitious tourism plans certainly come in handy when finding accommodations for international athletes coming here for tournaments, not to mention the abundance of exhibition space these events sometimes require. The shortcourse events for the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships, awarded to Doha after Catania in Italy withdrew its bid to host, will need to work with 12 local hotels for accommodation and convention space, according to Khaleel Al Jabir, Director of Sports at the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and President of the Qatar Swimming Association. Of course, the country needs more than physical structures in order to become a world-class sporting event host. Larger events rarely want to take place in cities that are relatively unknown worldwide. To get the most participation and, as a result, revenue from a large event, the brand recognition of the city itself can be almost as important as the reputation of the actual event. So as Doha’s prestige on the global stage begins to rise, more and more events are likely to come and take advantage of its facilities. “As we move forward, we are receiving bigger and higher recognition,” Al Jabir says. “Doha is becoming the sport destination of the Middle East.” “When they started the Qatar Masters, they started it just for tourism purposes, to show Qatar to the world,” Al Nuaimi says. “Now the purpose is different. The Qatar Masters has become bigger, and more players ranking from the Top 20 participate in this tournament. It’s a very strong tournament now in the European Tour calendar.” Qatar has built the venues needed to host more athletic events, and its global recognition has risen to the point that more notable tournaments have begun to see the country as a viable host. The only thing left to put on a successful event is the people

“To see a government get behind it and say, OK this is a day where we want employees to think about their well-being and think about community and teamwork and take part in a sporting event, that’s a great initiative.” JAMIE CUNNINGHAM Founder and CEO, Professional Sports Group

to run it. The QOC is no stranger to playing the part of organiser. Every year, the committee publishes a calendar of sporting events for the entire year, and the number of these events increases with each new calendar, Al Jabir says. And with each event the country hosts, the organisers gain more of one essential resource: experience. “Qatar national federations, with the support of the Qatar Olympic Committee, are successfully organising a number of national and international events on a yearly basis,” Al Jabir says. “Our resources in terms of know-how, experience and expertise are our driving force for achieving successful results. The events industry and especially the sport ones are full of challenges, and we are always happy to cope with them and to make the difference.” On the home front The country may be strongly equipped to take on the challenge of hosting large international sporting events, but what about local events? Facilitating a tournament for athletes from across the globe is one thing, but it’s only half of the equation of turning Qatar into a centre of sports. A recent survey in Qatar showed that a majority of respondents did not attend a football match in the past season. Many said that the stadiums were too far away or that the stadiums that exist lack certain facilities, but the bevy of new, advanced stadiums being constructed in advance of 2022 could help solve some of these issues. Some cited traditional values and obnoxious spectators as reasons why they decide not to go out to a stadium to watch a match, but others simply expressed a lack of interest in the game. Hosting events purely for Qatar residents could not only encourage a nationwide enthusiasm for athleticism but also combat the rising threat of obesity.

“As we move forward, we are receiving bigger and higher recognition. Doha is becoming the sport destination of the Middle East.” KHALEEL AL JABIR Director of Sports, Qatar Olympic Committee

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sports focus > tag this “Seven years ago, if Qatar wanted to have an international tournament, like in volleyball or in handball or in any sport, they needed time to build a venue and to prepare Qatar for the event. Now, Qatar can make the decision to have any sport event, and within one year everything’s set.”

“There’s no doubt in the next ten years there will be a triathlon in Doha,” Cunningham says. “Like every other major city worldwide, organising those style of events requires a whole level of infrastructure and support that’s pretty huge, and Doha has actually shown that it’s very good at getting around what you might say are the local challenges of doing that. I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about the way Doha has embraced sport full-stock.”

FAHAD NASSER AL NUAIMI General Secretary, Qatar Golf Association

FACT FILE QATAR GOLF ASSOCIATION

GLOBAL RANK OF 1998 QATAR MASTERS WINNER (ANDREW COLTART)

GLOBAL RANK OF 2006 QATAR MASTERS WINNER (HENRIK STENSON)

GLOBAL RANK OF 2014 QATAR MASTERS WINNER (SERGIO GARCIA)

QATAR OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

NUMBER OF EVENTS ON THE QOC EVENT CALENDAR FOR APRIL 2013-MARCH 2014

NUMBER OF EVENTS IN MARCH 2014 ALONE

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“It really is about your community,” says Jamie Cunningham, founder and CEO of Professional Sports Group (PSG), a London-based sports marketing agency with a regional office in Abu Dhabi. “It’s about bringing people together to be the best they can be.” The Dolphin Energy Doha Dash is a series of running and walking events inspired by National Sport Day and organised by PSG. The event, held at the Losail International Circuit, encourages all members of the family to spend the morning of National Sport Day running along the race track side-byside with other Qatar residents. The Doha Dash has proved a success, and despite early concerns about the distance up to Losail, more than a thousand residents showed up to support community building and general health in 2013, the event’s first year, a number that almost doubled this year. The Doha Dash is just one example of the influence of National Sport Day in encouraging the development of these kinds of local athletic events. “I think National Sport Day is a great initiative,” Cunningham says. “To see a government get behind it and say, OK, this is a day where we want employees to think about their well-being and think about community and teamwork and take part in a sporting event, that’s a great initiative. Obviously, there are well-documented challenges of the region in terms of health and well-being, and to have a sports day that is encouraging sport in the fabric of society, it’s fantastic.” Local events don’t necessarily need to be confined to one day of the year, however. And as this athletic environment in the city begins to build, more nationwide events like the Ooredoo Marathon are bound to become a part of Qatar’s yearly calendar.

Balancing the scale With all the development that has happened over the past decade, Qatar is in prime position to become a recognised leader in hosting large sporting events, both domestic and global in scope. At the same time, many of its existing events are encouraged to step up the scale of their operations. “Now the government here cares about these international tournaments,” QGA’s Al Nuaimi says. “And they want any tournament we have, any international event, we have to make it in good shape. Not just a small tournament and that’s it. No. Any international event, we have to spend money – too much money – to make the tournament very big.” “In some respects," says Cunningham, "the challenge in Doha is that we have a lot of sporting events, and therefore the expectation of what an event can be in terms of numbers is something where I would say, yes, of course they are going to be having some fantastic, big events, but you also need to have community events to build up. I’ve personally seen all over the world that a 500-person running or cycling or swimming event in year one can become a 15,000-person event in year ten.” With a calendar that already extends eight years into the future with FIFA’s arrival, though, Qatar’s plans as an athletic host are long-term. More events are either founded or brought into the peninsula each year, and with each passing year comes another opportunity to become a more active part of the world of international sports. “I’ve had meetings with the Qatar Olympic Committee, and I’m aware of their plans with its sports,” Cunningham says. “And I think from actually that point of view that Doha is in very good, proactive hands.” “Now, people all over the world know Qatar,” Al Nuaimi agrees. “Doha has become a kind of capital city of sports. We have so many international events every year in Doha, and now, especially that Qatar has won the 2022 World Cup, all the world knows Qatar.”

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FOCUS ON TECHNO-ENTREPRENEURS

THE QATAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARK (QSTP) IS ON THE THRESHOLD OF GREAT THINGS, FROM TECHNOLOGY STARTUPS TO A MEDICAL REVOLUTION TO STAGING THE WORLD'S BIGGEST CONFERENCE OF SCIENCE PARKS. DOHA WILL BE HOSTING THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE PARKS AND AREAS OF INNOVATION THIS YEAR, THE FIRST TIME ITS CONFERENCE HAS BEEN HELD IN THE ARAB REGION. QSTP MANAGING DIRECTOR HAMAD AL KUWARI, WHO IS ALSO HEAD OF THE IASP 2014 DOHA ORGANISING COMMITTEE, TELLS US ABOUT THE PHENOMENAL PROSPECTS FOR THIS YEAR. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 67

HE HIGHLIGHT FOR QST P T HIS YEAR IS UNDOUBT EDLY T HE IASP CONFERENCE. WHAT DOES HOST ING T HIS CONFERENCE MEAN FOR QST P AND QATAR? Science and technology parks have been around since the early 1950s, but all eyes are now turning to technology startups in the hyper-connected Middle East, with QST P and Qatar setting a strong example in the Gulf. For us, the need for what science and technology parks do has never been greater. In the region, linkages between government, academia and industry are sometimes lacking and skills gaps exist in strategic sectors like health, energy and ICT. IASP 2014 Doha will be the first IASP World Conference hosted in the Arab world. The point of the event is to explore new models of technical, financial and administrative support that science and technology parks can offer entrepreneurs. Tech hubs like QST P play a critical role in sparking meaningful collaboration across sectors, ensuring that historic national investments in education and research – 2.8% of government revenue in Qatar’s case – pay off in the form of skills, intellectual property and viable technology businesses. IASP 2014 Doha unites emerging and established tech parks in the Arab world to seize opportunities and help break down barriers to success. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT ARE SOME OF T HE KEY AT T RIBUT ES OF QST P T HAT AT T RACT TOP RESEARCH COMPANIES FROM ACROSS T HE WORLD TO QATAR? WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MAKE IT EVEN BET T ER? Companies are attracted to QST P’s model notably because we offer worldclass infrastructure that supports complex technology research projects. Additionally, we offer freedom by operating as a free zone, meaning we can license companies that are 100 percent foreign-owned, with no taxation on their income or on imported goods used for technology development. These benefits represent our core offering. I am additionally proud of the culture and community we have defined at the park among staff, tenants and Qatar’s wider entrepreneurial ecosystem. We bring local and global industry figures in the health sciences, energy and ICT sectors to QST P regularly for our T ECHtalks series, which has grown into

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a sought-after knowledge forum for local entrepreneurs. Increasingly these are the types of programmes and services that add value for tenants and entrepreneurs, while increasing the attractiveness of the cluster itself. This has been a topic of extensive discussion among our peers, from Recife, Brazil to Muscat, Oman, and QST P is proud to lead by example. IS T HE SECOND PHASE OF EXPANSION OF QST P ON T RACK AND WHAT STAGE IS T HAT AT ? We are at 95% occupancy and on track, having officially started design work on the next phase of QST P’s expansion. The plan is to have two more buildings within the park and free zone. We will have a technology building, which will be similar to Tech 1 and Tech 2, which incorporates feedback from our members, enhancing functionality and further supporting their work. We will also have Tech 4, which is going to be more of a workshop where tenants who require heavy-operation testing will be housed. As a strategy, we set out to grow our infrastructure stage by stage, instead of having the entire infrastructure in place and then struggling to have our facilities occupied. In the first five years, the approach of growing organically and evaluating our needs at each juncture has proven to be a successful and valuable one. GOING FORWARD, WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM QST P? WHAT’S ON T HE AGENDA, AND HOW DO YOU PLAN TO EXPAND ON T HE WORK YOU HAVE BEEN DOING SO FAR? In our first five years we defined and refined our core offering, supported local entities through Proof of Concept funding agreements, and achieved 95% occupancy. In the next five, we will remain focused on technology-focused entrepreneurs and enterprises in Qatar and growing the supporting programmes and infrastructure that support them. It is my personal objective in the coming years to pursue our work from the perspective of Qatar’s ambitious and educated entrepreneurs, listening to and keeping pace with the country’s most tech-savvy generation of innovators and devising ways to help and support them further. The dynamism and performance of Qatar’s economy indicate exciting years

ahead. Qatar’s ICT sector, for example, holds great potential for technology entrepreneurs, with a notable increase in local start-up ventures and an expanding ICT workforce. According to a study done by the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology in 2012 , Qatar’s ICT sector grew at an average rate of 17% a year from 2006 to 2011 and from QR12.8 billion to QR15.5 billion between 2010 and 2011 alone, a 21% increase. Forthcoming legislation on data privacy and other key regulatory issues is expected to create further opportunities for entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development in the sector. HOW YOU ARE WORKING WIT H QNRF TO ADVANCE ITS RESEARCH GOALS? Our close partnership with the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) is an excellent example of how we strive to build bridges across sectors and support the success of technology-focused entrepreneurs in Qatar. QNRF competitively selects and funds research projects in fields like energy, environment, health and ICT, which are closely aligned with the types of technology projects QST P focuses on. The road from idea to product is a very long one. QST P follows QNRF in that process, evaluating and incubating ideas that start there with the end goal of extracting economic value from them and empowering the people behind them. QST P aims to help sectors grow, and it is one of the main vehicles for the QNRF, contributing to the overall strategy. One key place where QNRF and QST P meet is at our acclaimed Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (T IEP) – a rigorous and rewarding program helping tech entrepreneurs understand how to build commercial strategies. Real-world projects anchor T IEP coursework, giving students the opportunity to hone their skills on advanced, real-world technologies. This year’s projects include: a spray vaccine for a disease afflicting the global poultry industry; minimally-invasive robotic surgery programme; and nanoparticle-based tests for serious infections. Each project has been awarded a National Priorities Research Program Cycle 4 Grant by QNRF, linking the two organisations to Qatar’s wider entrepreneurial ecosystem and ensuring coursework is valuable and applicable beyond the classroom

Researchers are developing cutting-edge monitoring technologies that can effectively assess the health of coral reefs.

EXXONMOBIL SHARES QATAR’S VIEW THAT ADVANCEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN MEETING THE ENERGY DEMANDS AND CHALLENGES OF THE FUTURE.

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COMMITTED

TO DELIVER KEY TECHNOLOGIES

t was with this in mind that ExxonMobil Research Qatar (EMRQ) was founded to conduct research in areas of common interest to Qatar and ExxonMobil. In 2009, EMRQ became one of the first anchor tenants to open its doors at Qatar Foundation (QF)’s newly-inaugurated Qatar Science and Technology Park (QST P), designed to be an international hub for applied research, innovation and entrepreneurship. At the facilities in QST P, which include laboratories, training facilities and offices, ExxonMobil Research Qatar continues its research and

development efforts with local and international partners in support of QF’s goal of advancing science and technology. The centre’s signature programmes are targeted to protect Qatar’s marine environment, increase water supplies, improve air quality and understand its coastline. With safety at the core of ExxonMobil’s operations worldwide, safety training also plays an important role in EMRQ’s activities. The work EMRQ is doing helps address QF’s research and development grand challenges related to energy and water security, and ultimately demonstrates

The advanced immersive 3D training platform allows individuals to step into a realistic environment that simulates actual work scenarios, making training more effective and enabling personnel to perform their jobs more safely.

ExxonMobil’s commitment to developing key technologies that will support Qatar’s development while protecting the environment. PROT ECT ING T HE MARINE ENVIRONMENT EMRQ’s Environmental Management Research Program is enhancing scientific knowledge concerning environmental risks from industrial activities specific to the Gulf region, and continues to develop new technologies to improve environmental management capabilities. EMRQ scientists use state-of-the-art research labs, field studies and computer modelling to understand, assess and predict the potential impacts of Qatar’s industrial activities on local marine organisms. For example, as one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth and an important part of Qatar’s marine environment, coral reefs are the focus of an important area of study for EMRQ. Researchers are developing cutting-edge monitoring technologies that can effectively assess the health of coral reefs, which is widely seen as an important indicator of the overall health of the greater marine environment. This is done by determining the productivity of the algae that live within the coral. This technology, called Pulse Amplitude Modulation, or PAM, enables scientists to understand when coral may be in danger earlier and more efficiently than before. Early detection of coral health means a better chance of identifying strategies to protect this important ecosystem and the

multitudes of fish and marine species that such ecosystems support. EMRQ is also undertaking ecotoxicity studies in Qatar, which means understanding the potential for biological, chemical or physical stressors that affect the country’s marine ecosystems. Development along the coastline and offshore Qatar results in continuous interaction between industrial activities, the Gulf waters and organisms supported by the Gulf. It is essential to both Qatar and ExxonMobil to increase the understanding of this environment so that potential risks can be identified and effective environmental management strategies and policies can be developed. INCREASING QATAR’S WAT ER SUPPLIES EMRQ launched the Water Reuse Research Program in 2010 in recognition of the challenges of water resource management in a dry climate coupled with the desire for more efficient treatment and reuse options for industrial wastewater. This programme is investigating water treatment technologies that allow for the beneficial reuse of treated industrial wastewater, with an initial focus on engineered wetlands technology. Through this type of system, industrial wastewater could flow through a structure containing native plant life and soils, which would naturally remove toxins and ultimately leave the industrial water fit for reuse in non-potable applications. Using what would have been “wasted water” for

applications such as park or green-space irrigation would help increase the supply of fresh water available for other uses. These technologies could be of great value to the industries and people of the State of Qatar, where water is a scarce and precious resource. IMPROVING AIR QUALIT Y The Remote Gas Detection System developed at EMRQ is designed to improve process safety and environmental performance at any facility where oil and gas are produced, processed, transported, stored or sold. The goal of this technology is to deliver an early warning alert of hydrocarbon leaks. It does so by pairing infrared camera detection technology with a sophisticated computer algorithm that independently analyses camera images for hydrocarbon plumes and then notifies operations personnel. When fully deployed, the remote gas detection system can improve process safety by alerting personnel to larger leaks that could potentially lead to hazardous situations, and also identifying smaller leaks that can be repaired, thereby reducing "fugitive” hydrocarbon emissions to the environment and thus improving Qatar’s air quality. T RAINING WORKFORCE With safety at the core of ExxonMobil’s operations, EMRQ is exploring ways to enhance safety training in the oil and gas sector, equipping personnel with the knowledge and experience necessary to minimise industrial incidents. The QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 71

The Qatar Center for Coastal Research is conducting research into the coastal formation processes having taken place along the Qatar coast.

advanced immersive 3D training platform allows individuals to step into a realistic environment that simulates actual work scenarios, making training more effective and enabling personnel to perform their jobs more safely in the event of a high-risk, low-frequency event. Not only have researchers been able to create this uniquely realistic training experience for workers to experience within their given work area, but they have also succeeded in connecting multiple 3D training environments with control room panel simulators in real time. Work continues to enhance the realism of the training environment through visual enhancements and other sensory stimuli to the training experience such as sounds and smells. The element of realism being developed in this programme allows for more effective training and enables workers to perform their jobs more safely. UNDERSTANDING T HE COAST LINE The Qatar Centre for Coastal Research is conducting research into the coastal formation processes having taken place along the Qatar coast over the recent past – up to 10,000 years. Understanding these processes enhances our ability to predict the properties of geologic formations that evolved under similar conditions millions of years ago and have now formed major oil and gas reservoirs located thousands of metres below the surface. 72 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

This understanding leads to more accurate models of the reservoirs and allows energy companies to make more educated and cost-effective decisions about how best to produce these valuable resources. REALISING QATAR’S NAT IONAL VISION 2030 ExxonMobil embraces the Qatar National Vision 2030 and its pillars of environmental, human, social and economic growth. The company is committed to addressing the challenge of sustainability – balancing economic growth, social development and environmental protection so that future generations are not compromised by actions taken today. Essential to achieving this balance are sound scientific research and data collected with accuracy and integrity. The future holds tremendous promise for Qatar. ExxonMobil believes that its partnerships with Qatar Petroleum and the QST P have played – and will continue to play – a key role in Qatar’s rapid transformation as the world’s largest reliable supplier of LNG. The key to continued world-class performance is not just implementing operational best practices but also investing in sound scientific research and collaboration. Through its work at EMRQ and its valuable partnerships, ExxonMobil is committed to developing key technologies that will benefit the oil and gas industry in Qatar and around the world

WORKING TOWARDS YOUSSIF SALEH, GENERAL MANAGER AT QATAR SHELL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER SINCE 2011, TALKS TO US ABOUT THE CENTRE’S RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AND BEYOND, THE RESULTS IT HAS YIELDED AND HOW IT IS SUPPORTING THE COUNTRY’S RESEARCH STRATEGIES.

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BETTER ENERGY

OU HAVE A MASSIVE BUDGET ALLOCAT ED FOR R&D IN QATAR. CAN YOU T ELL US ABOUT WHERE T HESE FUNDS ARE BEING USED? Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre (QSRTC) is the newest addition to Shell’s research and development (R&D) global network, connected with other Shell research facilities in Amsterdam, Houston, Hamburg, Oman and Bangalore. The QSRTC team collaborates with scientists from across this global research network, helping to contribute to the Energy and Environment pillar of the Qatar National Research Strategy (QNRS). Our local technology strategy is reviewed annually to identify innovative research that can be brought to Qatar to support the future needs of industry and the country as a whole. Where possible,

we pursue commercialisation of technologies through joint ventures and partnerships. Ahead of the publication of the updated QNRS in 2012, we underpinned all research activities to two key themes – ‘Energy and Environment’ – encompassing three programmes:  Unlocking the subsurface  Breakthrough products and  Water solutions. T ELL US MORE ABOUT T HESE PRIMARY AREAS OF FOCUS AT QSRTC CURRENT LY. Energy and environment At Shell, we harness human ingenuity, innovation and technology to extract hydrocarbons efficiently from under the ground, while aiming to limit our impact on the environment by transforming gas, hydrocarbon liquids and waste streams

"Qatar Shell recently launched the first in a series of annual workshops at QSRTC, known as the Qatar Shell Dialogues, bringing together industry, government and academia to discuss challenges within the local energy industry." YOUSSIF SALEH

General Manager Qatar Shell Research and Technology Center

into new, environmentally-responsible products for society. For Shell, the startup of Pearl GT L [gas-to-liquids plants, in 2011] was the culmination of more than three decades of research, the filing of around 3,500 GT L-related patents and the development of some of the world’s most advanced cobalt synthesis catalysts, the next generation of which are being tested here in QSRTC. Unlocking the subsurface Qatar’s subsurface holds tremendous potential for oil, gas and water reserves. Developing and deploying innovative technologies to help Qatar unlock these resources is a major focus area for our research at QSRTC, with two ongoing major R&D programmes. In partnership with seismic experts PGS, Shell has developed a batteryless fibre-optic seismic technology, designed to provide a safer, more cost-effective method to deliver more accurate and higher-quality seismic data for exploration and permanent production monitoring. After three years of collaborative research, Shell successfully completed the pilot-testing of the new seismic system in the North of Qatar. The collected data has been analysed at QSRTC using state-of-the-art data processing, imaging and visualisation techniques, with very encouraging results. Capacity building Qatar’s National Vision 2030 encourages the personal and professional de-

velopment of Qatari citizens through education, enrichment experiences and career opportunities. Shell’s goal is to broaden Qatar’s research capacity, and we are committed to helping young people discover the many rewarding career possibilities that are available to them in a field critical to Qatar’s vision of a knowledge-based economy. As such, QSRTC works to attract, train and retain young talent. Engaging with key institutions QSRTC’s outreach and university collaboration team work to position Shell as an active partner in supporting universities and other education institutes in Qatar. We do this by integrating with local universities and institutions, with whom Shell enjoys close relationships, to share our skills and expertise, thereby effectively linking our scientists with academic experts and students. In 2013, Qatar University (QU) and QSRTC signed a Memorandum of Understanding that consolidated numerous collaborations, in which QSRTC will sponsor and support the educational programmes on offer at QU. We now also share industrial and technical knowledge with QU faculty and students and facilitate greater collaboration through expert lectures, internships, competitions, awards and the recruitment of QU students. QSRTC also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Texas A&M University to strengthen a partnership already spanning ten years in the fields of technol-

ogy, science, research and development. This relationship has already yielded numerous productive initiatives, including the Aviation Fuel Consortium, the GT L Jet Fuel Program, a research collaboration evaluating Thiopave, and the Shell Ec0-marathon Competition. Thought leadership The energy industry has a vital role to play in helping to shape a knowledge economy in Qatar as it works towards building the national capacity required to establish it as a global R&D hub. QSRTC is wholly committed to supporting this vision and direction as an active member of the energy sector and a long-term partner of Qatar Petroleum. We demonstrate this commitment through our various thought leadership initiatives. One of these is the Qatar Shell Dialogues. Qatar Shell recently launched the first in a series of annual workshops at QSRTC, known as the Qatar Shell Dialogues, bringing together industry, government and academia to discuss challenges within the local energy industry. Our first workshop sought to provide solutions to the question - How can the energy industry help build the national capacity needed to establish an R&D hub in Qatar? The GT L Jet Fuel Workshop is another such initiative. Qatar Shell gathered aviation industry leaders to explore the latest developments in GT L jet fuel research. The QSRTC team shared the outcomes and data of this world-class research proQATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 75

development water laboratory at QSRTC. WHAT KIND OF RESEARCH ARE YOU HOPING TO CARRY OUT AT T HE WAT ER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT LAB? The energy sector, like others, is becoming increasingly concerned about water use as it becomes scarcer globally. New approaches and advanced technologies are helping us to reduce the amount of water we need for our operations, and find innovative ways to reuse and recycle water from industrial processes. Pearl GT L’s industrial water processing plant is the world’s largest site for the recovery, treating and reusing of industrial process water. With a capacity to treat 280,000 barrels of water a day, the water treatment facility is comparable in size to a plant for a town of 140,000 people. Once cleaned and treated, this water is reused and recycled for cooling and for steam systems, whilst a small amount is also used to maintain the bushes and shrubs around the plant. The water laboratory will provide technical support to Shell and Qatar Petroleum, especially to the Pearl GT L plant, to continuously improve efficiency, robustness and reliability and potentially reduce the footprint of water treatment within the plant, including an anaerobic bio-treatment testing facility at QSRTC staffed by leading water research scientists. In partnership with the Ministry of Environment, QSRTC runs an experimental farm at Rawdat Al Faras in Qatar, evaluating the potential for industrial water to be used to sustain plant growth. gramme, providing insights gained during three years of R&D through a research consortium with participants from Qatar Shell, Qatar Science and Techonology Park, Qatar Airways, Qatar Petroleum, Airbus, Rolls-Royce plc and Woqod. T ELL US A LIT T LE ABOUT T HE INNOVAT ION OPEN HOUSE YOU HOST ED LAST YEAR. The Shell Innovation Open House showcased innovative deployment of cutting-edge technologies that provide solutions to the world’s energy needs. The event featured key members of the energy industry, academia and the R&D community including Faisal Al Suwaidi, President of R&D at Qatar Foundation, and Wael Sawan, Managing Director and Chairman of Qatar Shell. During the Innovation Open House, HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, inaugurated a new research and 76 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

WHAT STAGE HAS YOUR CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE RESEARCH REACHED? Since 2008, Shell and Qatar Petroleum have been working on a $70 million, 10-year research collaboration, in conjunction with the UK’s Imperial College, London and Qatar Science and Technology Park, to better understand Qatar’s subsurface through the injection of CO2 into carbonate reservoirs. This fundamental research is important in understanding the potential for sequestration or improved hydrocarbon recovery, and will also deliver insights into many other aspects of carbonate hydrocarbon systems. Qatari doctorate researchers are already working on this laboratory-based project in London, and since 2013 an increasing proportion of the research has been conducted at QSRTC and QP’s Research and Technology Centre

COOPERATING PHILIPPE JULIEN, DIRECTOR OF THE TOTAL RESEARCH CENTREQATAR, TELLS US HOW THE COMPANY HAS BEEN INTEGRAL TO QATAR’S RESEARCH HISTORY AND THE KIND OF INNOVATIONS THAT ARE BEING DEVELOPED AT THE CENTRE.

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TO DELIVER INNOVATION

otal Research Centre-Qatar (T RC-Q) is one of the French energy company’s six regional E&P (exploration and production) research centres, along with its research headquarters in Pau, France. “We are fully linked to the projects that we have in the HQ, and this is the case for all the research centres,” says Philippe Julien, Director of T RC-Q. “We have a research centre in the US focused on the challenges of the Gulf of Mexico; one in Canada focused on heavy oils; and two centres for the North Sea – Scotland for geosciences and Norway for production and environment. Now we have a new centre in Russia.” Total has been deeply involved in Qatari research throughout its modern history.

“Her Highness Sheikha Moza created Qatar Foundation about 10 years ago and she contacted Total regarding the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QTSP). So for us it was really important, we wanted to have research dedicated to the Qatar and Middle East challenges and to have partnerships with Qatari teams.” At QST P’s impressive $600 million, 45,000-square-metre facility on the outskirts of Doha, T RC-Q contributes to the Energy and Environment theme, one of four in Qatar’s national research strategy. The centre has three main research areas: carbonates, metering and petrochemicals. Carbonate research covers acid stimulation and geochemistry, for each of which the centre has a laboratory. The acid stimulation equipment can

“We immediately apply the latest ideas that we have developed in research to real cases, and sometimes this gives us more ideas for research; a virtuous circle. ” PHILIPPE JULIEN

Director Total Research Centre-Qatar

simulate high-temperature, high-pressure conditions up to 300 bar (4,350 psi) for injecting acid into core samples of real carbonate reservoirs. The complicated “wormhole” paths the acid traces in the rock samples hint at the complexity of the process underground. “In acid stimulation, we have an integrated team with researchers from Total and from QP (Qatar Petroleum) working together.” In the geochemistry lab, several items of high-tech equipment are available: gas chromatographs and systems to measure the isotope composition of oil and gas and biomarkers in oil. “If you know the chemical composition of each fluid from different reservoir layers, you can allocate production to each layer,” says Julien. Metering covers measuring flows of oil and gas production. The centre is involved in innovative measurements, data processing and computer modelling. “With the Predictive Emissions Monitoring System we predict the pollutants at the outlet of a gas turbine from Qatargas, and calibrate it against physical systems.” Petrochemicals research covers catalysts and carbon dioxide conversion. The synthesis of organo-metallic catalysts is part of creating different kinds of plastics, a project that won the Qatar Foundation prize for the best Energy and Environment research programme in 2011. T RC-Q works together with Total’s petrochemical research laboratory in Belgium.

Catalysts are developed “to use the carbon in the CO2 to generate some valuable chemical products”. T RC-Q also recognises the importance of deploying technology, so “every month we invite international Total experts to give professional training for engineers and scientists of QP and two operating companies, Qatargas and Dolphin Energy. “Immediately, we apply these technologies to real cases,” explains Julien. “So we provide some advanced expertise, where we apply the latest ideas that we have developed in research, and sometimes this gives us more ideas for research, a virtuous circle. Our aim isn’t so much to do blue sky scientific research, which is more in the academic medium. So in our centre we have research that is applied research, but that doesn’t mean it’s not innovative – we have just deposited two patents and we are working on other ones. We know it’s important to deploy them and, thus, contribute to a knowledge-based economy.” Julien sees T RC-Q as a long-term investment in developing indigenous research capability. Innovation relies less on sudden inspiration, more on building on decades of previous work and experience. Even truly breakthrough technologies emerge from a deep familiarity with the science, the challenges or the opportunities

TRC-Q HIGHLIGHTS  INAUGURATED NOVEMBER 2009, WITH THE QATAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARK

 20 STAFF - 15 FROM TOTAL, PLUS

SECONDEES FROM QATARI COMPANIES

 SEVERAL PARTNERSHIPS, WITH QATAR PETROLEUM, Q ANALYTICA, QATAR UNIVERSITY, TAMUQ...

 RESEARCHING CARBONATES

(GEOCHEMISTRY, ACID STIMULATION); MEASUREMENTS (FLOW RATES); AND CATALYSTS (CARBON DIOXIDE CONVERSION)

 THREE FULLY-EQUIPPED LABORATORIES

FOR ACID STIMULATION, GEOCHEMISTRY AND CATALYSTS SYNTHESIS

 10 HIGH-LEVEL PROFESSIONAL TRAININGS EACH YEAR FOR QATAR PETROLEUM, QATARGAS AND DOLPHIN ENERGY

 AWARDS AN AVERAGE OF TEN INTERNSHIPS EACH YEAR TO STUDENTS

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 79

PUTTING RESEARCH TO WORK

IT HAS BEEN ALMOST FIVE YEARS SINCE THE QATAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARK (QSTP), QATAR'S INNOVATION HUB, WAS SET UP ON A 120-ACRE CAMPUS IN EDUCATION CITY. SINCE THEN, SEVERAL INNOVATIVE IDEAS HAVE EMERGED FROM THE RESEARCH ORGANISATIONS IT HOUSES.

SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY COMMERCIALISED, TOO. QSTP BELIEVES IN, SUPPORTS AND FUNDS TECHNOLOGIES THAT TOUCH THE DAY-TO-DAY LIVES OF ORDINARY PEOPLE IN QATAR AND ELSEWHERE. THE LABS AT QSTP HOPE NOT JUST TO CREATE AN ADDITIONAL INCOME STREAM FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS BUT, IN THE PROCESS, ALSO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR THEM. THE RESEARCH STREAMS VARY FROM ARABIC-LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGIES THAT HELP THE COUNTRY PRESERVE ITS CULTURE TO MORE PRESSING ISSUES SUCH AS WATER REUSE AND MEDICINE.

GULF ORGANIZATION FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (GORD)

BUILDING SYSTEMS

ORD’s mandate is to ensure that Qatar’s fast growth in built space is not marred by environmental challenges. A government organisation created under the aegis of Qatari Diar, GORD has developed a system called Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) that defines values to be achieved to lower the impact of urbanisation on the environment. The system ensures that new upcoming buildings in Qatar optimise the use of water and energy. Developed by drawing on best practices adopted from 40 different rating systems nationally and internationally, GSAS is the Middle East’s first integrated and performance-based sustainability assessment system for the built environment. The organisation is now focusing on the

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deployment and expansion of GSAS and associated standards in Qatar, and the development of a comprehensive Regional Sustainability Assessment System for the GCC and the Middle East. GSAS has developed a stand-alone Building Energy Standard to support Qatar’s building energy ratings. Last year, GORD launched an advanced version of GSAS. The assessment system puts in place a standard for sports facilities, railways, parks and public spaces. GORD Institute, the research division of GORD, promotes interdisciplinary research across interconnected fields of study such as architecture, civil engineering and construction, electrical engineering, materials science, interior design, environmental psychology and behavioural science. The institute has

DR YOUSEF MOHAMED AL HORR

Founding Chairman of GORD

developed patented technologies for a hybrid-eco car and smart solar panels. The car was conceptualised in Qatar and harnesses waste heat to generate fuel. The solar panels can potentially reduce building fabric thermal transmission and its contribution to operation energy by 40% or more, using less raw material and thinner wall construction. The smart solar panels have been developed by GORD Institute in collaboration with SMEET, a subsidiary of Qatari Diar. GORD Institute is currently researching photovoltaic and thermoelectric hybrid systems in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques, Germany. In collaboration with the University of Sharjah, UAE, it is also researching the potential of native plants for urban landscapes.

iHORIZONS

TECHNOLOGY FOR THE ARAB WORLD

ne of the early birds at QST P, iHorizons provides localised advanced business solutions and IT services to the Arab world. iHorizons helps companies set up and manage Arabic-language websites, and provides advanced Internet content management platforms, cloud services and localised IT systems and software products for organisations. iHorizons has put some large Qatari government and non-government organisations on the Net for the first time. The company works with leading global technology vendors like SAP and Schlumberger to help them localise various parts of their offering from English into Arabic and Farsi. Key innovations at iHorizons include developing an Arabic-language search engine and an ISISS touch screen for Ooredoo. Masabeeh is a first-of-itskind Arabic language search platform that is capable of analysing large sets of Arabic text to detect patterns and throw up the most relevant items in a search. The ISISS touch screen is another innovation from iHorizons. Developed

for Ooredoo, it is an interactive system that can be used by the telecom’s customers to retrieve account information and view content via self-serve booths. It provides a user-friendly experience to customers. Social analytics is another project that could have a lasting impact on the local population. As the Arab world latches on to the social bandwagon, there is a need for data analytics focusing on the Arab world to understand local behavioural patterns on the Net. iHorizons in collaboration with QST P is working on fulfilling this demand. Having developed capabilities in Arabic-language computing technologies, the company is now engaged in building an advanced system for Arabic social analytics. Such information has many uses, including target marketing. Several international companies are working in this area, but iHorizons will focus on providing Arabic-language

solutions for the local market. It is an early entrant in the regional social analytics market. One of the most successful IT companies in the region, its clients include Al Jazeera Network, Qatar Financial Centre, Qatar Petroleum, Ooredoo and Aramco. Beyond Qatar, the company has regional offices in the UAE, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

FUEGO DIGITAL MEDIA

THE ARAB WORLD GOES ONLINE

his ‘software on demand’ company is working on building web and mobile applications in Arabic, English and French for small- and medium-sized enterprises in the MENA region. A recipient of a Proof of Concept Fund grant, Fuego has been adapting core software technology from its sister company in Canada to the requirements of the region’s users. The company has worked with several

big ticket clients like Qatar Foundation, QF Radio, Qatar Academy and the like, to address their web/mobile presence and social media needs. With research goals focused on designing efficient Arabic graphical user interfaces, Fuego is working on supporting natural language and search aspects online for the Arabic language and creating tools that’ll allow developers to build high-performance applications in Arabic quickly. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 81

GREENGULF

PAINTING THE TOWN GREEN

ecognised as pioneers in the region’s solar sector, GreenGulf is a Qatar-based advisory and development company for renewable energy and clean technologies. Credited with establishing the country’s first solar test facility (ST F) at QST P in association with Chevron Qatar and drafting the sustainability chapters of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid, GreenGulf aims to promote the use of clean technologies in Qatar. Along with QST P, GreenGulf set up an experimental facility, the first of its kind in Qatar, to study different solar-to-electricity conversion methods, to test which technology would work best under Qatari conditions of dust, heat and humidity. Other clean tech options being explored for Qatar include on-site solar water desalination and purification systems, and waste treatment and waste-to-energy systems for sporting venues. Siemens

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and GreenGulf are together looking at opportunities in energy-efficient urban transport options in Qatar. GreenGulf Inc. will provide advisory services, knowhow and expertise for the development, positioning and implementation of new projects in Qatar. Siemens will contribute cutting-edge solutions for energy-

efficiency in urban transportation, district cooling, energy optimisation, and grid management. If electric buses ferrying passengers on the swanky new roads of Qatar or rooftop solar panels adorning the plush upcoming real estate become a common sight in Qatar some time in the future, GreenGulf’s pioneering work in these technologies can take some credit. Apart from integrating green technologies in infrastructure, GreenGulf is also looking at opportunities in the industrial sector. Recently, the company entered into an agreement with Qatar Fuel Additives Company (QAFAC) to explore opportunities in the integration of solar into QAFAC-affiliated projects in the areas of carbon capture to serve as feedstock for QAFAC’S methanol production stream, waste-to-energy solutions specially focused on process-engineered fuels, and deploying methanol-powered vehicles in Qatar.

QATAR ROBOTIC SURGERY CENTRE

HEALING MACHINES

t is close to four years since the Qatar Robotic Surgery Centre (QRSC) was established as a centre for international excellence in robotic surgery, bringing world-class robotic surgery to the Gulf for the first time. Qatar now offers robotic surgery across specialities such as gynaecology, urology, ENT and cardiology, which is a commendable feat. Last year, Qatarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first robotic paediatric heart transplant was performed at Hamad Hospital. Robotic surgery is gaining prominence, as it is minimally invasive and recovery is faster. Robots help perform minute tasks that are practically impossible to perform by human hands. QRSC, in a significant partnership with Hamad Medical Corporation and Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, is promoting the clinical application of robotic technology in the region. QRSC trains professional surgeons, nurses, technical support teams, hospital management and researchers in robotic surgery using virtual reality simulations. These simulations provide students with a realistic surgical experience in virtual environments. The training is inexpensive compared with real-world

robot training and provides students with a real-world learning experience. QSRC is an important milestone in the journey towards medical excellence in Qatar, and it engages in collaborative research with robot manufacturers and surgery centres worldwide to bring cutting-edge medical technologies to the country. The centre is currently pursuing 12 research projects with funding assistance from the Qatar National Research Fund including ones focusing on surgical simulation with applications for prostate surgery and blood flow simulation in brain aneurysms. The research outcomes will have applications in cancer, brain surgery and interventional radiology. The centre is also engaged in developing assistive technology for the visually impaired, multicultural human-robot interaction, visual mapping algorithms for oil and gas pipe inspection and for autonomous industrial robots, multirobot algorithms for disaster response, and assistive technology for diabetics. These projects have led to numerous publications and have helped train several senior thesis students at the Robotics Institute in Pittsburgh.

RASAD

AN INDIGENOUS FEAT

magine a chronic patient whose health condition needs to be monitored continuously. He cannot afford to stay in a hospital for ever. The doctors can, however, remotely monitor his condition on a continuous basis. The patient need not attend hospitals or clinics for regular observation. Rasad is a technology that makes this a reality. It is one of the first innovations from QST P to go international. It was developed in partnership with Aspetar (Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital) and is a commercial success. In simple words, Rasad can collect any data from remote locations and transport it through a wireless network to a central server where it can be processed for further information and analysis. The technology can be used in multiple industries for a variety of purposes. For instance, it supports any type of sensors. The sensors can identify and send an alert through various channels like SMS and MMS. The data can be captured, converted and analysed in real time. Rasad finds use primarily in patient monitoring systems and body sensors. International clients who have adopted Rasad include Roma Capitale (Rome City Council), LCR Honda and Harmoni. LCR Honda uses Rasad to monitor riders' cardiac, thermal, neurophysiological and cognitive strain associated with motorbike racing. Rome City Council uses the technology to monitor childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifestyle in Rome to prevent chronic metabolic diseases and for remote monitoring of heart, diabetes and Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patients. Harmoni too uses Rasad to monitor patients. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 83

development > viewpoint

SECURITY

IN A MOBILE

WORLD

The mobile internet revolution is forcing all of us to reassess our relationship with technology. To explore the ways in which telecommunication companies are facing up to this challenge, we must also examine the transformation in how we use and consume data, and the risks and opportunities it presents. 84 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

he days when we used our mobile phones simply for making calls and sending text messages suddenly seem very distant. The latest devices increase our access to information and enrich our lives in ways we could barely have imagined just 10 years ago – they have replaced diaries, watches and MP3 players in our pockets and bags. But they also increase our vulnerability. By their very nature, they are less secure than desktop or mainframe computers, and the threat posed by loss or malicious attack grows by the day, as digital predators of all

kinds focus on mobiles. Today there are nearly 10 billion devices connected to the Web; by 2020 there will be over 28 billion. Each of these, both mobile and fixed, represents a potential target. The number of internet-connected devices is set to grow. In a recent study it was revealed that 60% of hackers were aged under 25, and that most had started hacking between the ages of 10 and 15. The number of Wi-Fi hotspots around the world – an easy channel for hackers – is expected to increase by 350% by 2015. And it’s not just crime we need to guard against. Unlike desktop computers, we

carry our mobiles everywhere we go, so inevitably sometimes we just lose them. Data security in the age of the mobile internet is a pressing question for IT managers and governments, for parents and children – for everyone with a smartphone. The mobile communications revolution presents particular challenges for businesses. Employees are increasingly unwilling to carry a phone or tablet that is owned, managed and controlled by someone else. They want to choose their devices, keeping their personal photos, music and apps alongside business data. Eighty-one percent of employees use their own mobile devices to access corporate networks; 98% of these devices are not protected by security software. While IT managers have to accept that employees want more technological autonomy, they must find new ways to keep company data safe. The amount of digital information created and copied in one year is set to increase 45-fold between 2009 and 2020. Protecting data has become one of the highest priorities for just about any company, especially when the average cost of a breach might be in the millions. And it can be far, far higher: Sony was forced to spend at least $170 million in the aftermath of the attack on its PlayStation network in 2011, while the company’s share price fell by 4% and it was hit with 55 class-action lawsuits. The changing relationship between company IT executives and business smartphone users is mirrored by the issues that this fundamental shift in our internet use presents for parents and children. When PCs were the only or main portal to the internet at home, it was easier for parents to monitor the time their children spent online, as well as what they looked at. Even so, only a third of households with internet access currently protect their children with filtering or blocking software. As the digital world becomes ever more portable, it is becoming harder for parents to know what their children are up to online. Nearly half of Qatari children aged 8-15 own a smartphone, and 76% of children aged 9-16 have a social network profile.

As the digital world becomes ever more portable, it is harder to protect children against the unsafe aspects of the web. And it’s not just the risk of exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying and dangerous contact that gives many parents sleepless nights. It’s how much time their children are spending online. The average Qatari 9 to 16-year-old spends over three hours per day on the net. Above all, parents want to know that their children are safe from digital predators of all kinds. Worryingly, 56% of parents whose children have received nasty or hurtful messages online are not even aware it has happened. And 33% of children say their parents are unaware of what they do online. In the digital age personal identity is the most valuable commodity we have. And it is a commodity that can be faked, resold, exchanged and damaged. Our privacy and reputation are constantly at risk, and protecting them is something we need to take seriously. Identity theft affects tens of millions of people around the world every year, and costs businesses an estimated $221 billion. Not only that, but we are all having to develop a new sense of our digital footprint and its implications. The idea of sharing personal information, photographs, ideas and experiences online is second nature to younger generations of internet users, some of whom are learning painful lessons about what is sensible to share online. Issues around data privacy are already being fiercely debated by governments, policy-makers and the internet’s biggest names. Mobile computing can transform the way we lead our lives and the way businesses work, but those benefits won’t be realised unless people are confident that they are in control of their data and privacy. The mobile internet presents a host of data security challenges. While it’s important to protect ourselves and our children from harm, telecommunication operators need to work hard to ensure that we don’t miss out on the extraordinary benefits of this revolutionary era in human communications

BY DANA HAIDAN Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Vodafone Qatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR is the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Vodafone Qatar. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a BSc in Business Administration, Haidan manages the company’s CSR programme “Vodafone Better World” and community activities in addition to sustainability reporting and corporate governance. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 85

development > tech talk

GOING MOBILE IS SERIOUS BUSINESS

AFP PHOTO/LLUIS GENE

BY AYSWARYA MURTHY

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unning (officially) for four days, between February 24 and 27 in Barcelona, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) had plenty of headline-grabbing moments spread over the week. With over 85,000 people attending and 1,700 exhibitors from around the world presenting their products, the Fira Gran Via Exhibition Centre was packed to the hilt with technophiles aching to get an early glimpse of the next big thing. In no particular order, let’s start by taking a look back at the two biggest keynote speeches of the conference, the ones by Mark Zuckerberg and Virginia Rometty. Even before the monumental news of

Whatsapp’s multibillion-dollar acquisition by Facebook, Zuckerberg’s appearance at the MWC was highly anticipated. But now, with the tech and business worlds reeling in shock and experts still debating whether Facebook had paid too little, too much or just the right amount for the seven-year-old messaging app, the Zuckerberg talk managed to stir up new levels of hysteria. The queue to get into the auditorium stretched on forever and, for the thousands who couldn’t make it, the talk was screened live on several giant televisions dotted around the venue. Predictably, Zuckerberg didn’t have anything explosive to say to his audience. Even

AFP PHOTO/JOSEP LAGO

These give just a small taste of the massive lineup of speakers presenting many groundbreaking ideas over the four days, quietly, without much fanfare, in the background. Much of the glitz and glamour was reserved for the bevy of product launches, which, truth be told, was the only reason many landed up at the conference, from the highly-anticipated Samsung S5 to Sony’s Xperia Z2 phone and tablet and BlackBerry’s rather low-key unveiling of its Z3 and Q20 to Nokia’s X, X+ and XL. The flavour of the year was budget smartphones, with

Mozilla introducing a shockingly cheap $25 phone that can browse the Internet, check e-mails and such. Though the number and type of apps that can be installed is limited, it’ll still be a boon in emerging markets, where it is scheduled to be introduced soon. At the other end of the spectrum is the S5. Taking a leaf out of Apple’s book (which, by the way, was conspicuous by its absence – but we already knew Apple had no big announcements to make and we might have to wait till June for any news about the iPhone 6), the Samsung Galaxy S5 now boasts

AFP PHOTO/LLUIS GENE

when probed about the NSA revelations, all he had to offer was “it’s not awesome”. In a chat with journalist David Kirkpatrick, he spoke mainly about Internet.org, the foundation run by Facebook along with other tech giants like Nokia, Samsung, Qualcomm etc., committed to the cause of delivering affordable internet access to every last person on the globe. Whatsapp, he said, on account of its high level of engagement, was a valuable product, and Facebook intended to allow it to run independently. Incidentally, Whatsapp CEO Jan Koum had also given a speech at the conference earlier that morning and announced that the app will introduce a voice dialling service soon. Forty-eight hours later, the same stage hosted the CEO of another technology giant, only this time one that has been in existence for over a century. IBM’s Virginia Rometty gave an engaging talk where she made three predictions for the mobile world. “First, mobile will hang in the balance of trust and security. Secondly, the cloud will redefine software development. And finally, culture and analytics will be at the forefront of any company’s development with the increase of mobile technology,” she said. Rometty spent a significant amount of time talking about IBM’s artificial intelligence-enabled supercomputer Watson, and mentioned how the company was eager for entrepreneurs to come up with new ideas to leverage Watson’s power and speed to solve everyday problems. She threw out a challenge, inviting ideas for a mobile app that’ll take advantage of Watson to deliver interesting solutions; IBM will personally seed fund three of these ideas to completion.

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 87

development > tech talk

AFP PHOTO / QUIQUE GARCIA

Sony revealed its new flagship products, the Xperia Z2 smartphone and tablet.

HIGHLIGHTS OF MWC 2014

AFP PHOTO/JOSEP LAGO

President and CEO at Samsung Electronics JK Shin presented the Galaxy S5 at an exclusive press event

2 Founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg's presence at the MWC empahsised the company's focus on mobile.

a fingerprint scanner, heartrate monitor, improved battery life, water- and dust-resistant casing and the new Android KitKat OS. While this was the biggest announcement out of MWC this year, it definitely lacked the lustre to live up to the hype that had been generated. LG let attendees get up close and personal with its newly-released curved phone, G Flex. Sony’s Xperia Z2 had improved its screen resolution and camera, with an interesting time-shift app that lets you slow down or speed up your videos for cinematic effect and better burst capture. But these tech giants, and several others, had their attention focused on yet another hot topic at the conference – wearables. In fact wearables were the second most trending topic among MWC’s Twitter chatter, the first being the Internet of Things, followed by the Connected Car (more on these later), 5G and privacy. Plenty of hardware manufacturers introduced their latest wearables designed to track your fitness and health, among other things (one could even identify the signature and unique nature of your heartbeat to make Bitcoin payments). Samsung stepped away from the Android OS with its Gear 2 smart watch running on the new Tizen OS. Fitbit stole a considerable portion of the 88 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

limelight with the Fitbit Challenge. Those who signed up were given the devices at a subsidised rate, and their footsteps were counted during the four days of the event. Scores signed up for this exciting competition, and the ones with the highest number of steps by the end of MWC were given prizes. Another area that saw high engagement was all the NFC-enabled activities at the event. From downloading information at the various NFC Tap 'n' Go points to ordering food and paying for it via your handsets, and even exchanging contact information with a single touch, MWC was keen on pushing the potential of NFC. And if tech gurus are to be believed, this is just the beginning, with uses predicted in healthcare, transportation, retail, commerce and more. iPhone users were not left in the lurch, however (the iPhone has yet to introduce NFC capability). Free NFC-enabled iPhone cases were provided so that Apple users could take full advantage of these features. And when you are in Barcelona, can football be far away? Even within the cavernous depths of the exhibition centre, covered floor to ceiling and door to door with gleaming, new-age mobile technology, football managed to squeeze itself into the conversation. Whether it was a towering

There was a big push from the organisers for those attending to recognise the potential of Near Field Communication.

The car will be the next connected device, many experts at the event felt.

7 AFP PHOTO/JOSEP LAGO

Mozilla stunned the world with a new smartphone that'll cost just QR91 ($25) Wearables offically went mainstream at the event with a plethora of smartwatches and fitness gadgets being exhibited.

Lionel Messi staring down at you from a poster (that triumphantly proclaimed that football would save the world) or players performing complicated acrobatics with a ball, attracting visitors to the stand and arresting traffic, there was no escaping the game. Many companies like SAP exhibited next-generation sensors and analytics that promise to give players, coaches and viewers a whole new perspective on the sport. The Internet of Things, which we have been hearing so much about, is just around the corner, judging by some of the exhibits at the MWC. From cars to window sensors and from toothbrushes to vending machines, they were all wirelessly connected to something or other. The Connected Car was another technology that caught the eye at the event. With increasing urbanisation and more and more cars being added to the roads, there is a dire need for the automotive industry to incorporate technology into its vehicles that will take human error out of a lot of driving decisions and bring more efficiency to finding parking spaces and navigating traffic congestion. Ford’s new Focus, unveiled here ahead of the Geneva Motor Show, is equipped with 18 sensors, radars and cameras that prevent collisions and actively assist in parking, and a voice-controlled in-car entertainment

system that allows you to plug in your smartphone so you can be directed to the nearest restaurant and it can even book a table for you there if you tell it you are hungry. Experts there predicted that the car will be the next connected device, and the day we’ll see automobiles rolling off the factory line with in-built SIM cards is not too far in the future. Like the frog that is gradually boiled to death (it’s an unfortunate analogy, but it’ll have to do, considering nothing else positive comes to mind), we are probably not often aware, except vaguely, how rapidly our lives have changed and are continuing to change with each passing year. Technologies that are barely blueprints this year might well be unveiled at the 2015 Mobile World Congress. With much of the world yet to truly embrace these massive changes (the venue was the site of sporadic protests on some of the days, drawing attention to the “exploitative nature” of the tech industry and the inequalities that keep these wonderful innovations out of the reach of so many people), it’s a bit overwhelming to be amidst such big and small names from around the globe, who are actively working towards an unrecognisable and amazing future that they can so clearly see, treading the line between reality and science fiction QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 89

development > tech talk

FITNESS TRACKERS GO THE EXTRA MILE

Things have been built and designed for us so that we can move around with less effort. From automated sliding doors to elevators, everything slowly contributes to the unfit people that we are. BY MUFEED AHMED

e have started taking elevators to even the first and second floors at workplaces just when we thought the only way to boast about workout was the hours we spent in the gym or on the jogging track, along come some new tech toys to motivate us to move our bodies one more step. Call them fitness trackers, activity trackers or health monitoring devices, they all have the same goal – to motivate you to get physically active. You carry them everywhere, all day and all night. Fitness trackers are small devices with a display that tells you how many steps you have taken, how many kilometres you have walked, and floors you have climbed. It lets you pair the device with your smartphone and show graphical comparisons of your distances and steps with your daily, weekly and monthly performances. But that's still not the most interesting part! It’s got some gamification awesomeness that lets you compare, challenge and compete with your friends who own similar devices. Why should you buy one? Whether you pump some iron or not, fitness trackers are making it to everyone’s "cool gadgets to own" list. Most of the fitness trackers have only basic technologies inside them – an accelerometer, which collects motion data, and altimeter, for sensing elevation. But their success and popularity lie in the principle that we are only able to change habits that we are aware of. Fitness trackers put your walking habits into beautiful infographics so that you can be aware and walk more. They can motivate you to park your car in the farthest parking lot, climb a floor or two every day at work, take the dog for a walk an extra round past the block and move a little more every day. They can help you to set personal goals for distances to walk and calories to burn, and motivate you towards achieving them. One of the most powerful factors for motivation to increase your activity level is sharing

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the data. Fitness trackers offer the ability to connect and share your data with your friends and similar device owners. And once you start adding your friends, then the competition is on! Which one to buy? With more advanced ones entering the market recently, the choices is becoming wider. It purely depends on your personal goals, what aspect of your fitness you would like to track and how you want to wear them. Some gadgets allow you to track calories consumed and even your sleep patterns, including your sleep efficiency. Many of these devices offer the same basic functionality but are wearable in different forms. They come as wristbands as well as cute gadgets that you could clip on to your clothes. Nike+FuelBand, Jawbone UP and Fitbit Flex go on the wrist, providing a stylish accent to your wardrobe. They are worn 24/7 and help you to track your steps, calories,

distances and sleep patterns. While the FuelBand and Fitbit Force can by synced wirelessly to your smartphone, UP sends data by plugging the device in through the audio jack. Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip can be clipped on to your clothes. Zip offers basic features but One comes with advanced features such as silent vibrating alarm as well as tracking your sleep patterns. It’s a small device that will cost somewhere between QR350 and QR500, but it could be a big step towards better health Mufeed Ahmed is a business management graduate who heads a creative agency in Doha, and the Strategic Partnerships Manager at Doha Tweetups. He is also a tech enthusiast involved in developing mobile apps, one of which won the Start-up Weekend Doha 2013 and another of which has been incubated by the Digital Incubation Centre at the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology.

development > tech talk

FACEBOOK’S BIG MOBILE MOVE

The social networking giant acquired WhatsApp for a cool $19 billion in cash and stock.

ith Facebook coming out to state that it was a “mobile company now”, and in the light of its dwindling appeal among teenagers, the company has for a while been trying to get a foothold among the younger demographics. It had reportedly tried to acquire Snapchat for $3 billion (which was turned down), but Facebook bounced back with the surprise news that it will now be taking over WhatsApp. The instant messaging platform was started with a meagre $8 million in funding, and

NEW DIGITAL CAMERAS MIMIC TRADITIONAL FILM BETTER

A new line of cameras could offer the realistic feel of traditional photographs with the convenience of a digital camera.

igma Corporation showed off its new line of dp Quattro cameras at CP+, a Japanese camera exhibition held in mid-February. Much like traditional colour film, this camera’s sensor uses multiple layers to capture more details for each picture. The 29-megapixel camera comes in three different models – the dp1, dp2 and

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dp3 – each with different focal lengths. All this power is housed in a new, wider body, giving the camera as a whole a more balanced feel. This also gives the buttons on the back space to spread out, meaning larger thumbs no longer need to worry about accidentally pressing two or three at a time.

has grown in five years to reach 450 million people using the application, 70% of them daily. WhatsApp users share 400 million photos and 10 billion messages each day. Now Facebook will try to leverage this large user base to cement its market, especially in emerging economies in Asia and Africa. Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive Officer of Facebook, said in a blog post: “WhatsApp will complement our existing chat and messaging services to provide new tools for our community.”

UAE TAKES TO THE SKIES FOR OFFICIAL DELIVERIES

A new plan could have official government documents and packages delivered by unmanned aerial vehicles.

3D PRINTING FINDS USE IN OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

Oil companies could benefit from manufacturing small metal fuel nozzles with 3D printers.

printing has been a hot trend for a while now, but it started largely as a curiosity. People got a kick out of watching as a dispenser slowly created small plastic or metal figurines one thin layer at a time right in front of their eyes. Now, however, more and more commercially viable uses for the process are being discovered, and the oil and gas industry could be the next to get on board. General Electric’s oil and gas operations will reportedly begin manufacturing components via 3D printing starting in 2015. Small metal fuel nozzles for gas turbines that used to be constructed by welding together smaller pieces could now be made more cheaply by 3D printing them in one piece.

DIGITAL CURRENCY IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD

Imagine applying for a driver’s licence or new ID card then having it land gracefully at your feet in a sleek miniature aircraft. If the new UAE proposal goes as planned, Emirates residents just might see this happen. The Emirates announced the development of a new system of delivering official government packages with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles (or drones). Kept aloft by four rotors, these battery-powered carriers would protect their official cargo with biometric identification systems, using fingerprinting and eye recognition to make sure the delivered documents only get into the right hands. The prototype vehicle will be put through durability tests for six months before, if all goes smoothly, the system is introduced within a year.

“Commercial drone technology has strong potential [in Africa] to help overcome the limitations of the continent’s transportation infrastructure and deliver goods and services in remote or regions, spurring new models for business and service delivery.” KAMAL BHATTACHARYA Director of IBM Research, Africa to wired.co.uk on commercial uses for unmanned aircraft around the world.

FLYING TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN After several weeks of unexpected but impressive success, the unassuming mobile game Flappy Bird was pulled from digital stores.

F The US has got its first Bitcoin vending machine, which turns paper money into digital cash. A cigar bar in Albuquerque, New Mexico has become the first location in the United States to set up a “Bitcoin vending machine”. The machine lets fans of the increasingly popular cryptocurrency insert money and scan the QR code for their Bitcoin wallet, transferring the funds into their virtual stash. Though the cigar bar’s machine only allows one-way currency conversion, Las Vegas-based company Robocoin, who have already installed similar machines in Canada, are planning to introduce true “Bitcoin ATMs” into the US, which could turn cash into bitcoins as well as turning bitcoins into cash.

lappy Bird, a mobile game created by a small Vietnam-based developer, was all set to be the next big mobile app. First launched in May 2013, this simple but frustrating game unexpectedly exploded in popularity at the beginning of this year. It quickly grew to become the leading free app for Apple devices before releasing a version for Android devices as well. The game stars a simple pixilated bird whose goal is to navigate between oncoming green pipes with an endless series of short, sudden jumps. As the game’s popularity grew, different controversies came to light as various media outlets scrutinised Flappy Bird’s similarities to existing games and questioned how it was able to go from just another app to a chart topper in less than a year. In February, the game’s creator announced that he was removing it from all digital stores, ending the game’s success as suddenly and unexpectedly as it had begun, saying that the game’s unexpected popularity interfered with his “simple life”. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 93

focus > sports file

AL ANNABI AWAIT THEIR FATE

Qatar will find out who they will face in the group stages of the 2015 Asian Cup this month.

he draw for the 16-nation Asian tournament, where the competing teams will be assigned to four groups of four, will be made at the Sydney Opera House on March 26. Qatar still have one game left in Group D, at home to Bahrain on March 5, but both countries have already secured their tickets Down Under and this match-up will essentially be a battle for top spot and bragging rights. Wins over Yemen and Malaysia – home and away – were enough to secure qualification for Al Annabi, even though they did suffer a 1-0 loss to this month’s opponents earlier in the group. They will see this final game at Al Gharafa Stadium as a

chance to put that loss behind them. The 16 nations will be split into four pools of four initially, depending on world ranking, and each group will consist of a nation from each pool. Qatar will be in Pool 3, along with neighbours UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which means they can only face these in the knock-out stages should they qualify from their respective groups. Pool 1 contains the tournament’s heavyweights: hosts Australia, Iran, South Korea and Japan, all of whom qualified for this summer’s World Cup in Brazil. Qatar will have one, and only one, of them in their group.

Pool 2 has Uzbekistan and two more GCC nations, Kuwait and Oman. The fourth place in this pool will be determined by results in the final round of games this month. 2010 World Cup qualifiers North Korea and Jordan, who missed out on 2014 World Cup qualification at the final hurdle against Uruguay, will be in Pool 4. The other two places in this pool have yet to be decided. Qatar, who hosted the last edition in 2011, were knocked out by eventual winners Japan at the quarter-final stage that year and will be hoping to go at least one better this time. The tournament will be held from January 9-31 next year.

SIMONA, THE QUEEN OF DOHA

AFP PHOTO/MARWAN NAAMANI

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imona Halep rose to No.7 in the world following the “biggest win of her career” in Doha at the Qatar Total Open last month. The Romanian, who had crumbled in the quarter-final of the Australian Open in January, claimed her seventh career title, beating German Angelique Kerber 6-2, 6-3 in a one-sided final. Twenty-two-year-old Halep won six times last

year and came into the year’s first major in Melbourne, with high expectations, but unstuck against the diminutive Slovakian, Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 6-0. However, she proved that that was just a dramatic loss of form and edge by easing to a huge victory in Qatar. Halep said: “I think it’s the best [win of her career], because it’s the biggest tournament which I won.” Halep, who had a first-round bye, nearly lost her opening match of the tournament before defeating Kaia Kanepi in a third-set tiebreaker in the second round. She went on to beat Italy’s Sara Errani 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the quarter-final and Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-1 in the semi. Much as Kerber tried, she was unable to break Halep’s powerful serve despite four break point opportunities in the match. “It’s tough to play against a player like Simona,” Kerber said. “I was trying to play my game plan, but it was not easy ... she hit the balls very well and on the line.” Kerber dropped serve twice in the first set, including at love on a double fault in the first game. Australian Open champion and No.1 seed in Doha Li Na was eliminated in the third round by Czech Petra Cetkovska, while the runner-up in Melbourne, Cibulkova, had to retire at 5-5 in the first set of her opening game with an illness.

DOHA DOES SPORT DAY Whether they were riding stationary bikes at Aspire Zone, playing football at Qatar Foundation, rowing out into the gulf or joining any number of the other activities the city had to offer, Qatar's residents came out in droves to celebrate National Sport Day all around Doha.

The fifth edition of the Landmark Olympics, organised by Landmark Mall, was celebrated over five weeks this year and included games like football, basketball, volleyball, cricket and softball. All staff, both men and women, came forward to take part in this much-awaited event. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 95

business > auto news

VOLKSWAGEN SHOWS OFF NEW GOLF Volkswagen brought the new Golf R to Doha for its regional debut. The most powerful of the successful Golf line of cars was introduced by Volkswagen Middle East Managing Director Thomas Milz and 2013 rally car champion Sebastien Ogier, who also discussed his first year racing with the Volkswagen team. “It was an exciting challenge to join Volkswagen and start a new adventure by building a team and developing a new car [the Polo R],” Ogier said. “And now that I see the results, I’m even more sure that it was a good decision.” Milz also mentioned Volkwagen’s new Qatar showroom and promised many new regional buildings by the fourth quarter of the year.

NEW TECH AND SLEEK DESIGNS ON DISPLAY AT

QATAR MOTOR SHOW

AUTOMAKERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD SHOWED OFF THEIR NEWEST AND FLASHIEST MODELS AT THE FOURTH ANNUAL QATAR MOTOR SHOW. “GREEN” MACHINES WERE THE NAME OF THE GAME THIS YEAR, WITH MANY COMPANIES SHOWING OFF STATE-OF-THE-ART HYBRID ENGINES AND RENAULT ANNOUNCING ITS NEW 100% ELECTRIC VEHICLE. CUTTING-EDGE DRIVING TECHNOLOGY WAS ALSO ON DISPLAY AS THE AUTOMAKERS TOUTED NEW SYSTEMS LIKE COLLISION DETECTION AND LANE AWARENESS THAT TRY TO INCREASE SAFETY THROUGHOUT THE AUTOMOTIVE MARKET. FINALLY, LUXURY VEHICLES STOLE THE SHOW AS VETERAN LUXURY GIANTS LIKE CADILLAC, LEXUS, MASERATI AND BMW REMINDED AUDIENCES THAT THEIR VEHICLES STILL SIT AT THE VERY TOP OF THE MARKET.

PORSCHE REVEALS HYBRID RACE CAR At the Porsche pavilion, they unveiled the limited edition 918 Spyder, a high-performance race car with an environmentconscious hybrid engine. The car can drive at speeds of up to 345 km/h and undoubtedly cuts a striking figure on the open road. 96 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

RENAULT BRINGS 100% ELECTRIC CAR TO REGION Renault’s compact centre-stage model certainly had the most unusual design at the motor show, but what made it really stand out was what was under the bonnet. The Renault Twizy is 100% electric and can be fully charged in seven to eight hours with a simple household power outlet via a plug that comes out of a compartment on the front of the car. The charge time can be reduced to just three and a half hours with a stronger power source. THE REVOLUTIONARY TWO-SEATER IS NOW AVAILABLE IN DOHA, DUBAI AND ABU DHABI FOR

“In Qatar, awareness and consciousness of environmental issues is growing daily, and we are seeing more and more interest in electric vehicles.”

QR77,900

HISHAM AL MANA Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Renault distributor Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana.

INFINITI COMBINES LUXURY WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY Infiniti showed off the Q50, which is coming to the region this spring. Made with “passionate, emotive design and meticulous craftsmanship”, the luxury sedan comes with a number of technological advancements to promote safe driving, such as forward collision warning, backup collision intervention and adaptive steering.

NISSAN TACKLES QATAR’S SUV DEMAND The limited edition VVIP model of the Nissan Patrol was announced at the motor show to be available now for preorder. The imposing vehicle should fit right in with Qatar’s bustling market for SUVs.

“This technology will be widely used across the automotive industry somed ay, but for now you can only find it on the Q50.” DECLAN MCCLUSKEY General Manager at Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 97

business > auto news AUDI SHOWS OFF NEW A8 LINE Like its parent company Volkswagen, Audi detailed the launch of new showroom spaces around the market. “Audi is number one in Europe, the number one premium brand in China and the number one premium brand in the UK,” said Trevor Hill, Managing Director of Audi Middle East. “Of course, we want to be number one in the Middle East and in Qatar as well.” Audi also unveiled the A8 L, a new entry in the luxury segment that will hit the region some time in the first quarter. Equipped with new Matrix LED headlight technology, the A8 L will come in two engine variants: a V6 version and a V8 version.

BMW STUNS WITH NEW i8 SPORTS CAR The final reveal of the impressive BMW lineup was the stunning i8, which will begin sales in Qatar in the second quarter. The carbon fibre-reinforced plastic of the body makes the car very light, and the eye-catching scissor doors make the car instantly stand out in a parking lot. The i8 also comes with a hybrid engine that can drive entirely on its electric battery for around 35 kilometres before the petrol engine needs to take over. “It’s certainly worthy of being photographed, but it’s also worthy of being talked about,” commented Henrik Wenders, Head of Project Management for the i8. “It has the perfect DNA of a sports car.”

MASERATI GOES BIG WITH NEW EXECUTIVE SEDAN Celebrating 100 years in business, Maserati came to the motor show with its new luxury executive sedan, the Ghibli. The Ghibli packs a 330-horsepower engine that can propel the car up to 263 km/h, while the premium interior reinforces Maserati’s place as a leader in luxury. “Our new brand claim is ‘the absolute opposite of ordinary’, and this is what we aim to achieve with both our cars and the development of our brand worldwide,” said Umberto Maria Cini, Managing Director of Maserati General Overseas Markets. “2014 is the year where we wake up the giants.”

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business > auto news MINI X-RAID TEAM WINS 2014 DAKAR RALLY

ompleting the toughest rally challenge in the world, Joan “Nani” Roma in the yellow Mini All4 Racing from the Monster Energy X-raid Team finished the day 5:32 minutes in front of his teammate Stéphane Peterhansel in the black Mini All4 Racing. Nasser Al-Attiyah in the predominantly white Mini All4 Racing finished third. The podium was firmly in hands of the Mini cars, which once again proved to be reliable and fast throughout the whole event.

MCLAREN OPENS UP SHOP IN DOHA

High-performance vehicle manufacturer McLaren Automotive has opened its seventh location in the Middle East with McLaren Doha. Run by Al Wajba Motors, the new showroom is located in Al Muttah Plaza on Al Rayyan Road.

he location will showcase several high-performance sports cars from the British manufacturer including the 12C and 12C Spider, the reigning “Best Supercar” of the Middle East Motor Awards. “We are proud to be the McLaren retailer in Doha, and we share the focus which McLaren has on delivering world-class customer service,” said Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Ahmed M. Al Thani, Chairman and Managing Director of Al Wajba Motors. “Opening McLaren Doha is a significant step in meeting the growing needs of our supercar customers in Qatar.” QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 99

business > auto news

FORD SHOWS OFF “GAME-CHANGING” FUSION AT MOTOR SHOW

t its pavilion at the 2014 Qatar Motor Show, Ford boasted that a fleet of new products would be coming into the region in the next two years. According to Paul Anderson, Marketing Director of Ford Middle East, Ford is bringing 14 new or “majorly freshened” products to the GCC area over the next 23 months. The best of these new vehicles, he said, is the 2014 Fusion, now available in the Middle East. Referring to the new Fusion as a “game changer”, Anderson said the car comes with several innovative systems meant to make driving easier and safer. Technologies like cameras that help keep the driver from straying outside the lane, parking assistance and blind spot detection are just a few of the features that make the new Fusion stand out among mid-sized sedans. “It’s a segment that’s known for its lack of style and technology,” Anderson said. “We’re going to change that.”

MERCEDES-BENZ COUPE CONCEPT DEBUTS IN DOHA

asser Bin Khaled Automobiles, the exclusive distributor of Mercedes-Benz in Qatar, unveiled the concept S-Class coupe for the first time in Qatar during the Qatar Motor Show. The coupe concept shows off the epitome of the automaker’s long history of elegance in its vehicle design. The sleek and striking design moves from the exterior, with its long bonnet and iconic dropping line, to the interior, where the instrument panel seems to fade into the doors and four world clocks

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stand out on a touchscreen on the centre console. The coupe also comes equipped with a V8 biturbo engine that puts out 455 horsepower. “We are proud to be able to present this top-of-the-line concept at the 2014 Qatar Motor Show,” said Khalid Shaaban, General Manager of NBK Automobiles. “With its gorgeous appearance and self-assured style, it embodies the design philosophy of Mercedes-Benz for the next generation – purity as an expression of modern luxury.”

THE ALL-NEW 2014 CADILLAC CTS SEDAN ARRIVES IN QATAR

CITROËN REFINES AND REDEFINES THE DRIVING EXPERIENCE El Naael Company WLL, the sole agent of Citroën vehicles in Qatar, launched the new Citroën DS5 from its showroom on Salwa Road.

he all-new 2014 Cadillac CTS sedan has arrived in Qatar, offering more interior space, power and technology, with more than 20 new standard features compared with the previous model, including automatic parking assist and numerous other features that make this, the third-generation CTS sedan, ascend to the top of the mid-sized luxury market. The vehcle was unveiled by representatives of Mannai Auto Group and Cadillac Arabia at the Qatar Motor Show, held at the iconic Qatar National Convention Centre. During the launch, Mannai Auto Group General Manager Mohammed Helmy said: “With an all-new design, the Cadillac CTS enters the field at the top of the luxury midsized range. It offers uncompromising performance, luxury and technological innovations that truly revolutionise the segment. We have seen significant interest from customers and expect the first consignment of cars to be sold out very fast.” General Motors Middle East Regional Manager Bader El-Houssami said: “The

CTS, with its top-of-the-line features, is available in a range of packages which allow drivers a truly unique and tailored driving experience.”

his five-seater is the newest addition to the DS line of cars from the French automaker. The DS5 is built with precision steering and top safety features, as well as a BMW-developed engine, but where it really shines is in its improvements to the driving experience inside the cabin. The car’s USB and jack connection are built into the central armrest, so mobile devices can be plugged in without tangled cables becoming a nuisance. It can also come with a 12-volt outlet behind the central console. Additionally, a 230-volt USB socket is available on all trim levels, providing no shortage of space for charging up whatever devices you need on long car trips. The DS5 sound system evenly distributes audio around the cabin and a Philips DVD player can stream video entertainment to passengers in the back seats. Finally, the DS5 offers Wi-Fi On Board, which uses a 3G key SIM card to connect up to four devices to the Internet, making e-mail and websites available even on the road. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 101

business > market watch A SPLASH OF COLOUR

Fashion is all about shifting ideas and changing moods, and with each season the desire to add the most covetable trends or musthave pieces to our wardrobes is a necessity. This Spring/Summer ’14 Splash interprets the trends that have been the talk of the fashion world and launches them with a high-street perspective. From aqua-inspired florals to bold geometric patterns, head-to-toe white to bespoke sports, the Splash collection is an interesting mix of dramatic atmosphere and varied styles. Highlighting the very pulse of high-street fashion, the Splash S/S ’14 collection picks up on key trends with themes like "Eden", "Nostalgia", "Rational" and "Creed" for women; "Nautical Play", "Earthy Paradise", "Sports Goth" and "California Surf" for men.

WALK FOR EDUCATION RAISES FUNDS AND AWARENESS

The One Qatar proudly participated in ROTA’s Wheels‘n’ Heels event for the sixth time, raising a whopping QR3,570 for the charitable organisation’s educational development projects in Asia. 102 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

nowing that thousands of do-good enthusiasts would be "Walking for Education" in Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art Park, 40 "Onederworkers" eagerly prepared hundreds of health snack boxes to keep everyone’s energy levels running high. With all proceeds going to Reach Out To Asia (ROTA), The One team sold 357 of their innovative "Onederfuel" boxes at QR10 each, making a small fortune for a great cause that promotes the values of education and a healthy lifestyle through active participation. “This is the sixth year we have taken part in this initiative, and once again we all had a ‘onederful’ day, despite the weather. It just goes to show that reaching out to those in need can indeed be fun,” said Gabriel Salome, General Manager of The One Qatar.

business > market watch

LUXURY GETS A LOCAL STAMP

THIS YEAR’S HIGHLYANTICIPATED 11TH ANNUAL DOHA JEWELLERY AND WATCHES EXHIBITION, WAS INAUGURATED BY HE THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF STATE FOR CABINET AFFAIRS, AHMED BIN ABDULLAH AL MAHMOUD, AT THE QATAR NATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE (QNCC).

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rganised by the Qatar Tourism Authority in partnership with q.media Events and, for the first time, Fira Barcelona, the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition hosted 34 exhibitors from Qatar and around the world in nearly 20,000 square metres of space. Speaking on the sidelines of his tour of the exhibition, HE the Deputy Prime Minister praised the remarkable participation of the private sector in the event, the increasing number of exhibitors compared with last year (up 20%), as well as the participation of new countries in the exhibition. This indicates that there is a desire among international companies to take part and showcase their products in Qatar, he said. QTA Chairman Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi underscored the great additions and ideas introduced to the current edition of DJWE, which clearly contributed to the increased number of exhibitors and the growing demand for the event, one of the most important in the

exhibition industry and tourism business in Qatar. Significant Qatari exhibitors at the event included: Al Fardan Jewellery Company, Ali Bin Ali Group, Qatar Luxury Group (QELA), Al Majed Jewellery, Blue Salon, Al Muftah Jewellery, Amiri Gems WLL, Fifty One East, Al Jaber Watches, Marzooq Al Shamlan & Sons WLL, Al Ma-

jed Pearls/Dar Al Majid Jewellery, Royal Jewellery (Al Malakia), Bulgari Jewellery, Al Makki Jewellery & Watches, Al Mawla Jewellery, Matis Jewellery , Versailles Jewellery, Wazni Jewellery, Doha Marketing Services Co. (Domasco), Tiara Jewellery, Tzarina Jewellery, Blue Diamond Group, Paris Gallery, Charmaleena, Sabek and Safana Jewellery.

MAKING AN ENTRY

NIRAV MODI

The first Indian exhibitor at the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition, Nirav Modi is excited about the prospects this event has for his brand. “It is a great place to bring our brand experience. This is the first international exhibition we have attended because this is the only place that allows us to retail. This is the only place in the world where the exhibition has a customer experience.”

Three days into the show, the brand had already made a mark with a few buys and a lot of interest generated. “The people here are very fast buyers when compared to the Indian market, where people mull over their decisions for days before going in for the buy. Here they are fast and also big buyers,” Modi says. The brand is very happy with its firsttime partnership with Al Fardan, but feels it is still early to consider further visits. Talking about the luxury industry, Modi thinks it is all about craftsmanship rather than the name on the label. A third-generation diamond jeweller, Modi has taken the brand to new heights with its designs. Some are even its own patented cuts like the Ainra cut, where the diamond acts as the link, and the Endless cut that is carved from a diamond. With the diamonds sourced and cut in a factory in Russia, the innovations are what make the brand unique. Branches in New Delhi and one in New York are on the agenda for the brand, which sells internationally through Christie's and Sotheby’s.

"The people here are very fast buyers." NIRAV MODI

Owner, CEO, Nirav Modi

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 105

business > market watch CREATIVITY IN ABUNDANCE

PROLOGUE

"I always want a little bit of humour in what I do." PEDRO DE ARANDA,

Founder, Prologue

An exquisite gemstone-paved phoenix envelops the corner of an evening clutch from Prologue’s new collection – one of a handful of unique pieces that include a curious repertoire of sea animals and galuchat leather. “Nobody would dare make things like these. It is technically difficult and then you have to think about its commercial viability,” says Pedro de Aranda, the founder of Prologue. But that definitely did not stop him, and the result is essentially the spirit of the brand – whimsical and out-of-the-world jewellery and objects of art. Atomisers adorned with smiling skulls, magnificent Arabian studs galloping into the wind, falcons perched on an unusual pedestal, and oud bottles surrounded by coral reefs are among the pieces created from Pedro’s wild imagination, all in precious gemstones, of course. “I always want a little bit of humour in what I do,” he explains. Individuality and the need to fulfil his own creative vision led Pedro to start Prologue after a long career in the jewellery and watches industry.

“I created objects from a different perspective, and after a while people began to realise that it was nice to have something novel,” he explains. Combining traditional influences with a new Western approach is what Pedro aims to convey in his designs, and ultimately a coming-together of cultures.

A STORY TELLER

DE WITT

"Life can be as fleeting as time." JEROME DEWITT,

Owner, DeWitt

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Jerome DeWitt does not want to be known as a watchmaker, and rightly so, since he has been an accountant, a lawyer, an investor and, currently, a storyteller. Not the conventional pen to paper kind of stories, but ones that get told through complicated watch movements. Take the Academia Mirabilis, a watch with a half-opened work dial from 7 to 12 o’clock. It was designed

to bring to life the Mirabilis flower that opens at dusk and to echo DeWitt’s observation that life can be as fleeting as time. And then there’s the Twenty-8-Eight Full Moon. “Every culture reveres the moon in some way, even today. The moon is still an indication of luck and fortune for many,” DeWitt says. To seal the deal, DeWitt finishes the dial with flecks of rose gold for the starry touch. For a relatively young watchmaking brand, DeWitt has achieved a lot, especially with clever presentations of what the brand has to offer. The absence of a long history means it is focused on the future and on the innovations that the company can do. “The world is changing rapidly and we really have no idea what kind of technological breakthrough can happen, so it is important for us to constantly be evolving,” he says.

TIMELESS ELEGANCE

MOUAWAD

Despite a rather mild-mannered demeanour, Alain Mouawad speaks with passion when it comes to jewellery. Speaking exclusively to Qatar Today, Alain, a fourth-generation member of the Mouawad family, says: “Qatar for us is an extremely important market. We have been in the country for a long time. Usually each year we bring special masterpieces to the exhibition. Last

year we brought the biggest flawless yellow diamond in the world. This year we chose to bring a piece of high-end jewellery starting from $1 million going up to $5 - 6 million.” The focus for the brand is more on diamonds. “We’ve found that the clients that come to the DJWE are very well versed with jewellery. Many of them are connoisseurs and are aware of good quality,” adds Mouawad. The Mouawad watch brand is also a strong focus. Alain Mouawad is the guardian of Mouawad Genève, the Mouawad watch division, and is responsible for the entire manufacturing division in Geneva and at Les Breuleux in the Swiss Alps, including after-sales service, the Mouawad Watch Academy, and the marketing of timepieces worldwide. He acknowledges the interest in this segment: “The classic watch is getting a lot of attention and is something we want to promote.”

"The classic watch is getting a lot of attention." ALAIN MOUAWAD,

Guardian Watch Division,Mouawad

EXCEPTIONAL SKILLS

CHOPARD

With its stunning booth that displayed black-and-white images associated with the brand, Chopard attracted considerable interest at the exhibition. The elegant watches by the brand that stand out are created by human hands – the expert, patient and inventive hands of the artisans of Chopard, who take turns in delicately fashioning these exceptional pieces. From draftsman to watchmaker, jeweller, gemsetter and polisher, the full range of specialists unite their skills in giving shape

to the most daring dreams. Haute joaillerie watches vividly embody technical virtuosity dedicated to serving eminently contemporary artistry as well as traditional watchmaking techniques. Time is an essential factor in making an Haute joaillerie watch, since each of them demands several hundred hours of work. Depending on its shape, it may house a mechanical or quartz movement. Crafted in 18-carat rose gold, it is meticulously set with a refined combination of navette-, baguette- or brilliant-cut diamonds that exalt the beauty of its lines and proportions. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 107

business > market watch A FRENCH MAISON

CARTIER

"For DJWE we have more than 150 pieces of high jewellery." LAURENT GABORIT

Regional Managing Director, Middle East, India and Africa, Cartier

One exhibitor that truly stood out at the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition was Cartier. Its exhibition booth was made to resemble a maison – a French home. What’s more, it placed two snappily-dressed French security gaurds in red blazers at the entrance of the booth. The design of the space was inspired by Maison Cartier's legendary address at “13 rue de la Paix”, along with place Vendôme forming the heart of Parisian elegance and luxury. Laurent Gaborit, Regional Managing Director, Middle East, India and Africa, said: “We are extremely pleased to participate once more at this exhibition, which is a great platform to demonstrate Maison Cartier's exceptional high jewellery creations and latest watchmaking innovations.” Founded in 1847 by Louis Francois Cartier, the family-run Cartier firm has expanded to become a leading international jewellery house. “For DJWE we have more than 150 pieces of high jewellery, which is a substantial number to dis-

HANDMADE PRECISION

CHAUMET

For the Doha exhibition Chaumet Paris introduced 12 new high jewellery watches inspired by nature. The "Attrape-moi si tu m’aimes" collection feels almost like a work of art. Flowers, insects, butterflies and birds take the stage and are set in a décor that magnifies the richness of nature. The dials adorn a 35-millimetre rose gold watchcase that is set with diamonds. Some of the dials are intricately hand-painted. The bracelet, in coloured satin or white alligator with a rose gold diamond-set pin buckle, is attached to the two horns; their perfect perpendicularity underscores the design’s purity of line. The two hands are animated by a self-winding mechanism featuring an oscillating mass that is engraved with the design of a dragonfly, a butterfly or a bee as an ultimate refinement. In appreciation of the beauty of the floral world, the luxury brand has introduced the Chaumet Hortensia, dedicated to the flowering plant Hortensia (or Hydrangea). 108 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

play. We also have various collections including the popular Panther Collection. Our selection of watches is also large. These include precious women’s watches with diamonds,” explains Gaborit, adding: “Cartier has been making watches since 1847 and our watches are much sought after.”

A PERSONAL LUXURY

VERTU

Hutch Hutchison, Head of Concept Creation and Design at Vertu, has a self-confessed obsession with mechanical creations and workings. “The demand for luxury is high in the region, though the geographical size does not indeed justify the need,” he says. Hutchison tries to justify the demand for luxury by saying that it is something more than the rational brain needs, and hence it is the most personal thing that a person can possess. As a creative designer he tries to bring in an emotional connection with the object, the look and the feel of the object that justifies the buy. Not an easy job, for sure, but one that Hutchison loves to perfect, making each Vertu phone meet both the rational and the personal needs of a man or woman. Strength in a Vertu is taken to an entirely different sphere, with the forged grade 5 titanium case twice as strong as steel yet half its weight, the screen made from the purest of sapphire crystal, which makes it scratch-proof, and a 4.3inch HD display that produces the highest of resolutions for the screen and high-tech amplifiers that make a Vertu sound more musical. A handmade Vertu phone is just that, made entirely by

one single craftsman who then puts his name in it. The Vertu Constellation is a beautiful leather-covered phone that does make someone want to possess it, and the technical specifications make it easier to justify the buy.

"As a creative designer I try to bring in an emotional connection with the object." HUTCH HUTCHISON,

Head of Concept creation and Design, Vertu

A DEMAND FOR MORE

DAVID MORRIS

Jeremy Morris is not new to the exhibition; this is his 10th appearance at the DJWE. And he is planning to come back next year, too, considering the appetite the region has for his products. The British jewellery brand David Morris, founded by Jeremy's father, is a current favourite. “The percentage of buyers here is quite high,” claims Morris, “Even with a population of 60 million in England, the number of potential David Mor-

ris customers could be counted on my fingers, while here with a population of 250,000 there would be at least 10,000 to 20,000 prospective buyers.” This is a good market and they like brands and names and love to be served well, he says. While he doesn’t make any products specifically for this market, Morris does bear in mind what people are looking for and make things that are suitable for Middle Eastern clients. The next few years for David Morris will be about more stores, more points of sale and a broader range of product availability. The creativity and the technological advancements of the brand are beyond comparison, according to Jeremy Morris. With richer people in the world, the demand for all luxurious products is not going to wane in the near future, predicts Morris. “David Morris is interested in Southeast Asia and looking at opening a shop in Monte Carlo, and also to open in Harrods to continue our Qatari connection,” he says. David Morris is represented in Qatar by Ali Bin Ali.

"We are looking to open in Harrods to continue our Qatari connection." JEREMY MORRIS,

CEO, David Morris

QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 109

affairs > local

ALL THAT SPARKLED AT THE DOHA JEWELLERY AND WATCHES EXHIBITION Local exhibitors and international jewellery brands had beautiful exhibit spaces within the QNCC. David Webb was one of the international names that had participated for the first time in the DJWE.

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affairs > doha diary

EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS BY BEING PROACTIVE

Jordanian Noor Dajani talks about the way How Women Work changed her life when she was feeling particularly unmotivated and disillusioned.

oor Dajani, with a background in youth and social development, has been working in health promotion and injury prevention since she moved to Qatar after her marriage two and a half years ago. Afflicted by the “Doha syndrome” during her early days here, Dajani confessed that her life “revolved around getting out of bed, moving from the bedroom to the sitting room, lying on the couch and watching TV” till her husband came back from work. “The effect of it, apart from gaining 10 kilos in a month and half, was that I lost my sense of self. I wasn’t motivated any more. The people that I knew, I didn’t want to go meet. I lost all my social skills,” she says. And then she became part of the How Women Work community. In a conversation with Carolin Zeitler, Founder of How Women Work, Dajani explains how her life “changed 180 degrees” afterwards. How did your association with How Women Work begin? How Women Work literally saved me when I moved to Doha. I read online about this networking event and I went to it in September. And the first person I met was yourself, Carolin. We were talking about How Women Work and I was telling how I really wanted to be part of something. You were very kind enough to offer me to volunteer for How Women Work. My first meeting was so amazing. I had never known before that there was something called dance therapy or laughter yoga or life coaching. My role in the conference began with mainly taking care of the majlis session, where I brought together different organisations to talk about what they do, a few recruiters and also life coaches. I got to talk with a lot of life coaches. And it really brought back meaning to my life here. How Women Work keeps me busy from September up until March when we have the conference. And you hear such amazing success stories and meet these women from all around the world, who come here, salvage their lives and feel so passionate about giving back

to this country. I also made a lot of great connections, in addition to taking my life coaching to the next level. I took a certification programme. I’m doing my exam now. And can you also tell us a little bit about your experience of the conference? When I got into the 2012 conference, it really exceeded my expectations because of the energy in the room, the people that wanted to exchange experiences, the knowledge exchange there, all the amazing workshops I was able to attend. The things you take from the conference really stay with you. The message I want to put out there is that you don’t have to have a job to gain from How Women Work. How Women Work is for everyone. It’s about going there and finding a path in your own direction. Tell us a little bit about how HWW put you on the track to volunteering. Through the conference I had got to know all the amazing organisations in Qatar, for example Bedaya, Injaz, Roudha. I was beginning to understand what was really out there in Qatar and it helped me map out my life and start being proactive. When I moved here I was like, “Where do I

volunteer? What do I do?” I tried to go to a few organisations and they said they don’t accept volunteers. And I let that get to me and believed that there was no volunteering here. But that is so not the case! I know all the different initiatives and wanted to help those who have just come here get involved with these organisations. To show them where to go, what to do, where to volunteer and how to be a part of society. And just basically teaching them how they have to be proactive. I believe you live life connecting dots together. And really How Women Work was the first dot that started my whole life. Because I gained my confidence, I regained my love for life and my love for volunteering. I was able to move closer towards what I love doing just by starting to volunteer more. There are so many community groups you can reach out to or you could make your own. There are so many organisations that’ll be happy to have you volunteer for them on any of their programmes. I’ve been in full-time employment for a year now, and someone at work started a volunteer movement to help homeless cats, nurse them and find homes for them. Some do volunteer missions abroad. I know two people who went to Sri Lanka and volunteered in orphanages and women’s shelters with organisations like ROTA. Recently the Doha Film Institute drafted volunteers to help with their children’s film festival, Ajyal. The Youth Company, with their work on entrepreneurship, is also a pleasure to work with. After How Women Work, I also parttimed with Qatar University for a year and I got to know the leaders of tomorrow, these brilliant, motivated, young people who were keen to volunteer their time for good causes

ABOUT HOW WOMEN WORK The fifth annual How Women Work conference is coming up on March 5-6, with the theme “To inspire joyful and fulfilling careers”. The HWW community offers events every month, which you can find out more about on hwwqatar.com or on Facebook: “How Women Work”. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 111

culture > doha diary

DISNEY MEETS DOHA

ickey Mouse and a whole troupe of his Disney friends stopped by the Qatar National Convention Centre to present Mickey’s Music Festival, one of the shows in the “Disney Live!” series of performances. The large-scale production included dozens of Disney characters and almost 300 costume pieces as audiences enjoyed songs from the movies Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Toy Story performed in several different musical styles. Mickey’s Music Festival came to Doha after the success of last year’s Disney On Ice performance. This year’s show ran for several days in the middle of February.

PEACE THROUGH PLAY The 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum put on a two-day conference at the Museum of Islamic Art that stressed the educational and diplomatic benefits of sports and the Olympics. The conference invited speakers from such organisations as the Qatar Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Academy and the United Nations to talk about the global cooperative benefits that can be gained from international games. The conference also allowed residents to become more familiar with local institutions that promote Olympic education like the Supreme Education Council and Aspire Academy.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF WORLD CUP In celebration of this year’s Qatar-Brazil Year of Culture, a new exhibition opened at Katara Art Centre focusing on football across the world.

112 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

ntitled “Football Without Boundaries”, the exhibit stars the work of Brazilian photographer Caio Vilela, who for years has been working on a series about ordinary people playing football whenever and wherever they get the chance. The exhibit showcases photos taken all over the world, from the vibrant cities of Brazil to the sands of West Africa and even Doha’s own Corniche. According to Vilela, one of the reasons football is so prevalent around the world is because it requires only two things to start a game: players and a ball. The latter can even be created on the spot. Though many of the photographs feature old footballs clearly worn from years of use, Vilela said he has seen groups create impromptu balls by crushing a soda can or wrapping ordinary garbage in plastic bags. Regardless, the running theme of the exhibit remains the same: people of all different lifestyles will take the time and find a way to enjoy a quick game with their neighbours. Football Without Boundaries will run at Katara Art Centre until March 23.

A RIDE THROUGH HISTORY The weekend before National Sport Day, 36 daring participants took part in the first Desert Caravan Challenge, sponsored by the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA). The challengers took part in a test of endurance as they trekked through the desert together on camelback, celebrating the holiday by experiencing one of Qatar’s oldest sports. The caravan ended at Al Zubarah Fort – another facet of the event’s focus on Qatari history – where the participants were served a traditional Qatari meal and received recognition awards from HE Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi, Chairman of the QTA. “We couldn’t have found a better place to celebrate or have this kind of event,” Al Mohannadi said. “I hope you will see this product as a permanent part of Qatar.”

THE TURBULENCE IN US ALL

or decades, much of the Middle East has often been characterised by instability. The string of revolutions and revolts across the MENA region over the past several years is a recent reminder of this theme of turmoil that has existed for ages in this part of the world. Now, the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art is channelling this volatility with a new exhibition called "Turbulence". Turbulence is a collection of the work of Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum. The collection spans decades of Hatoum’s career and combines her early performance art with her more recent sculptures and installations. The entire exhibit is

structured around the idea of conflict. Pieces aren’t organised chronologically or by material; rather, these elements are juxtaposed throughout the space to create a larger sense of tension that many of the individual pieces create themselves. The exhibition takes its name from “Turbulence”, a 2012 Hatoum piece that consists of thousands of glass marbles arranged in a perfect square on the floor. “I made my career as an artist in the West, so it is always very special for me to show my work to people who ‘speak the same language’, so to speak,” Hatoum said. Turbulence can be seen at Mathaf until May. QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014 > 113

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 his home, for their take on life in this city.

MY HOME IN QATAR VAIDA BOUSTANY

Managing Partner, Century Talents Here since: 2008 (six years)

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT I left Lithuania when I was eighteen, and I went to London to study. Then, in 2006, I went to the UAE for the holidays and passed through Doha on the way back. My flight out of Doha was delayed for several days, so I stayed here, and I fell in love with the country. Really I thought it had lots of potential. So once I went back to London, I worked to finish my degree and to get everything sorted in order to come back to Doha. So in 2008 I came back here and settled. I think it’s the lifestyle that keeps me here. Qatar is a country that gives you this luxury lifestyle. You can’t afford that in the UK or anywhere in Europe. MODELLING IN DOHA I started here as a hostess, and then I started modelling. I did some photo shoots, some catwalks. And then I thought: “I can manage an agency. It’s not rocket science. I can do it.” So I started doing it on my own and, yes, it’s different from Europe because they do not have these modeling schools, for example, that tell you to mind your posture and are always teaching you gestures. Here, a lady who looks pretty and has the height can be a model. So all dreams can come true here in Doha, I guess. GROWING WITH THE CITY The landscape of Qatar has changed in six years. And I grew with the country. When I came here, I started working in the hotel as a duty manager, and now I have a company. I have people working for me. In the next six years, I hope to have a bigger agency. I started my work a year ago with my friend. I joined her company, and she gave me freedom to do the talent division and modelling agency under her umbrella. When I saw myself being kind of successful and making money, I decided to do it on my own. So my agency, Century Talents, is only two months old. I hope to improve, get more business, have more talent, find more models around Doha and just grow bigger.

NEW BEGINNINGS TAYLOR BOSSUNG

Account Executive, Weber Shandwick Here since: August 2013 (seven months) BRAVE NEW WORLD Like many expats, I came to Qatar to take advantage of a special career opportunity. I have an insatiable passion for travel and an interest in the Arab world. Needless to say, this is a great place to be for people like myself. I was working in Washington, DC, before I came here, but my home will always be the Midwest town of Carmel, Indiana. I miss cycling or taking public transportation to work – I used to do that every day in Washington, DC – but if I were to go back home I wish I could bring back the 300-plus days of sunshine from Doha. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Doha is a vibrant, ever-expanding cultural mixture going through a period of unprecedented change. It’s exciting to be a little part of that. I think the best part of this country is meeting and working with enterprising people whose vision and talent have put Qatar on the map. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by the prevalence and quality of the family-run restaurants here. You can find great, inexpensive food here if you are willing to look. I love finding new Filipino, Indian, Thai, Korean and Lebanese places. FUTURE PLANS I want to be here for a few years at least. I hope to learn all I can professionally and improve on my basic Arabic. I would love to learn how to dune bash as well, although maybe I should think about taking a desert survival course first. 114 > QATAR TODAY > MARCH 2014

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