Qatar 6th Among Leading Project Financing Nations

Qatar ranks 6th among the world’s leading project financing countries, Minister of Economy and Finance, Yousef Hussein Kamal, has said.  Addressing the fourth World Islamic Infrastructure Finance Conference, Kamal said Qatar financed projects worth US$ 8.6 billion during the first nine months of in 2009, a 37% growth compared to the same period of  in 2008. The spending accounts for about 33% of the total infrastructure projects financing in the Middle East and North Africa.

Qatar’s economic prospects, underpinned by LNG production and capital spending on physical and social infrastructure, look upbeat, Kamal said. “Despite the global financial crisis, Qatar’s future prospect is still optimistic and is supported by expansion in the exploration and production of LNG and also spending on infrastructure, education and health sectors,” Kamal said.

Spending on infrastructure is one of the most important factors that pushes forward not only the sustainable development but also ensures high economic growth, he said. “It is one of the state’s priorities to channel large volume of resources to develop the infrastructure and that is why US$10.4 billion or 40% of the total budgetary expenditure has been allocated for development projects in 2009-‘10,” he said. This (allocation of larger proportion of the budget to developmental activities) reflects that the country has adopted expansionary policies in terms of public financing in the budget so as to contain the impact of the global financial crisis on the economy and to continue with the developmental process, he said.

Kamal said since 2005, a total of  US$44.7 had been allocated for the development works and this spending has reflected on the economic growth of Qatar. The country’s gross domestic product achieved an average annual growth of 33.7% between 2004 and 2008. Highlighting the robustness of the Islamic banking industry during the global financial crisis, Kamal said the largest 500 Islamic banks in the world have seen their total assets increase by 26.8% year-on-year in 2008 compared to a 6.8% growth in the total assets of largest 1,000 conventional banks. - Gulf Times