by Eleonore TchakarovaQatar

Content• Location

• People and culture

• Business Etiquette

• Economic legal and political system

• Opportunities and risks of doing business

• Ease of doing business

Location

People and Culture● Geography: Qatar is a small country.

o Approximately 11,586 square kilometers

● ranked 166 in the world.

o Comparing to US, it is slightly smaller than Connecticut.

● Weather: arid but mild, pleasant winters but very hot summers.

● Food: Qatar’s cuisine has been influenced by close links to Iran and India as well as Muslim dietary conventions.

Seafood is welcomed in Qatar.

● Eg: the traditional dish of “kabsa” is a richly spiced rice combined with meat and/or seafood served from a large platter.

The main meal is eaten at the midday, which is totally different with US.

Kabsa Baklava

People and culture● Demography: Qatari(s): 2,267,916 of total population (by July 2015).

Ethnic groups: Arab: 40%, Indian 18%, Pakistani 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14%

Muslim 77.5% (90% of Sunni, 10% of Shia), Christian 8.5%, other (includes mainly Hindu and other Indian religions) 14%

Over 70%of population are ages between 25-54 years.

3.39 males/females--heavily imbalance.

ranked #1 migrants rate: 22.39/1000 of populations

● Language: Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language.

They speak the Gulf Arabic (el-lahja el-khalijiyya- “the dialect of the gulf”).

● differ in vocabulary, grammar and accent from north African and Levantine Arabs.

Urdu (Indian) and Farsi (Iranian) are also widely used.

● The Souq Waqif vibrant social hotspot

cultural bazaar (traditional products, foods, etc)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEt3EVZs4W0

Famous Arabic Expressions Customary greeting: Al Salam alaikum (peace be upon you)

Reply: wa alaikum as-salam (and upon you be peace)

Goodbye: Ma salamaa

Thank you: Shukran

God willing: Inshallah

Business

عمل

Business Etiquette1.Religion

2.Language

3.Timing

4.Handshaking

5.Dress code

6.Patience

7.Presents

Economic and Political Systems●Unitary Constitutional Monarchy

○ Al Thani family since 1825, Direct Election of 30 of the 45 members of the legislative council

●Richest country in the world 2014 GDP $210.1 billion

●US is largest foreign investor and largest importer

●Petroleum and natural gas account for more than 60% of GDP (industry diversification is a main concern)

Legal System

- Sharia Law (family court)

- Adlia court (civil court) after the

termination of

History: tribal law or desert law, sharia law and modern law

Modern: Dual Law -Sharia Law (family court) -Adlia court (civil court)-The courts are separate from the Al Thani family

Opportunities➢ Business deals done in both Qatari Riyals and USD

➢ Prefered languages are Arabic and English

➢ Rail network pledge by 2026

➢ National Vision 2030

➢ World Cup 2022

➢ Expected increase in population

➢ Developing economy

➢ Large amount of liquid capital

➢ 2nd lowest perceived corruption in Middle East

➢ Eliminated certain requirements for the corporate income tax return

Risks• Foreign workers are entirely

dependent on their employer for residency rights and subject to the sponsorship (kafala) system

• No Objection Certificate (NOC) must be granted before an employee can leave their employment permanently and transfer to another employer

• Unsatisfactory labor laws

• Underlying risk for terrorism

Ease of doing business in Qatar vs the USRegion Middle East & North AfricaIncome Category High incomePopulation 2,267,916GNI Per Capita (US$) 90,420City covered Doha

Region OECD high incomeIncome Category High income

Population 318,857,056GNI Per Capita (US$) 55,200

City covered Los Angeles

Doing Business Qatar the

US Topics DB 2016 Rank

DB 2015 Rank

Change in Rank

Starting a Business 49 44 -5Dealing with Construction

Permits

33 33 No change

Getting Electricity 44 42 -2Registering Property

34 33 -1

Getting Credit 2 2 No change

Protecting Minority Investors

35 32 -3

Paying Taxes 53 48 -5Trading Across

Borders 34 33 -1

Enforcing Contracts

21 21 No change

Resolving Insolvency

5 4 -1

Topics DB 2016 Rank

DB 2015 Rank

Change in Rank

Starting a Business 109 103 -6Dealing with Construction Permits

8 8 No change

Getting Electricity 111 105 -6Registering Property

28 27 -1

Getting Credit 133 128 -5Protecting Minority Investors

122 121 -1

Paying Taxes 1 1 No change

Trading Across Borders

119 122 3

Enforcing Contracts 112 111 -1Resolving Insolvency

51 48 -3

VS

Questions?

Bibliographyhttp://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5437.htm

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-business-risk-qatar/overseas-business-risk-qatar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E42mJ3qzM18

http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm

http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/qatar/~/media/giawb/doing%20business/documents/profiles/country/QAT.pdf

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/qa.html#Econ

http://dhlguide.co.uk/middle-east-business-etiquette/

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/qatar/ease-of-doing-business

http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5245bd55eab8ea7a5c8f0407-1200-789/qatar-skyscrapers.jpg

http://www.businessinsider.com/qatar-world-cup-disaster-2015-2

http://dohanews.co/?s=world+cup