The real estate market of Qatar remains steady and strong, showing that investors trust the economy remains intact. Qatar Central Bank’s monthly index increased to 251.99 in March 2019 from 248.27 in February and 247.96 in January this year. When compared with the same month last year, the index has inched up 2.56 points against 249.43 in March 2018.
The quarterly average of the first three months’ indices (January, February and March, 2019) comes out to be 249.40 against 249.0 for the first quarter of last year (2018), which clearly shows that Qatar’s real estate market has defeated siege imposed by the blockading countries.
The QCB’s monthly real estate indices for January (247.96), February (248.27) and March (251.99) this year also suggest that the market has been witnessing steady and sustained growth this year compared to the same period last year. The real estate sector’s vibrancy shows strength of Qatar’s economy. The exports, banking, industrial and other sector have delivered impressive performance in the past. The combined value of Qatar’s hydrocarbon products export in April 2019 stood at QR18.89bn ($5.18bn) in April 2019, compared to QR18.74bn reported for the previous month .
When compared with the total value of exports and re-exports of goods in April, hydrocarbons commodities accounted for over 85 percent of the total exports.
Qatar’s banking sector is also poised for growth. The country’s first bank merger will support economic growth and the development of the financial and private sectors. On April 21 Barwa Bank and the International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) signalled the finalisation of negotiations and clearance of regulatory requirements necessary to consolidate operations. The merged entity, which will operate as Barwa Bank, will have total assets of more than QR80bn ($22bn) and a shareholder equity base of over QR12bn ($3.3bn), Oxford Business Group (OBG) noted in its “Qatar 2019-Report”. The merger will create the third-largest Islamic and sixthlargest overall bank in Qatar, with the consolidated lender having a 5 percent share of the market, according to ratings agency Moody’s.
The new bank, which will also be the ninth-largest sharia-compliant lender in the GCC, is expected to benefit from lower funding costs and improved profitability.
As many as 32,000 new companies have been established in Qatar during the on-going blockade, registering a 34 percent growth compared to the two years before the siege, according to Qatar Chamber. The number of factories has increased by 17 percent reaching 823 in 2019 compared to 707 factories in 2016, with 116 new factories established. The proactive policies will ensure that the country will remain in its growth trajectory in the future.
