While the Arab Spring has unleashed havoc on the region’s economy, one country that has escaped the regional turmoil is Qatar.

Posting stunning GDP growth of 16% last year, the tiny emirate is expected to reach 18% this year, even as other regional economies stumble and need government investment to stimulate growth. Qatar’s economy has benefited from exploiting its formidable oil and gas resources over the past ten years.

But as hydrocarbon-led growth tapers off, the country is embarking on a new set of challenges to stimulate its non-hydrocarbon sector. Can Qatar’s non-energy sector replicate the success of the energy sector and lead GDP growth?

It could well be that the Qatari government is the luckiest government in the world. Sitting on the world’s third largest natural gas reserves in the world, Qatar is the single largest supplier and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), apart from being a significant oil producer. Read More Here

The potential inclusion of Morocco and Jordan in the GCC fold should be taken for what it is – a political move by the Gulf states to widen their sphere of influence in the region.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with it. The United States has done it with NAFTA, the EU has been handing out membership forms to many countries within their vicinity; there is of course the ASEAN, and even BRIC nations have recruited South Africa in their club – they are now called BRICS. Read The Full Article On Economonitor

Qatar, which has been beating its regional rival on economic performance, has also won the title of the most peaceful country in the Middle East North Africa region.

The Institute of Economics & Peace, bestowed the number one regional ranking to Qatar in its annual Global Peace Index (GPI) 2011. READ MORE HERE
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Close to $1.6-trillion worth of projects are cancelled or are on hold in the Middle East and East North African market, with $800-billion in the UAE alone, according to Citibank. The statistics are a reflection of the hangover of the leveraged days in the region when billion dollar projects were announced virtually every other day. Read More Here

Jordan and Morocco’s possible inclusion in the Gulf is a political move rather than an economic one, but there might be other - unlikely - candidates in the region far suitable for the purpose.

The potential inclusion of Morocco and Jordan in the GCC fold should be taken for what it is - a political move by the Gulf states to widen their sphere of influence in the region. Read More Here

The Arab World’s foreign assets will rise to a stunning $2.2-trillion this year, says the IIF. But the key to growth in the region will not be financial resources but structural reforms, otherwise tensions will remain. Read More Here

A report that Abu Dhabi could be a cornerstone investor in Glencore has sent many Googling for the company to find out more. Here is what you need to know about the world’s largest commodity trader. Read More Here

Ratings agencies have an uncanny knack of turning up at morgues and pronouncing the death of the deceased, so it should have been no surprise that Standard & Poor’s did the ‘unthinkable’ and downgraded the United States’ long-term outlook to negative from stable. Read More Here

Most Gulf states offer some of the lowest tax rates to Forbes 2000 companies. But is there a link between the trouble in other Middle East states and their tax rates? Read More Here

Ratings agencies have an uncanny knack of turning up at morgues and pronouncing the death of the deceased, so it should have been no surprise that Standard & Poor’s did the ‘unthinkable’ and downgraded the United States’ long-term outlook to negative from stable. Read More Here