Country Details

The Qatar stock exchange was established in 1995, the Doha Securities Market (DSM) officially started operations in 1997. Since then the exchange has grown to become one of the leading stock markets in the GCC region. In June 2009, Qatar Holding, the strategic and direct investment arm of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and NYSE Euronext, the world’s leading exchange group, signed an agreement to form a major strategic partnership to establish the Exchange as a world-class market. The DSM was renamed the Qatar Stock Exchange on the conclusion of the deal. The primary aim of the Qatar Stock Exchange is to support Qatar’s economy by providing a venue for capital raising for Qatari companies as part of their corporate strategy and giving investors a platform through which they can trade a variety of products in a transparent and efficient manner. The Qatar Stock Exchange also provides the public with access to market information and ensures correct disclosure of information. The agreement with NYSE Euronext marks the beginning of a new era for the Qatar Stock Exchange. The partnership will help establish the Qatar Stock Exchange as a world-class international market and reinforce the country’s position as a regional financial Centre with the introduction to Doha of new trading products, technology and international investors and issuers. The Qatar Stock Exchange will be an important national and regional capital marketplace for issuers to raise capital and for investors to trade securities and derivatives products.

The Oil wars

Hitting several pockets of turbulence, oil prices have crashed by over 60% from $115 in June 2014 to $46 per barrel in the last week of January 2015 – and are likely to plummet further to $40 in the not too distance future. Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest oil exporters, has made it very clear that it was ready to face the consequences even if the price fell to $20 per barrel in the coming weeks. It is reported that the Kingdom will end up losing QR465.92 billion ($128 billion) revenues if the oil prices are pegged at $50 per barrel for one year. Several reports have been doing the rounds, after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) met in November 2014 and refused to cut production. One theory has been that the decision was taken, at the behest of the US and its allies, to “hurt” the oil-centric state economies such as Russia and Iran. But the catch is that these declining prices will affect Saudi more than anyone else, since their economy is so intrinsically dependent on oil. Despite numerous initiatives and billions of dollars spent on efforts to diversify the Saudi economy, oil proceeds continue to account for 90% of export earnings, approximately 80% percent of government revenues and about 40% of GDP.

Russia, which has already been hard-hit due to Western sanctions, has been struggling to insulate its economy from further collapses but the declining oil prices have reduced the value of its exports, putting downward pressure on its currency. Pegging the oil price at $100 per barrel, the Russian Parliament has recently approved a three-year budget (2015-1017) but Moscow may experience deep recession and default on its debts if the oil prices fail to rise in the coming months. The development also hit Iran’s economy, which was limping back to near normalcy. Sanctions over the years have brought down Iran’s oil exports considerably and its leaders are blaming fellow OPEC producers of colluding with the West to keep oil prices low. While Europe is cut up with Russia for its support to Syria and also for precipitating the crisis in Ukraine, the US foreign policy is aimed at exerting pressure on Iran (which is also supporting the Syrian regime led by Bashar Al Assad), to limit its ambitions during the nuclear talks with the West. Iran needs the oil price to be around $140 per barrel to balance its books and another OPEC member, Venezuela, needs $117 per barrel to avoid the ignominy of defaulting on its debts and also to meet its fiscal commitments.

Besides Iran and Russia, the two GCC countries – Saudi Arabia and Kuwait – are also likely to bear the brunt as oil sales accounted for 90% and 92%, respectively, in the overall budget income for these two countries in 2013. On the other hand, Iraq too has warned that it has lost 50% of its oil revenues due to the price slump and had no money even to buy weapons to fight the Islamic State. In other words, Iraq has accused the GCC-based OPEC members of aggravating the crisis in the violence-hit Middle East. The other version is that non-OPEC countries like the US and Canada have stepped up crude oil production to challenge the hegemony of OPEC, and the latter hit back by refusing to cut back oil production. Whatever the case is, the intentions of the four GCC countries – Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE – are the same and they do not want to surrender their market share in the global oil market for years to come.

For its size, Qatar wields disproportionate influence in the world, and has been identified as a middle power. Qatar will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Arab country to do so. On 3 September 1971, Qatar officially gained its independence from the United Kingdom and became an independent sovereign state. The government then decided to turn for their supply of arms to the French; this linkage would be reinforced over time and the French would become their largest supplier well into the new millennium. In 1972, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani seized power in a palace coup during a time of discord in the ruling family. In 1974, the Qatar General Petroleum Corporation took control of all oil operations in the country, and Qatar rapidly grew in wealth. The North Field natural gas deposit, then the largest in the world, was discovered in about 1976, and the Qataris were first to have built LNG vessels.

Famous People

The riyal (QAR) is the currency of the State of Qatar. It is divided into 100 dirhams and is abbreviated as QR. Until 1966, Qatar used the Indian rupee as currency, in the form of Gulf rupees. When India devalued the rupee in 1966, Qatar, along with the other states using the Gulf rupee, chose to introduce its own currency. Before doing so, Qatar briefly adopted the Saudi riyal, then introduced the Qatar and Dubai riyal which was the result of signing the Qatar-Dubai Currency Agreement on 21 March 1966. The Saudi riyal was worth 1.065 rupees, whilst the Qatar and Dubai riyal was equal to the rupee prior to its devaluation. Following Dubai's entrance into the United Arab Emirates, Qatar began issuing the Qatari riyal separate from Dubai on 19 May 1973. The old notes continued to circulate in parallel for 90 days, at which time they were withdrawn. [3] For a wider history surrounding currency in the region, see the history of British currency in the Middle East. In 1966, coins were introduced in the name of Qatar and Dubai for 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 dirham. In 1973, a new series of coins was introduced in the same sizes and compositions as the earlier pieces but in the name of Qatar only.

On September 18, 1966, the Qatar & Dubai Currency Board introduced notes for 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 riyals. These were replaced on 19 May 1973 by notes of the Qatar Monetary Agency in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 100, and 500 riyals; a 50-riyal note was issued in 1976.

The Qatar Central Bank was established by decree 15 on 5 August 1973. All coins and notes issued by the Qatar Monetary Agency became the property of the bank but continued to circulate for several years. The Qatari riyal is pegged to the US dollar at a fixed exchange rate of USD 1 = QAR 3.64. Royal Decree No.34 of 2001, signed by Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, on 9 July 2001, enshrined this rate into Qatari law. Qatari riyal exchange rate shall be pegged against the US dollar at 3.64, and sets upper and lower limits of QAR 3.6415 and QAR 3.6385 for the Qatar Central Bank's purchase and sale of dollars with banks operating in Qatar. Article (2) provides the Qatar Central Bank with the authority to determine the volume and the time of sale of US dollars and the associated conditions of such sales and payments. Article (3) cancels the earlier Royal Decree No.60 of 1975, by which the riyal was officially pegged to the IMF's special drawing rights (SDRs).