Industry
From The Report: Qatar 2012
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Exploiting its competitive advantage in energy and, to a lesser extent, labour and land, Qatar’s industrial base has continued to show impressive growth throughout 2011 and into 2012. The oil and gas sector, buoyed by high hydrocarbons prices, has reclaimed its place as the mainstay of the economy, accounting for 51.7% of nominal GDP in 2010 and 57.7% in 2011. The petrochemicals sector continues to have a significant competitive advantage over its counterparts thanks to the state’s vast reserves of available gas. At the same time, the non-hydrocarbons sector continues to flourish. In 2010, manufacturing expanded by 22.4%, making it the fastest-growing non-hydrocarbons sector that year. Going forward, the National Development Strategy 2011-16 identifies enterprise creation, research and development, and science and technology as the key components to diversify the industrial base.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Moving downstream: Expansion into higher-value and niche markets aids diversification
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The local industrial base has continued to show impressive growth throughout 2011 and into 2012. Supported by hydrocarbons, the Gulf state has embarked on a process of diversification that has seen the establishment of a steady flow of downstream projects. INDUSTRIAL MIGHT: The state has exploited its competitive advantage in energy and, to a lesser extent, labour and land to build a robust and successful industrial sector that competes both regionally and globally in a number of segments,…

Analysis

Added incentives: Making industrial cities more attractive to investors
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The Qatari government’s strategy to diversify the country’s economy and industrial base is likely to rise or fall on the back of the investment environment it creates on the ground. While major steps have already been taken in this direction, the government recognises the need to do more to create the incentives that will attract new and dynamic industries to the peninsula. PLANNING DEVELOPMENT: According to the National Development Strategy 2011-16, created by the General Secretariat…

Analysis

Here comes the sun: A focus on enterprise creation and export promotion in solar technology
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The Qatari government has set targets for the economic diversification of the country that will rely heavily on the expansion of the industrial and manufacturing base. The first tendrils of this new growth are beginning to emerge, nowhere more clearly than in the nascent plans for an alternative energy cluster. Qatar plans to invest in all stages of the production of solar technologies in its drive to diversify its energy sources with more green and sustainable energy. PURSUING RENEWABLES:…