BQ Magazine

BUSINESS IN Q ATAR AND BEYOND

Taking a closer look at the rebound with QNB. Aluminum manufacturing to face ‘green’ challenge in future.

Volume 4: Issue 47

September 2017

ELAN Media raises the bar for media owners with Digital OOH assets.

POWER-HUNGRY GCC SET TO TURN TO SOLAR ENERGY

QR 35 | USD 10 | EU 7

If GCC countries were to tap solar energy, they could produce 300 times the power consumed at present and also have 34 times .surplus electricity more than the present demand

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bq | CONTENTS

CONTENTS www.bq-magazine.com

BUSINESS IN QATAR AND BEYOND Publisher: Gulf Star Group

Chairman: Mohammed Mansour Rashid Al Khater

September 2017, Issue 47

COVER STORY 28 POWER-HUNGRY GCC SET TO TURN TO SOLAR ENERGY It is estimated that, if GCC countries tap solar energy, they can produce 300 times the electricity currently consumed

Managing Director: P.K. Abdulla

Business Director: Naveed Abdulla

Operations Director: Nishad Abdulla

Editor-in-Chief: A.K. Vijay editor@bqdoha.com

Senior Correspondents: Rabin Gupta rabin@bqdoha.com

ENERGY

INDUSTRIES+INFRASTRUCTURE

Khadija Hussain Dada Zecic Pivac dada@bqdoha.com

NEW OPERATOR COMES INTO EXISTENCE 06

INDUSTRIAL NETWORK CAN BE MADE SECURE

Translator:

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE GOLD AND OIL MARKETS 08

Staff Correspondents:

Ranieh Zaza

Designer: Marx Amante Junaid Edakkandathil

Contributors: Ahmed Shehadeh Alastair Paterson Aman Deep Bertrand Quelin George Kachmazov Ilze Kivleniece Neil Buckland Rostislav Chebykin Sergio Lazzarini

North Oil Company is ready to operate and develop Al Shaheen offshore oil field.

Neil Buckland analyses the effects of the ongoing Gulf blockade, on international markets.

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE REBOUND

QNB takes a look at the factors that led to the recovery of oil prices.

‘GREEN’ CHALLENGE FOR ALUMINUM 12

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The introduction of TCP/IP protocol to industrial networks has created new possibilities, offering better connectivity, but it has also increased vulnerability to attacks from adversaries.

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GCC aluminum producers, although formidable exporters of the metal, face a ‘green’ challenge, because of their hydrocarbons-powered plants.

ECONOMY+FINANCE FINANCIAL STABILITY REMAINS STRONG AND VIABLE 14 The GDP of the GCC region is on a growth path, despite oil price decline.

FALLING INFLATION WORRIES RESURFACE 15 Copyright © 2017 BQ. BQ magazine is owned and published by Gulf Star Publishing, a division of the Gulf Star Group. No part of this publication may be produced or copied without the written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved, use of trademark is strictly prohibited. Gulf Star Publishing takes no responsibility for unintentional errors or unsolicited material. All images not credited are under license from Shutterstock. *Names and identities of people in articles are withheld or changed to protect the identity of the people.

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QNB tries to find out whether lower global inflation is just a temporary phenomenon.

UNDERSTAND THE INVESTMENT PROCESS TO TAKE A BETTER DECISION 17 Ahmad Shehadeh writes about investment options through business environment, mergers and acquisitions.

MILAHA SETS UP WAREHOUSING OP IN OMAN 38 Milaha is setting up warehousing and 3PL services within the Sohar Free Zone in Sultanate of Oman.

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bq | CONTENTS

CONTENTS www.bq-magazine.com

BQ CONNECT 40

Marketing Manager: Bosco Menezes bmenezes@bqdoha.com

Media Sales: Mohamed Ibrahim ibrahim@bqdoha.com Rishad P.E rishad@starhospitality.qa Sanoj Arjunan

General queries: reachus@bqdoha.com T: +974 4491 3761 F: +974 4491 3778

RAISING THE BAR FOR MEDIA OWNERS

ELAN Media’s Digital OOH assets take the advertising industry in the MENA region to the next level.

GEOPOLITICS+TRADE Distribution: Star Hospitality

Published by Gulf Star Group PO Box 19177, Doha, Qatar T: +974 4491 3761 F: +974 4491 3778 www.bq-magazine.com

BQ magazine is retailed at all leading bookstores and supermarkets in Qatar.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING SKILLS EXAMINED

QDB organised the second buy local products exhibition in support of native industries.

A study published in Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities takes a look at language learning by extroverts and introverts.

TRANSPARENCY ON THE RISE

MARKETING+CSR+CULTURE

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Fewer Russian high-net worth individuals are now hiding their assets from authorities.

R&D+TECH KNOW WHERE TO FIND YOUR DIGITAL RISK 52 Technology and human experts can be used to understand where and when a person’s name is mentioned online.

CISCO UNVEILS TRAINING PROGRAMMES 54 Cisco customers, developers and partners are embracing the company’s vision for a new era of networking.

Printers: Gulf Publishing and Printing W.L.L.

RETAIL+HOSPITALITY+TOURISM QA LAUNCHES FLIGHT TO SOHAR

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OMAN ATTRACTS INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS WITH EVISA SERVICE 55 Aiming to greatly boost the Sultanate of Oman’s tourism sector in the coming years launched a new eVisa service.

Twitter: @bqmagazine Facebook: BQ magazine LinkedIn: bq magazine Youtube: bq magazine Instagram: bq magazine

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Successful public-private partnerships create social and economic value, the Journal of Management Studies reported.

The Arabia CSR Network has received a recordbreaking number of entries to this year’s Arabia CSR Awards.

HOTEL GUESTS SPEND TIME WITH ELDERLY 60 Oryx Rotana Doha hosted a breakfast for 30 guests at the hotel to enable them to spend some time with the elderly people.

LEISURE+SPORTS+AUTO DOMASCO, the distributor for Honda, Volvo, GAC and Proton in Qatar, held an after-sales campaign for its customers.

PLATFORUM EVENTS GALLERY

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ACCOLADES & CERTIFICATIONS

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EVENTS

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APPOINTMENTS

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Highlights of recent events

SMB+EDUCATION+ENTREPRENEURSHIP BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

ARABIA CSR NETWORK RECEIVES RECORD NUMBER OF ENTRIES 60

DOMASCO LAUNCHES AFTER-SALES DRIVE 61

Qatar Airways launched a non-stop flight from Doha to Sohar making it the third destination in the Sultanate of Oman.

Follow us on

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DRIVE TO AID INDIGENOUS INDUSTRIES 45

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What’s on September to November 2017 The latest senior appointments in the Middle East

TIME WORLD GENERAL TRADING - UAE www.timeworlddubai.com / usman@timeworlddubai.com

STAR HOSPITALITY - QATAR www.starhospitality.qa / naveed@starhospitality.qa

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bq | ENERGY | NEW VENTURES

QATAR

NEW OPERATOR COMES INTO EXISTENCE QP announces the readiness of North Oil Company as the operator and developer of Al Shaheen offshore oil field.

Qatar Petroleum held a special event to mark the inauguration of North Oil Company (NOC) as the new operator and developer of the offshore Al Shaheen oil field, north of Qatar. The event was held under the patronage, and in the attendance, of His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Prime Minister and Interior Minister.

Qatar Petroleum announced that NOC had successfully completed all transition activities to take over the operation of the giant Al Shaheen oil field on the day of the expiry of the exploration and productionsharing agreement between Qatar Petroleum and the field’s former operator, Maersk Oil. Under the new contractual arrangements, that were put in place in June 2016, NOC has been granted a licence to develop and operate Al Shaheen oil field for the next 25 years.

North Oil Company was

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established a year ago, as a partnership between a whollyowned affiliate of QP (70%) and a wholly-owned affiliate of Total (30%) to develop and operate Al Shaheen oil field.

Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, the President & CEO of Qatar Petroleum, welcomed HE the Prime Minister and the CEO of Total and said: “First of all, I would like to extend my deep thanks to Maersk Oil. Maersk has worked in this field for 25 years and has exerted great efforts in its successful development.

I wish them every success, and I would also like to invite them to join hands with Qatar Petroleum in new field development opportunities, whether inside or outside Qatar.”

Al Kaabi welcomed North Oil Company to Qatar’s oil and gas family and said “I would like to thank all those concerned in Qatar Petroleum, TOTAL, North Oil Company, and

Maersk for all their efforts in ensuring a smooth and safe transition of the Field’s operations. NOC marks an important milestone in Qatar’s oil and gas industry, and will play an important role in maintaining the longest possible plateau of sustainable production levels and hence, in contributing to the State of Qatar’s economic development over the next 25 years.”

He said: “We attach great value to our relationships with our international partners in the oil and gas industry, including Total, which has worked in Qatar for more than 80 years, sharing our core principles and values of commitment to contracts, transparency, and adherence to the highest security, safety and environmental standards in all our operations. We believe that such values are core to making Qatar one of the most attractive countries in the world for investment in the oil and gas sector.”

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KUWAIT SENDS FIRST OIL SHIPMENT TO VIETNAM’S NGHI SON REFINERY

Al Kaabi stressed that Qatar Petroleum remained committed to its obligations towards all its customers without exceptions, and said: “We have demonstrated a unique ability to respect our contracts in the best ethical business practice regardless of the prevailing circumstances. We are proud of the international recognition and admiration which Qatar Petroleum has received for its professional conduct during the unjust siege that has been imposed on the State of Qatar and its people and residents.

We have mobilised all resources, from the very first day of this aggressive act, to ensure continued safe and reliable energy supplies to all customers in more than 130 countries across the globe. We have also affirmed business as usual throughout all our operations, and across all of QP’s world-class facilities. I would like to re-affirm that Qatar Petroleum and all its companies have placed adequate plans to function under the assumption that the status quo could continue indefinitely. I would like to thank all those working in the energy sector, Qataris and expatriates, who have been working diligently as one solid team to ensure business as usual.”

Patrick Pouyanné, the Chairman & CEO of Total, said: “Joining Al Shaheen is a major milestone and accomplishment in the long history of the Group’s partnership

with Qatar, where we have been active for more than 80 years. The transition activities were conducted successfully thanks to the strong commitment of all parties and the deployment of the best expertise by both Total and Qatar Petroleum.

“NOC will leverage its technical capabilities to optimise the exploitation of Al Shaheen complex oil field. Our solid development plan for Al Shaheen includes the drilling of more than 100 wells over the next five years and the implementation of new technologies in order to maintain production while preserving the highest safety standards and reducing operating costs.”

NOC is set to become a world leading offshore operator by developing one of the largest and most complex oil fields in the world and by applying cutting-edge, innovative and world-class technologies.

Since its creation, NOC has worked together with its shareholders and the former operator, Maersk Oil Qatar, to ensure a safe and efficient transition of the existing operations.

Al Shaheen oil field is located in Qatari waters 80 kilometres north of Ras Laffan with facilities consisting of 33 platforms and close to 400 wells. Currently producing about 300,000 barrels of oil per day, Al Shaheen is Qatar’s largest offshore oil field and one of the largest offshore oil fields in the world.

Kuwait – Kuwait has announced it sent its first shipment east to a Kuwaiti-built refinery in Vietnam. The Nghi Son refinery has been built at a cost of $9.2 billion. The first shipment comprised two million barrels of oil, which would be followed by another shipment. The shipment aligns with the strategic objectives of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), namely finding new outlets for Kuwait; oil and expanding investment opportunities.

Kuwait chairs a committee of OPEC members and non-member responsible for monitoring the impact of an agreement implemented in January. Parties to the agreement opted to sideline 1.8 million barrels of oil per day from production with the help of non-OPEC members like Russia. Higher exports from Kuwait should matter in OPEC’s effort short-term, but balance out against domestic inventories over a period of time.

In total, Kuwait plans six shipments to the refinery in Vietnam, for a total volume of 12 million barrels of crude oil. Kuwait’s oil production is currently 2.7 million barrels per day.

Kuwait’s inroads into the Vietnamese market puts it in competition with Russia, which has had offshore operations in the country for 15 years. While Russia is a major oil supplier to countries in Europe, there has also been a focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

Vietnam’s economy is currently rated as strong and there is increasing economic diversification. However, shortages of oil and gas have meant that there has been a slowdown in development. One of the reasons the Nghi Son refinery has been built at considerable cost, is to ensure uninterrupted oil supplies for industries in the country.

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September 2017

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bq | ENERGY | MARKET REVIEW

QATAR

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE GOLD AND OIL MARKETS Global markets writer, Neil Buckland, analyses the effects of the ongoing Gulf blockade, on the international markets.

The current political tensions in the Gulf are the worst that have been seen in years, and are already having some effects on the markets, however it seems that investors outside of the region have been against picking sides and have instead turned their attention to the more fundamental economic matter of oil prices.

Stalemate in the Gulf It has been over three months since sanctions were first placed on Qatar.

The political situation seems to have reached a kind of stalemate.

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Qatari passport holders currently have severe travel bans placed on them, and business in the tiny country is being strongly impacted as the sanctions make it very difficult for Qatar to do business with other countries, as well as the group of Arab nations including the UAE and Saudi Arabia that are enforcing them.

The Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) released a white paper on July 16, warning businesses of the potential risks that would be associated with carrying on dealing with Qatar in the current political

situation. The white paper warns that they expect tensions “to take years — rather than months — to resolve, owing to the deep level of mutual distrust between Qatar and its Arab neighbours.” It goes on to say the situation will “undermine business and investment sentiment in the Gulf region, with Qatar bearing most of the brunt.”

With no resolution apparent, the markets seem to be favouring no one side, despite the warnings from the EIU, and their interests have been focused on oil.

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production, and OPEC report that compliance with the agreement has been going well. There is speculation over whether Libya and Nigeria will also be asked to limit their crude oil production in the near future, which may finally cause some changes in the market.

Oil prices are a big problem on the markets this year, and while efforts are being made all over the world to reduce oversupply, reduce the glut and balance supply and demand to push prices back up, as yet the measures taken do not appear to have been enough.

Oil prices still low A pressing concern in oil-rich nations of late has been the low oil prices that have been seen for the past three years. OPEC and non-OPEC nations have combined in an agreement to limit production since the start of the year, and this was extended last month as it has not yet addressed the supply glut and prices are still sitting at under $50 a barrel. Analysts from major sources like JP Morgan Chase & Co have stated that investors seem far more concerned with oil than with the feuds between the Middle Eastern nations, and have been putting equal risk weighting to both Saudi Arabian and Qatari investments.

According to JP Morgan Chase & Co's Saad Saddiquil, who is a Director for Emerging Market Strategy based in London, “still the biggest macro-driver, it’s the tide which lifts or sinks all boats,” He, like many, believes the OPEC crisis is a bigger problem on investors' minds at the moment than Qatar’s sanctions.

At present, only Libya and Nigeria are exempt from cuts to oil

Will a prolonged Middle Eastern stalemate lead to a change in gold prices?

Gold is always seen as something of a safe haven for investors, and so it is possible that those concerned about the situation in the Gulf may well begin to use it as a place to keep their money while they see how things play out. It is as yet unknown whether this crisis really will take years to resolve as the EIU suggests, or will escalate, or even be resolved quickly and peacefully with Qatar agreeing to demands. Should it be a drawn-out period of tension, however; it is very likely that this will affect the price of gold and cause it to rise, so for those who follow the gold price markets this is a situation to keep an eye on.

It is very hard to tell what kind of outcomes we can expect even in terms of oil and gold prices while the situation is in stalemate and there is so much else affecting the oil situation. However, it seems apparent that the market is hedging its bets when it comes to this conflict rather than choosing a side.

Author biography: Neil Buckland is a Leeds Business School University graduate and has been working in the Digital Industry for five years now. With a particular interest in business and global markets, he has been writing content for various publications since graduating in 2012. When he is not writing, you can find him on the pitch for 5-a-side, reading or enjoying the occasional online video game challenge.

FARABI PETROCHEMICALS COMPANY TO USE HONEYWELL UOP TECHNOLOGIES

KSA – Honeywell announced Farabi Petrochemicals Company will use technologies from Honeywell UOP for a new petrochemicals complex at its Yanbu facility. These technologies will enable Farabi to expand production of biodegradable detergents.

Construction of the complex is expected to be completed in 2020. As part of the contract, Honeywell UOP will provide licensing, basic engineering design and other associated services for the new complex, in addition to catalysts and adsorbents. Honeywell UOP technologies include a Unionfining hydrotreating unit, a Molex unit to produce the linear alkyl benzene (LAB) feedstock necessary for making biodegradable detergents, a Pacol unit for dehydrogenation, a DeFine unit to improve product purity and a Detal detergent alkylation unit.

These technologies will help Saudi Arabia meet growing domestic and regional demand for these petrochemicals and detergents, derive more value from its petroleum resources and help it gain self-sufficiency in these chemical intermediates. When completed, the Yanbu complex will produce more than 120,000 metric tonnes per year of LAB and 246,000 metric tonnes per year of normal paraffins, in addition to de-aromatised speciality oils, asphalt, sulfonates, mining chemicals, process oils and lubes. As a feedstock, the complex will use diesel and kerosene from the Saudi Aramco refinery and petrochemical complex in Jizan, about 1,000 km south of Yanbu.

According to the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), Saudi Arabia had 98.5 million tonnes per year of petrochemicals production capacity in 2016. It is the region’s second-largest industry within the manufacturing sector, creating more than 500,000 direct and indirect jobs and $108 billion worth of products as recently as 2015.

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QATAR

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE REBOUND QNB takes a look at the factors that led to the recovery of oil prices.

Oil prices held up for most of the first half of 2017, averaging $54 per barrel up to the end of May following the agreement at the end of 2016 between OPEC and some major non-OPEC producers to restrict output. Prices then slumped to an average of $48 per barrel during June and July, mainly due to concerns about rising production in the US as well as increasing supply from Nigeria and Libya who were exempt from the OPEC agreement.

However, towards the end of July, oil prices rebounded, rising 13% from a low of $47 per barrel earlier in the month to $53 per barrel at the end of the month. The recovery came despite an ongoing ramp up in US production and continued concerns about supply growth from Nigeria and Libya, raising the question, what was behind the recovery?

Two main drivers appear to have given a lift to oil prices.

First, crude oil inventories, which had been rising persistently earlier in the year despite OPEC cuts, have begun to fall. In the US, crude oil inventories began to decline particularly rapidly in July and by more than expected. They fell by an

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average of 6.5 million barrels each week compared with an average increase of 0.9m barrels during the first half of 2017.

Although inventories usually fall at this time of year as it is the driving season in the US, they don’t usually fall by as much as this. The drawdown of inventories in the US has been enlarged by targeted OPEC efforts to cap exports. Saudi Arabia’s energy minister spoke about reducing exports to the US in May and at the end of July announced that total exports would be capped at 6.6 million barrels per day.

In the whole of the OECD, stocks are expected to fall from a peak of 3.02 billion barrels in May to 2.99 billion barrels by the end of the year.

Second, OPEC and some major non-OPEC producers stepped up efforts to enforce stricter compliance to the output cut agreement towards the end of July. OPEC compliance with the output cuts was 100% in Q1 but slipped slightly to 94% for the whole of the first half of 2017.

Meanwhile, non-OPEC compliance has improved from 18% in Q1 to 61% for the year so far. This

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KPC SEEKS TO SET UP OIL PRODUCTS TRADING JOINT VENTURE Kuwait – Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) is looking to set up a joint venture with commodities traders or international oil companies in order to trade refined oil products. KPC is negotiating with the likes of BP, Shell and Total, and traders like Vitol and Glencore.

The proposed joint venture would market products from refineries being built by KPC such as the 230,000 barrels per day Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Complex in Oman. KPC and Oman Oil are partners in the project.

KPC’s foray into oil products trading a similar move by Saudi Aramco. The energy major launched Aramco Trading Company (ATC) in 2012 as a wholly owned subsidiary to trade refined, liquid chemical and polymer products. Oman set up Oman Trading International (OTI) in 2006 as a joint venture between Oman Oil Company (OOC) and Vitol, to trade oil, petroleum products and petrochemicals globally. In November 2015, Vitol’s shareholding was transferred to the State General Reserve Fund, giving the Oman governent full control of the company.

Outside the GCC, Litasco, the trading arm of Russia’s Lukoil, and SOMO of Iraq set up an oil trading company based out of Dubai.

With major national oil companies in the GCC, venturing into trading, independent commodiites traders could start to feel the pressure.

This could be because the oil frims have huge financial backing.

However, experts have said GCC national oil companies would not move their focus away from their markets. This would enable the independent traders to continue playing a role in the Middle East, albeit with perhaps less margins.

leaves room for improvement in compliance with the output cut agreement. On July 24th, the OPEC-nonOPEC monitoring committee stated that it would try to increase compliance with the output cuts.

In the following days, a number of major producers, including the UAE and Kuwait affirmed their commitment to the agreement and said that they would make deeper cuts to their production. These statements gave a considerable boost to oil prices.

What does this mean for our forecasts? So far this year, oil prices have averaged $52 per barrel. As expected, the rebalancing of the global oil market is well underway.

The latest IEA data suggests that the market will be undersupplied by around 700,000 barrels per day in 2017 and 600,000 barrels per day in 2018, assuming that OPEC extends its output cuts for the full year in 2018.

OPEC aims to reduce inventories to their historical five-year average, but we do not expect inventories to fall to that level by the end of the current agreement (March 2018). Therefore, OPEC will need to extend its output cuts to achieve its inventory objectives. This should lead to considerably higher prices. However, US shale oil producers are likely to increase supply when prices rise above their cost breakeven levels.

We, therefore, maintain our forecasts for prices to be capped at these breakeven levels, which we expect to average $55 per barrel in 2017 and $58 per barrel in 2018.

BOROUGE EXPANSION GETS GO-AHEAD Abu Dhabi – A multibillion-dollar expansion of the Borouge petrochemicals complex at Ruwais is set to go ahead after receiving approval from authorities. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) holds a 60% stake in the project and Borealis of Austria has a 40% shareholding. Borouge 4 would be the fourth expansion of the facility and is expected to be completed in 2023. Borouge 4 would be integrated with ADNOC’s oil refining complex in the area.

PP5, a polypropylene plant is to be set up to integrate with the third expansion phase, which increased product to 4.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). The newest expansion would double production as the UAE seeks to make products out of the raw materials used for petrochemicals.

The UAE is now banking on petrochemicals to generate revenues as oil prices have tumbled. For natural gas, the country is heavily reliant on supplies from Qatar. Borouge’s output is currently marketed to China and other markets in Asia and runs its marketing operations out of Singapore.

The Borouge 4 complex and polypropylene plant will allow ADNOC to grow its current petrochemical production to almost 10 mtpa, enabling the company to take advantage of market opportunities identified, particularly in Asia. The Asian high-grade polymer market is set to double by 2040.

The Borouge complex is adjacent to ADNOC’s main oil refinery in Ruwais, 20 km southeast of Abu Dhabi City. Its expansion was completed last year, doubling capacity to 800,000 barrels per day before a major fire there in January, bringing down production levels.

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QATAR

READY TO REAP THE BENEFITS As one of the most nimble and cost-efficient producers, Qatar is well-positioned to take advantage, by boosting its production as the market rebalances, says QNB. New data from BP have provided a summary of the state of the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market in 2016. The market remained oversupplied, but the extent of oversupply increased.

Global LNG supply rose by 6.5% compared to virtually zero growth over 2011-2015. Demand growth increased by 4.2%, it’s the fastest rate in the past five years.

Amidst these market shifts, Qatar maintained its position as the world’s largest and most costefficient producer, accounting for 30.1% of global supply and capturing part of the new demand growth. The commitment to boost long-term production will solidify its position as the global LNG leader.

There were four major market developments in 2016. First, supply growth was led by a surge in Australian exports. Exports from Australia increased by 49% and represented nearly 90% of the increase in global supply. This reflects over $200bn in past investments and the completion of the first phases of mega projects, launched several years ago when prices were higher. Australia is now the world’s second largest LNG producer and accounted for 16.4% of supply in 2016.

Second, the US began its first major international LNG shipments in 2016.

The majority of its exports went to Latin American countries, particularly

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Chile and Mexico. Although it remains a small share of global supply, the US entry into the LNG export market represents a major shift.

Third, demand was propelled by China and Africa, more than offsetting weaker demand from Japan and South Korea.

Chinese LNG imports rose by a colossal 33%. The rapid increase reflected the Chinese authorities’ goals to decrease reliance on coal and increase consumption of gas, one of the cleanest fossil fuels.

African imports of LNG nearly tripled in 2016, drawn by lower prices, weak inter-regional pipeline infrastructure and rapid population growth. These increases more than compensated for a 2% decline in imports from Japan and flat import growth from South Korea, the world’s largest LNG importers.

A desire to reduce reliance on LNG, cheaper prices of alternative energy sources and weaker power demand contributed to slower demand growth from the two countries.

Fourth, Qatar remains the number one LNG player in the world despite higher supply from Australia and the US. Qatar’s share of global LNG supply stood at 30.1% as it captured

nearly 70% of the new African demand, more than compensating for the lower cargoes to Japan. Qatar’s position is likely to be cemented by its recent decision to boost production by 30% over the next 5-7 years.

The four developments have important implications going forward.

Production from the US and Australia is expected to increase substantially, maintaining the state of excess supply in the market. But subsequently, rising demand from Asia, a concerted global effort to adopt cleaner sources of energy and deferred investments are widely expected to push the market back into balance, potentially even into undersupply, around 2020.

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bq | ENERGY | IN CONTEXT

RASGAS MAKES MILESTONE 500TH LNG CARGO DELIVERY TO EDISON Doha – RasGas Company Limited (RasGas) celebrated the 500th liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo delivery to its long-term customer, Edison, under the Long-term Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) signed between Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company (II) and Edison in November 2003, for deliveries of 4.6 million tonnes (or 6.4 billion standard cubic metres) of LNG per year.

RasGas’ LNG tanker, Al Areesh, delivered the cargo at the Adriatic LNG Terminal located in the northern Adriatic Sea, about 15 kilometres off the Veneto coastline in Italy.

RasGas’ Chief Executive Officer, Hamad Mubarak Al Muhannadi, said: “We are very proud to have delivered the 500th LNG SPA cargo to our long-term partner and customer, Edison. This is a milestone delivery that underlines RasGas’ continued commitment to the safe and reliable supply of LNG to all of its customers worldwide.”

“The 500th LNG SPA cargo is further evidence of the excellent relationship and long-term partnership between RasGas and Edison, which started more than 14 years ago with the signing of the

RasGas’ Al Areesh vessel arrives at the Adriatic LNG Terminal, marking the 500th SPA cargo delivery to RasGas’ longstanding customer, Edison.

long-term LNG Sales and Purchase Agreement and the construction of the offshore LNG receiving terminal,” said Marc Benayoun, Edison’s Chief Executive Officer.

TOP PLAYERS FROM GLOBAL CHEMICAL INDUSTRY TO ATTEND GPCA FORUM Dubai – The Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) has announced the line-up of confirmed speakers for the 12th Annual GPCA Forum, to be held later this year. Under the theme ‘The chemical industry in transformation: A new journey begins’, the forum is set to take place from 27–29 November 2017, at the Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE. In line with this year’s theme, the 2017 edition of the Annual Forum is centered on the opportunities afforded by organisational transformation and aims to facilitate the exchange of ideas on topics that have

great implications for the industry – and are influencing the corporate agenda. With the industry undergoing significant changes, in the wake of geopolitical shifts and an evolving technological landscape, there has never been a more important time to address the issues of transformation and disruption. The 12th Annual GPCA Forum, the flagship event in the global industry’s calendar, will bring together renowned thought leaders and experts from the industry to share insights on driving strategic partnerships, diversification, investments and capitalising on a new era of changes

in the global competiveness landscape.

Yousef Al Benyan, Vice Chairman and CEO of SABIC and Chairman of GPCA; will open the forum, while Hariolf Kottmann, CEO of Clariant and President of International Council of Chemical Association (ICCA) and the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic); will deliver the keynote address. Confirmed speakers include the likes of Neil A. Chapman, President of ExxonMobil Chemical Company; Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell; Ziad S. Al Labban, CEO of Sadara Chemical Company, and Patrick Thomas, CEO, Covestro.

QP HIGHLIGHTS ITS OIL & GAS OPERATIONS AT WPC Doha – Qatar Petroleum, together with several of its joint ventures and subsidiaries, took part all of last week in the 22nd World Petroleum Congress (WPC), which was held in Istanbul, Turkey.

Held under the theme “Bridges to Our Energy Future,” WPC attracted the participation of thousands of delegates, including many ministers and a large number of CEOs of major oil & gas companies from all over the world.

Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, President & CEO of QP, said: “The 22nd WPC conference and exhibition is an excellent opportunity for Qatar Petroleum to showcase its globally recognized achievements in the oil and gas industry. It comes at a very important time in our growth highlighted by a number of announcements that would enhance Qatar’s leading position as the world’s largest LNG producer and exporter, particularly plans to raise Qatar’s LNG production from 77 million to 100 million tonnes per year.”

In addition to its participation in the WPC exhibition, Qatar Petroleum is also a platinum sponsor as well as the lanyard sponsor

of the 22nd WPC, thus giving the corporation the opportunity to highlight its presence in the event and further boosting its standing in the global oil & gas industry.

September 2017

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bq | ECONOMY+FINANCE | GCC REVIEW

GCC

FINANCIAL STABILITY REMAINS STRONG AND VIABLE The GDP of the GCC region is on a growth path despite oil price decline with KSA, UAE and Qatar taking the lion’s share.

Regional economies have been on an accelerated growth trajectory for the period 2011-14, which has been mainly fueled by record oil prices with the banking sector being the largest beneficiary of the economic boom.

In a detailed report compiled

by Al Masah Capital Limited, noncore income recovery, a strong investment-led credit growth coupled with a soaring population were some of the key areas that were instrumental in bolstering the balance sheets of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) lenders.

Capital earnings were also improved significantly mainly as a result of public sector deposits, which in turn improved capital ratios for the lenders. All these gains came against a backdrop of a liquidity boost from the respective governments into the system, a move that shielded the regional financial sector from the 2009 financial crisis.

Petro-dollar revenues and

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stringent yet strategic policies by the Central Banks also played a key role in ensuring that the three economies’ financial stability remained strong and viable.

The regional banking sector still remains a preserve of domestic lenders with crossborder presence still facing strict licensing restrictions for foreign banks. However, with increased competition, local banks are on a footprint expansion spree.

But even with a booming economy the financial sector continues to face some challenges more so in the form of ballooning deficits. Some key economic sectors have also experienced slow growth primarily as a result of slackening economic activity.

One key challenge being a low oil price environment, which still continues to exert pressure on the government revenues.

Government spending, as a result, consequently remains in special focus as it’s still aligned with the regional long-term vision.

There were also mixed reactions with the government’s decision to draw down deposits and issue local denominated currency notes with the objective of funding deficits. Although this move helped the banking sector remain resilient until 2015, it also drained liquidity out of the system.

Money supply Cash supply remained under pressure as growth continued to decelerate. M2 of the GCC region grew by one and a half points to stand at 2.2% in 2016 compared to 3.7% during the previous year.

On its part, the CAGR growth stood at 8.3% between 2011 and 2016 and 5.4% between 2013 and 2016. The slowdown in money creating cycle indicates the magnitude of slowdown and impact of oil prices on the liquidity environment of the region.

According to the Al Masah Capital report, the slowdown in money supply growth can be attributed to government-related

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deposits. The report also indicates that these deposits have been decelerating since 2014 even as the government’s continued utilization of internal reserves in a bid to fund expenses.

Out of the three nations, Qatar was the most impacted with the liquidity squeeze mainly as a result of oil price decline and a drop in government deposit. KSA and UAE were the most dominant players in the region registering a 3.3% and 3.6% growth respectively.

Foreign reserves KSA recorded the highest foreign reserve decline of 27% from $724.3 billion in 2014 to $528.6bn in 2016. Qatar recorded a 26.5% drop in two years from $42.7bn in 2014 to $31.4 billion in 2016.

But even with shrinking foreign reserves being registered for the most part of 2016, the UAE and Kuwait recorded an increase in their foreign reserves during the past two years having increased by 10.2% and 6.4% respectively, the Al Masah Capital report highlights.

The report also cites that although the liquidity situation in the region remains on a recovery path in the past three quarters, its vulnerability still lingers and it remains a cause for concern for the Central Banks.

The temporary measures adopted are however expected to fade out, as the governments utilize the funds to cushion deficits brought about by a persistent decline in oil prices.

Banking penetration The GCC continues to experience a robust banking sector with penetration increasing since 2011 mainly due to an enabling macroeconomic environment, buoyant energy prices, and benign interest rate scenario.

GCC’s loan to GDP and deposits to GDP ratio in 2016 stood at 84% and 85% respectively – a clear indication that aggregate banking penetration is likely to increase over the foreseeable future as the economies continue to grow.

Banking assets are also on a growth path and will mainly be driven by credit deployment as banks continue to extend loans to both public and private sectors to support the broader economic activity.

Banks performance Performance in the banking sector continued to experience steady growth with the banks under review accounting for more than 90% of the total assets.

Qatar National Bank took the leadership position with $197bn in asset size, representing a 9.4% market share. First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Emirates NBD (ENBD) asset size stood at $181.3bn and $122bn respectively, representing a market share of 8.6% and 5.8% respectively.

Other notable bank that featured in the top ten included National Bank of Kuwait, with $80.7bn in asset size, representing a 3.8% market share and Riyadh Bank with $58bn in asset size representing a 2.7% market share.

According to the report, total assets of the UAE banks grew at 10.2% CAGR during the period from AED1,202.3bn in 2007 to AED2,610.8bn in 2016. Overall, the bank assets growth has accelerated, post the surge witnessed during 2013, growing by impressive margins during the past three years. In 2016, the average monthly growth was clocked at 0.4%.

Regional deals acquisition For over a decade, the GCC region has attracted several key deals with the most lucrative ones happening between 2006 and 2016. During this period, a total of 69 deals estimated to be worth well over $27bn were recorded.

However, 2016 remained the most lucrative, in terms of value, with $14,869m from just two deals.

Customer deposits Despite subdued oil prices, customer deposits in the UAE grew at a CAGR of 9.1% from AED716 million to AED1,562.9 billion in 2015.

The Al Masah Capital report noted that public sector deposits registered growth, increasing from 72.8% in 2014 to 76.5% in 2016.

Private sector deposits contribution to overall deposit base increased from 23.9% in 2010 to 27.2% in 2014.

FAB holds the highest share of customer deposits with 30.4% followed by ENBD with over 16%, and ADCB with a little over 10%.

Islamic banking The Islamic banking sector continued to register impressive growth in comparison to the conventional banking. Even with a slow 2016, Islamic banking largely continues to outperform national and international conventional lenders.

This is because the institutions are supported by proactive regulations, enhanced recognition of Islamic finance, and wider adoption of Sharia products especially in retail.

In 2016, the financial assets in the UAE were estimated to represent almost 30% of the system, up from around 20% in 2010. This was mainly achieved by the accelerated growth of Islamic windows through which conventional banks have captured additional market shares and clientele over the years.

Credit demand Lending remained strong thanks to the public sector and the government’s effort to diversify the economy through infrastructure projects.

In Qatar, gross credit for both resident and non-resident has increased to QR839.3bn in 2016 from QR110.9bn in 2011, registering a CAGR of 15.8% during the period.

Qatar reported a much faster growth compared to 9.7% by the GCC region during the past five years.

According to the report, the public sector credit demand will remain strong, as the government looks to finance large-scale investments into infrastructure projects linked to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the National Vision 2030 diversification programme.

September 2017

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DUBAI

ENCOURAGING SIGNS

Business conditions in the emirate of Dubai improved at a robust pace in July.

Robust growth momentum of the non-oil private sector in Dubai was maintained in July, with the seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index – a composite indicator designed to give an accurate overview of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector economy – at 56.3 in July, broadly similar to 56.5 in June. The latest index reading was one that was above the long-run trend (55.2).

By sector, the wholesale & retail industry (index at 57.9) was once again the bestperforming categories, followed by travel & tourism (56.3) and the construction sector (54.8).

A reading of below 50.0 indicates that the non-oil private sector economy is generally declining; above 50.0, that it is generally expanding. A reading of 50.0 signals no change.

The survey covers the Dubai non-oil private sector economy, with additional sector data published

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for travel & tourism, wholesale & retail and construction.

Khatija Haque, Head of MENA Research at Emirates NBD, said: “While the headline index continues to reflect strong growth in the non-oil economy in July, firms’ margins continue to

be squeezed as they lower selling prices, particularly in the trade and hospitality sectors. Employment growth remains soft overall.”

Key findings • Dubai Economy Tracker Index records 56.3 in July

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Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index: Sector Summary Jul-17

Jun-17

56.3

Whole Economy 56.5

57.9

Travel & Tourism 58.0

56.3

Wholesale & Retail 54.4

54.8

Construction 57.4

45

50

• Sharp expansions of output and new orders • Another marginal increase in employment Business activity and employment The positive overall trend for business conditions was supported by a sharp increase in output, despite growth easing to a slightly slower pace. The rise in business activity was attributed by panellists to favourable economic conditions and more projects.

In spite of a steep expansion in business activity, the pace of job creation was only marginal, continuing the trend observed in the past five months of expansion.

Notably, all three monitored sub-sectors raised their staffing levels, led by wholesale & retail.

Incoming new work and business activity expectations Incoming new business expanded at the fastest pace since April. The rate of increase was stronger than

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the long-run series trend. According to anecdotal evidence, client wins were supplemented by promotional activities and stronger underlying demand conditions.

Business confidence increased from June’s 10-month low, but remained weaker than the overall level of positive sentiment recorded on average in the series history.

Optimism was firmly rooted in expectations of further improvements in demand, supported by promotional activities.

Input costs and average prices charged Input prices rose for the seventeenth successive month. The rate of inflation eased from June’s threemonth high, however, and was only marginal. The travel & tourism sector was the only sector to buck the overall upward trend seen in the construction and wholesale & retail sectors. Stronger demand reportedly led to a general increase in raw material prices, according to anecdotal evidence.

Despite higher costs, firms reduced output charges for the second month in succession.

The rate of discounts offered slowed to a fractional pace. Price discounting was associated with efforts to stimulate demand amid intense competitive conditions. The reductions in output charges in the travel & tourism and wholesale & retail sectors outweighed the increase seen in the construction sector.

MOODY'S CHANGES QATAR'S RATING OUTLOOK TO NEGATIVE

Frankfurt am Main – Moody’s Investors Service changed the outlook on Qatar's rating to negative from stable and affirmed the long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings at Aa3.

The key driver for the outlook change to negative is the economic and financial risks arising from the ongoing dispute between Qatar and a group of countries, including its fellow Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) neighbors Bahrain (Ba2 negative), Saudi Arabia (A1 stable) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE, Aa2 stable). In Moody’s view, the likelihood of a prolonged period of uncertainty extending into 2018 has increased and a quick resolution of the dispute is unlikely over the next few months, which carries the risk that Qatar’s sovereign credit fundamentals could be negatively affected.

The rating affirmation at Aa3 takes into account a number of credit strengths embedded in Qatar’s credit profile and reflects Moody’s view that the sizable net asset position of the Qatari government and exceptionally high levels of wealth will continue to provide significant support to the sovereign credit profile for the time being.

The rating action also applies to the backed senior unsecured rating of SoQ Sukuk A Q.S.C., for which the outlook was changed to negative from stable and the rating was affirmed at Aa3.

Qatar's long-term foreign-currency bond and deposit ceilings remain unchanged at Aa3 and the short-term foreigncurrency bond and deposit ceilings remain unchanged at P-1. Qatar's long-term localcurrency bond and deposit country risk ceilings also remain unchanged at Aa3.

September 2017

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bq | ECONOMY+FINANCE | TAX AVOIDANCE

RUSSIA

TRANSPARENCY ON THE RISE

Fewer Russian high net worth individuals are now hiding their assets from authorities, report George Kachmazov and Rostislav Chebykin of Tranio.com.

In recent years, the number of Russian high net worth individuals (HNWIs) reporting their foreign accounts to the country´s tax authorities, as required by the law on foreign exchange regulation, has quadrupled (increased by four times) according to the results of a survey by Tranio and Adam Smith Conferences, conducted in 2017 among 60 private bankers, lawyers and tax advisors working with Russian HNWIs. Russian tax and foreign exchange residents are finding it increasingly difficult to hide their wealth abroad due to recent changes to the law on foreign exchange regulation, amendments to the Administrative Offences and Criminal Codes that introduced harsher penalties for the concealment of foreign accounts, as well as Russia joining the

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OECD’s Multilateral Competent Tranio’s Managing Partner George Authority Agreement for the Kachmazov, individuals who Common Reporting Standard (CRS declare their foreign bank accounts MCAA), under which Russia will usually open new accounts with automatically receive information a clear transaction history for on its residents´ foreign bank accounts from 2018.

According to the survey, around 40% of Russian nationals with foreign bank accounts declared them to tax authorities after Russia joined the CRS MCAA, Before Russia After Russia compared to joined the CRS joined the CRS 10% before.

According to

How many Russian HNWIs declared their foreign bank accounts to tax authorities 10%

40%

Source: Tranio.com

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What do Russian nationals who do not want to declare their foreign bank accounts to tax authorities do?

Respondents (%)

78%

Change their tax residency

35%

Transfer their capital to nominal owners

33%

Close their foreign accounts and transfer their capital to Russia

30%

Do nothing

17%

Transfer their capital to a jurisdiction outside the CRS

13%

Emigrate from Russia completely

The total exceeds 100% as respondents were able to select multiple options Source: Tranio.com

such purposes. Previously owned 41% of respondents mentioning accounts are closed, and the the country. Monaco, Malta and funds from them are transferred Switzerland are also popular through back channels to avoid any connection between their old and new accounts.

What do Russian nationals who do not want Respondents (%) to declare their foreign accounts do? According to a 2016 survey, 48% of the respondents said that such individuals would most likely change their tax residency, Transform their CFCs Re-register their while in 2017, this into structures with no companies to figure increased formal control criteria nominal owners to 78%. One-third of respondents said that Russian HNWIs were becoming de-facto tax residents of other countries, 27% said they are changing their Organise ownership Do nothing residences using chains through foreign residence “non-transparent” or citizenshipjurisdictions by-investment programmes, The total exceeds 100% as respondents were able to select multiple options and 18% of the respondents Source: Tranio.com mentioned both.

What do individuals unwilling to report CFC ownership to the tax authorities do?

47%

43%

32%

23%

According to a survey, around 40% of Russian nationals with foreign bank accounts declared them to tax authorities after Russia joined the CRS MCAA, compared to 10% before.

Among Russian nationals who change their tax residences, Cyprus (63%) and the United Kingdom (60%) are the most popular jurisdictions. Cyprus was also the top choice in 2016, with

choices, with each country mentioned by around 30% of respondents. Other respondents named Andorra, Greece, Spain, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United States (US) and Baltic countries, among other jurisdictions.

“The immense demand for the Cypriot investment programme is because of its simplicity”, Kachmazov said. “For €2 million, an investor´s entire family can become nationals of the country in three months. Actually, Cypriot citizenship helps many of them get into the UK; the UK’s Residency by Investment

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programme is considerably more time-consuming and until recently has been significantly more expensive. And the UK is one of the hottest destinations as it neither extradites self-exiled tycoons nor returns their capital”.

Among respondents, 35% stated that Russian nationals not wishing to reveal their accounts transfer their capital to nominal owners (24% in 2016). Most often, relatives, friends and other close associates act as the “nominal” owners (55%).

Trusts are almost as popular (48%), while other categories of nominal owners were cited by less

joined the CRS MCAA at the time of the survey. Even after joining the agreement in June 2017, Singapore plans on exchanging tax information only with jurisdictions that are able to guarantee the confidentiality of the information and prevent its misuse. Singapore authorities do not consider Russia to be one of these countries.

Many HNWIs also transfer their capital to the US (28% in 2017 and 15% in 2016). Kachmazov said the US, which has effectively proposed lifting bank secrecy and leads the fight against the money laundering, has now become one of

going to do so will re-register their companies to nominal owners (43%) or transform them into structures with no formal control criteria established by Russian legislation (47%). One of such criteria, for instance, is that a Russian tax resident owns over 25% of the foreign company’s stock. To get around this, the actual owners may retain less than 25% of the stock while having their controlling roles determined in the internal agreements of their companies, which are not reported to tax authorities.

“Many clients currently believe

What are the most popular categories of nominal owners to which Russian HNWIs transfer their capital?

Respondents (%)

55%

48%

28%

17%

5%

Relatives, friends, and other close associates

Trusts

Lawyers specializing in this type of service

Employees of companies controlled by the real owners of the capital

Insurance companies

The total exceeds 100% as respondents were able to select multiple options Source: Tranio.com

than one-third of respondents.

About one-third of respondents said that Russian HNWIs most often closed their foreign accounts and transferred their capital to Russia (37% in 2016 and 33% in 2017). The proportion of respondents, who said that owners of foreign bank accounts are transferring their capital to jurisdictions not participating in the CRS is significantly lower: 20% in 2016 and 17% in 2017.

The most popular of such jurisdictions are the UAE and Singapore, which had not yet

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the major and the least-transparent offshore financial centres.

There are also owners of foreign accounts who do not plan on declaring them to tax authorities, but are not taking any actions either – 30% of the survey respondents chose this option in 2017, and 22% in 2016.

As for controlled foreign corporations (CFCs), according the survey respondents’ estimates, not more than 50% of Russian CFC owners are reporting their ownership to tax authorities in 2017. Many of those who are not

that there’s no point in owning an offshore company, given that Russian small enterprises pay only a 6% turnover tax. Running a business in Russia is less expensive than doing so in a foreign country, for which purposes it will be necessary to maintain an administrative infrastructure there and go (or pretend to go) abroad to take managerial decisions.

CFCs are still relevant for large companies whose capital allows creating beneficial tax schemes and protecting their businesses from the risks related to the Russian

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What jurisdictions are popular among Russian nationals who are changing their tax residences Respondents (%)

63%

Cyprus

60%

United Kingdom

30%

27%

27%

Monaco

Malta

Switzerland

Island countries

17%

St.Kitts & Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Dominican Republic

12%

Hungary

12%

Others

The total exceeds 100% as respondents were able to select multiple options Source: Tranio.com

jurisdiction”, Kachmazov said.

Despite the fact that hiding foreign assets from Russian tax authorities is becoming riskier and increasingly difficult, results of the survey by Tranio and Adam Smith Conferences shows that more than half of Russian HNWIs are still not going to disclose information regarding their foreign bank accounts and companies. This is not only to avoid paying tax, but also due to their concerns that such information might fall into the hands of malefactors, which pose financial and personal security threats.

What countries outside the CRS MCAA are popular among Russian nationals for storing their wealth?

Respondents (%)

38%

35%

United Arab Emirates

Singapore

28%

7%

United States

Others

The survey was conducted before the UAE and Singapore joined the CRS MCAA The total exceeds 100% as respondents were able to select multiple options

Among Russian nationals who change their tax residences, Cyprus (63%) and the United Kingdom (60%) are the most popular jurisdictions.

Cyprus was also the top choice in 2016, with 41% of respondents mentioning the country.

Author’s Biography: George Kachmazov is the founder and managing partner of Tranio.com.

He is a real estate and investment expert, as well as a keynote speaker

Source: Tranio.com

at many national and international property conferences and events.

George regularly contributes to print and online media with insight on real estate trends and advice for first-time investors.

Rostislav Chebykin is the editorin-chief of Tranio.com Tranio.com is an international overseas property broker with a network of 700 partners worldwide and a catalogue of more than 110,000 listings in 65 countries. We publish daily news, high quality analysis on foreign realty, expert advice, and notes on laws and procedures related to buying and leasing properties abroad so that our readers can make their property decisions with confidence.

Disclaimer: This is a contributed article. The views expressed in it are those of the two authors and not those of BQ Magazine

September 2017

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QATAR

FALLING INFLATION WORRIES RESURFACE QNB tries to find out whether lower global inflation is just a temporary pheonomenon.

Worries about falling inflation have resurfaced. Despite improving labour markets and strong growth, core inflation in advanced economies remains benign. This apparent paradox has caused some to argue that there is still some labour market weakness which is not being fully captured in headline measures and that inflation is unlikely to return to target absent additional stimulus.

Central banks, while cautious, have largely looked through the current spell of weaker inflation as transient and maintained their tightening biases. We explore both sides of this argument and find our position to be somewhere in the middle.

Progress in the labour market indicates inflationary pressures are building, but at a slower rate than policymakers might like.

Central banks believe lower inflation is largely temporary for three main reasons. First, the improvement in labour markets across advanced economies has been dramatic. The US,

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Japan and the UK are already at full employment and the Euro Area is in rapid approach.

Labour scarcity is increasing which, in turn, will raise bargaining power for higher wages and gradually translate into an increase in inflation.

This has already been partially observed in the US where wage growth has consistently averaged above 2.5% for over a year.

Second, monetary policy remains broadly accommodative.

Despite some tightening in the US, policy rates are still close to historical lows and support is only gradually being removed, suggesting

that there is room for even further gains in labour markets.

Third, and specific to the US, the current bout of weaker inflation largely reflects one-time factors. Methodological changes to how some components are

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calculated and the introduction of new regulations have artificially weighed down core inflation.

What then drives the concerns about low inflation? Broadly speaking, the concern is the persistence of low wage growth.

This has occurred mainly outside of the US although even wages in the US have stagnated since the start of the year. Underlying this trend is believed to be a worsening quality of jobs.

The impressive gains in the labour market have been partially led by increases in part-time employment across advanced economies since the financial crisis. These jobs are associated with lower wages and are largely involuntary, creating conditions of underemployment which weighs on spending intentions and ultimately prices.

Moreover, the relationship between low unemployment and inflation itself may have changed in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Firms’ uncertainty over the economic recovery may be causing them to partly absorb rather than pass-through higher input costs to consumers.

Also, some of the workers re-entering the labour force endured prolonged periods of unemployment resulting in skill deterioration. Such workers, it is speculated, will have reduced bargaining power and might prioritise job security over higher wages.

Our view is that labour market gains have been too large and persistent to dismiss. While involuntary part-time employment remains high and the response of prices to lower slack might be different post-crisis, these developments are likely slowing the feed-through of demand to higher prices rather than preventing it from happening at all. As the economic recovery continues to gain traction, as suggested by the latest activity data for advanced economies, we expect inflation dynamics to become increasingly durable and self-sustaining.

QATAR

UNDERSTAND THE INVESTMENT PROCESS TO TAKE A BETTER DECISION Ahmad Shehadeh writes about investment options through business environment, mergers and acquisitions.

How to invest your money, where, and what approach you use, these are all important decisions that you need to make in the district cooling industry or any industry.

To take such a decision, you need to understand your investment options, and assess if you would like to grow organically through your current business environment or inorganically through mergers and acquisitions. In order to understand the investment process and enable you to make better decisions, it is essential to understand investment and the differences between organic and inorganic growth.

Investments are assets acquired or property held to create income or appreciate in the future.

Usually investments are classified into two main categories: Fixed income investments such as bonds, fixed deposits and preference shares, or variable

income investments such as business ownership (equities), or property ownership.

When you start a business, you must focus on the quality of your product/services, how to grow your customer base, reinvesting profits for better returns, and improving efficiency/ productivity to reduce your costs and increase your profits.

All of these efforts will help your business to grow and this growth is considered organic growth. You can also grow your company by merging with other companies, or buying product lines, new business or another company, and this is considered growing your company through mergers or acquisitions also known as inorganic growth.

If you make the right investment decision inorganic growth gives you a better/larger customer base, new product lines, and/or new channels of distribution, all

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of which should result in better growth and better returns in the short term. For these reasons Qatar Cool acquired the full interest in both I2I Qatar and CoolTech 2016 in the year 2014, these acquisitions allowed the subsidiaries to have new product lines.

Organic growth is done through a more effective planning; therefore management and staff are more aware of the business opportunities and risks. The management usually moves faster and takes advantage of the opportunities in the market due to the established processes and procedures. Staff will be motivated and experience the satisfaction of seeing the company vision come into reality while witnessing the value of the business appreciate over time, as the business grows.

In the district cooling industry, companies usually have longterm business plans that are reviewed and assessed on a regular basis; this is an effective way of planning, and such plans can be modified very quickly to take advantage of the growing opportunities in the market.

Organic growth depends on the market condition and available resources, if the market is very competitive or limited then it might not allow you to meet your growth targets, therefore increasing growth rates could be very difficult and will require constant hard work and pressure to meet sales targets, additionally it requires constant monitoring to boost staff morale to keep them motivated.

It requires continuous market observation and flexible business development strategies in order to make your products and services more competitive and visible.

Growing organically in overseas markets is challenging. When setting up a new company, local customs, rules and regulations are not fully understood (for example, reject water quality challenges for district cooling companies).

Therefore the better option is to either invest in or acquire a similar company in the targeted market to avoid these challenges.

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bq | ECONOMY+FINANCE | GUEST COLUMN

The successful merger or acquisition immediately increases your market share and presence, makes your balance sheet stronger and therefore improves the line of credit with the suppliers and banks.

Also, it brings one’s organisation additional talent from the new business that can add value to your business through additional market share, revenue, products and / or through cost synergies.

In some cases, it happens that the company being purchased doesn’t want to be purchased. An attempt to take over a company without the approval of the company's management or board of directors is referred to as a hostile takeover.

Sometimes the target company’s management defends against hostile takeovers through some strategies, such as the poison pill, delay tactics, the Pac-Man defense, or restructuring activities.

On the other hand, mergers and acquisitions may impact the growth of the original business if you give more attention to the new business and reduce focus on the original business. Additionally, the larger the new organisation, the more severe the changes to the structure will be, in order to align the values, vision and mission of both organizations.

Sometimes the merger or acquisition may not add value to the acquiring company, especially if the share value of the target company or the acquisition price is overstated.

The acquiring company will need to take into consideration a few other factors, such as consultant’s fees and remuneration, which is usually paid, based on success, and thus consultants have an incentive to increase the acquisition price. On the other hand, management is excited to grow the business and sometimes is overconfident about their ability to create additional value for shareholders, while management’s compensation, most of the time, is linked to the growth of the company.

The decision to go with organic growth or through mergers and acquisitions (inorganic growth) is a strategic decision for any company.

Usually holding companies, investment banks, and investment funds use acquisitions as their growth strategy. While industrial, utility, telecommunications, district cooling and trading companies consider organic growth as their major growth strategy.

Nevertheless, these companies too should always monitor the market to identify potential acquisition opportunities as the growth rate from organic growth tends to be less than the growth rate through mergers and acquisitions.

Qatar District Cooling Company (Qatar Cool) opened for business in 2003 and has since, expanded its district cooling business organically in both West Bay and Pearl Qatar districts. Qatar Cool has four cooling plants in West Bay and the Pearl Qatar with a capacity of over 230,000 tonnes of refrigeration.

Qatar Cool’s current strategy is to expand organically and inorganically (through acquisitions), in the local market and/or overseas.

Author biography: Ahmad Shehadeh is the Chief Financial Officer of Qatar District Cooling Company ‘Qatar Cool’. He has more than 18 years of financial and managerial experience and joined ‘Qatar Cool’ in November 2005. His main role is managing the financial strategy for Qatar Cool and its subsidiaries. He also serves as a manager and board member for Instillation Integrity 2006 (i2i) and Cooltech Qatar, two subsidiaries of Qatar Cool.

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GCC

SHORING UP REVENUES FROM FEES

Middle Eastern debt issuance reaches $57.4bn during the first half of 2017, which is an increase of 53% year-on-year.

Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, released the quarterly investment banking analysis for the Middle East.

According to estimates from Thomson Reuters, Middle Eastern investment banking fees totalled an estimated $462.1m during the first six months of 2017, 15% less than the value of fees recorded during the same period in 2016.

Debt capital markets underwriting fees totalled $136.9m, up 88% year-on-year and the highest first half total in the region since

Nadim Najjar, Managing Director, Middle East and North Africa, Thomson Reuters

our records began in 2000.

Nadim Najjar, Managing Director, Middle East and North Africa, Thomson Reuters, said: “Equity capital markets’ fees increased 36% to $39.7m. Fees generated from completed M&A transactions totalled $98m, a 20% decrease from last year and the lowest first six-month total since 2012. Syndicated lending fees declined 41% year-on-year to $187.6m, a three-year low.

“Debt capital markets fees accounted for 30% of the overall Middle Eastern investment banking fee pool, the highest first

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bq | ECONOMY+FINANCE | BANKING

• Value of announced M&A transactions with Middle Eastern involvement reached $20.1bn in H1 2017 – an 8% increase from H1 2016 • Investment banking fees totalled an estimated $462.1m during the first half of 2017 • Equity and equity-related issuance in H1 2017 totalled $1bn, a 72% decline year-on-year half share since 2001. Syndicated lending fees accounted for 41%, while completed M&A advisory fees and equity capital markets underwriting fees accounted for 21% and 9%, respectively,” he added.

HSBC earned the most investment banking fees in the Middle East during the first six months of 2017, a total of $29.2 million for a 6.3% share of the total fee pool. UBS topped the completed M&A fee rankings with 20% of advisory fees, while JP Morgan was first for DCM underwriting.

ECM underwriting was led by EFG Hermes with $12.4m in ECM fees, or a 31% share. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China took the top spot in the Middle Eastern syndicated loans fee ranking.

The value of announced M&A transactions with any Middle Eastern involvement reached $20.1bn during the first six months of 2017, 8% more than the value recorded during the first half of 2016. US chemical maker Tronox’s $2.2bn acquisition of a Saudi Arabian titanium dioxide business is the largest deal to be announced so far during 2017, boosting inbound M&A to $6.6bn, the highest first half total in 11 years. Domestic and interMiddle Eastern M&A declined 46% year-on-year to $2.8b, while outbound M&A activity dropped 13% to $8.3bn. Energy & Power deals accounted for 41% of Middle Eastern involvement M&A by value, while the financial

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sector dominated by number of deals. Six of the largest 10 deals announced in the region so far during 2017 were energy deals, the largest being Saudi Aramco’s Saudi Refining unit’s $2.2bn payment to Royal Dutch Shell in the breakup of their oil refining joint venture Motiva Enterprises.

HSBC topped the H1 2017 announced any Middle Eastern involvement M&A league table. Morgan Stanley and Citi took second and third places, respectively.

Middle Eastern equity and equity-related issuance totalled $1bn during the six months of 2017, a 72% decline year-on-year and the lowest annual start for issuance in the region since 2004. Five initial public offerings raised $603.3m and accounted for 60% of first half ECM activity in the region. Dubaibased oil and gas production services firm ADES International Holding raised $243.5m on the London Stock Exchange in May, the largest IPO in the region so far this year. Follow-on offerings accounted for the remaining 40% of activity. The National Bank of Kuwait took first place in the H1 2017 Middle Eastern ECM ranking with a 24% market share.

Bolstered by Saudi Arabia’s $9bn international Islamic bond in April and Kuwait’s $8bn debut international bond sale in March, Middle Eastern debt issuance reached $57.4bn during the first half of 2017, 53% more than the proceeds raised during the same period last year and by far the best annual start in the region since records began in 1980. Saudi Arabia was the most active nation in the Middle East accounting for 21% of activity by value, followed by Kuwait with 18%.

International Islamic debt issuance increased 50% year-on-year to reach $31.4bn so far during 2017.

JP Morgan took the top spot in the Middle Eastern bond ranking during the first half of 2017 with a 13.4% share of the market, while HSBC took the top spot for Islamic DCM issuance with a 12.3% share.

QIB-UK: CONVENIENT SOLUTIONS FOR LONDON TRAVELLERS

Doha – With an increase of Qatari interest in Britain, QIB-UK, a wholly-owned subsidiary of QIB Group, has been working closely with its parent company to develop solutions that suit the financial requirements of its customers.

Using the QIB-UK debit card, customers seeking to explore Britain for tourism, education, or investment opportunities can enjoy several benefits including access to all ATM machines in the UK 24/7 and a high limit on spending, up to £15,000 daily including £3,000 in cash withdrawals. The Debit card is in local currency (GBP) allowing QIB customers to access and use their money without paying foreign exchange charges or any other Visa fees on international purchases and cash withdrawals.

Through its Private Banking relationship management team, with the support of product specialists in real estate finance, and treasury, the bank delivers tailor-made solutions which address the financial needs of its customers, whether they are based in the UK full-time or are there for a visit. QIB UK multi-currency current, savings, notice and Wakala deposit accounts offer highly competitive rates and are all Shari’a compliant. In addition, QIB UK offers its clients the option of depositing their Qatari riyals in cash.

QIB-UK has recently received official licensing to directly provide Sharia-compliant Murabaha Facilities for London properties which are intended for own use. This new product enables QIB-UK to finance a buy-to-live property as well as refinance customers’ existing properties in London.

The new licence that the Bank has gained is coupled with an existing experienced property search service that puts the customer’s best interest first. QIB-UK’s in-house property specialists, who have a long experience in the London property market and an in-depth knowledge of the current market trends, will be dedicated to support customers finding the right property quickly and conveniently.

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bq | ECONOMY+FINANCE | IN CONTEXT

QIB LAUNCHES SUMMER CAMPAIGN Doha – Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) launched its annual summer campaign “Win Everyday with QIB VISA Cards”. This year’s campaign will run until 24 October, giving QIB VISA Credit and Debit cardholders the chance to win exciting prizes.

Customers who use their VISA credit or debit cards for their purchases, domestic or international, for a minimum transaction of QR500 will get the chance to win QR5,000 daily, and cardholders who will spend QR10,000 and above during the campaign will get a chance to win a brandnew Lexus LX570. ATM cash withdrawals transactions will be excluded.

“QIB’s summer campaigns continue to be well-received among our customers,” commented D. Anand, General Manager of QIB’s Personal Banking Group. “This

campaign is our way of supporting the needs of our customers during the summer season, a season that is usually associated with higher local purchasing needs, traveling and well-deserved vacations. We are committed to providing the best value-formoney offers to our cardholders.”

Over the course of the promotion, on daily basis, QIB and VISA will reward 108 winners, while the Grand prize draw will be held in November 2017. The draws for the prizes will take place at QIB’s headquarters under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, in the presence of representatives from VISA and QIB. “We are pleased to offer our customers a tailor-made campaign that will complement their lifestyle during the summer months,” concluded Anand.

QIB LAUNCHES NEW SIGNATURE CREDIT CARD FOR LADIES Doha – Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) introduced a new VISA Signature credit card dedicated to its lady customers. The launch of the QIB Ladies Credit Card comes after the bank introduced its Ladies Banking proposition designed to cater to the financial needs of ladies in appreciation for their role in Qatari society.

The new QIB Ladies Credit Card will provide QIB customers with the convenience of managing their cash flow by providing an option to pay as low as 5% per month on their card outstanding balance. QIB Ladies Credit Cardholders will

enjoy exclusive privileges like QIB Reward points based on their spends that can be redeemed on purchasing flight tickets from Qatar Airways, one world airlines or shopping at the Qatar duty free shops.

Ladies cardholders will also benefit from higher credit limits, up to two times their monthly salary.

Designed with lady cus tomers in mind, the new credit card offers a host of elite benefits, including Global Concierge services, Complimentary access to over 500 Airport Lounge with the LoungeKey service, exclusive discounts & offers at

over 100 merchants / retailers in Qatar and across the globe, full multi-trip Travel Insurance.

As is the case with all QIB cards, ladies will benefit from the one-time password security feature that the bank has added when using the card for online purchases to protect customers’ credit card and personal information. Furthermore, the recently introduced Visa Checkout Service enables them to make online purchases in a simple, fast and safe manner. All QIB Ladies customers will be able to own this card free of charge for the first year.

MOODY’S AFFIRMS DOHA BANK’S RATING AT ‘A2’ AGAIN Doha – Moody’s, the international credit rating agency, announced that it has affirmed Doha Bank’s A2/Prime-1 deposit ratings and baa3 baseline credit assessment (BCA) of Doha Bank Q.S.C. Doha Bank’s A2 deposits rating incorporates 1) The bank’s importance to the local financial system with a market share of around 8% in deposits; 2) The demonstrated willingness and ability of the Qatari government to provide support to local banks, through capital injections and the purchase of real-estate and equity investment portfolios from banks; and 3) The government's 16.7% shareholding in Doha Bank.

Bank’s capitalization levels are expected to strengthen, as the bank recently completed a rights issue of QR1.3bn. As a result, Tangible Common Equity-to-risk

weighted assets is expected to increase to 12.4% from 10.8% as of March 2017.

Doha Bank displays high liquidity buffers, with liquid assets accounting 31% of total assets as of December 2016, a ratio which is one of the highest compared to its domestic peers. These buffers help moderate the risks related to the bank’s increasing reliance on confidence-sensitive market funding, which constitutes 24% of their banking assets as of March 2017.

Dr R. Seetharaman, Chief Executive Officer of Doha Bank, said “In spite of challenging market conditions, Doha Bank’s rating affirmation highlights the impact of its vision and strategy to capitalize on market synergies, its ability to maintain strong growth trajectory and impressive financial ratios.”

September 2017

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bq | COVER STORY | SOLAR ENERGY

GCC

POWER-HUNGRY GCC SET TO TURN TO SOLAR ENERGY

It is estimated that if GCC countries tap solar energy, they can produce 300 times the electricity consumed currently and 34 times the estimated demand for energy

By Dada Zecic Pivac

In less than a decade, the energy environment in the Middle East has undergone significant change. The region is no longer merely a global energy supplier, it is also a place where energy is much in demand.

The knowledge that fossil fuels will not last forever, has led to a rapid diversification of local economies, resulting in higher income levels and a population boom. Thus regional energy demand has skyrocketed high.

According to Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), the GCC represents 47% or 148 gigawatts (GW) of the current MENA power-generating capacity, but that is clearly not enough. Governments, especially in gas and oil-rich GCC states have been quick in realising that burning precious hydrocarbon resources in order to satisfy ever-rising domestic energy consumption will hamper exports. So, instead they are slowly shifting focus to renewable and alternative energy production.

Despite this realisation, until the cold shower in terms of an oil

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price drop of 2014, renewable energy was merely the project of an enthusiastic few and not a serious commitment. But with the notion that the prices won’t rise any time soon to the magical $100 per barrel, local governments were forced to tighten their belt and one of the earliest moves were cuts or eliminations of more than generous energy subsidies in regional fuel and electricity prices.

According to the World Bank data, the GCC member states were spending more than $160bn annually on energy subsidies, something equivalent to 10% of their GDP. Tremendous potential But now, renewable energy sources are in vogue across the Middle East once again, with countries in the region committing to significantly increase energy production through renewable and alternative sources.

A study by the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies estimated the solar potential in the GCC countries as capable of producing 300 times their

29

bq | COVER STORY | SOLAR ENERGY

Power Sector Statistics MENA Region

$302bn

investments in power sector are needed until 2021 ($179bn is for 138 GW of generating capacity, $123bn for T&D) MENA power capacity will need to expand by an average of 7.4% each year between 2017 and 2021, which corresponds to an additional capacity of 138 GW

97 GW

power capacity is already in the execution stage

Almost $1tn

estimated value of total energy investments in the Mena region ($337bn is already committed to projects under execution at the end of 2016; while additional $622bn worth of developments are in the planning stage)

Of the $337bn of committed investments

about $121bn is for oil sector, $108bn is for gas sector, $91bn for power and $17bn for chemicals Sources: Apicorp, Ventures Onsite, IRENA, Kahramaa, BP

September 2017

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bq | COVER STORY | SOLAR ENERGY

Power Sector Statistics MENA Region

Of the $622bn of planned investments

$207bn are for the power sector, $195bn is for the oil sector, $159bn is for gas sector, and $61bn is for petrochemicals.

$174bn

GCCʼs share (more than 50%) of the Menaʼs total committed investments

Renewables in power generation grew by 42% but accounted for just 0.1% of primary energy consumption in 2016

Power generation increased by 1.9%

well below the 10-year average of 5.7%

The share of fossil fuels in the Middle East primary energy market was 99.2%, the highest in any region and well above the world average of 85.5% Sources: Apicorp, Ventures Onsite, IRENA, Kahramaa, BP

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current electricity consumption, and 34 times their total energy demand.

The GCC power capacity needs to expand at an average annual pace of 8% between 2016 and 2020, stated the report “GCC Power Market 2017” by Ventures Onsite, adding that the region will require $85bn for the addition of 69 GW of generating capacity and another $52bn for transmission and distribution (T&D) over the next five years.

Oatar like other GCC states, is facing challenges to meet the growing electricity demand and reduce the hydrocarbon emissions.

The country needs an investment of $9bn in its power sector from 2016 to 2020, while Qatar’s power generation capacity is projected to increase by 50% in the next two years, with plans to increase the power capacity to 13.1 GW by 2018, according to the Ventures report.

At present, Qatar’s power supply comes from five plants and three satellite stations in and around Doha, with the combined capacity of 8.8 GW, while the demand is around 8.2 GW. But, demand is steadily growing. The country’s peak demand for electricity in 2015 was about 7,000 megawatt (MW) and for water 330m gallons per day. This is expected to grow by 6 to 8%. According to data released by Qatar Electricity and Water Company (Kahramaa), between 2006 and 2016, power and water consumption recorded average annual growth rates of 10.4% and 7.7% respectively.

With the completion of ongoing projects, including the Umm Al Houl plant, the estimated installed capacity is expected to exceed 11,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity and 490m imperial gallons per day (MIGD) of water by the end of 2018. Located 15 km south of Doha, between Al Wakrah and Mesaieed, Umm Al Houl has an estimated value of $3.1bn, and it will be the country’s largest plant and is anticipated to be among the biggest in the Middle East.

Construction began in Q3 2015 and is expected to be completed in Q3 2018.

Once the plant reaches full capacity, it will produce 2,520 megawatts of energy, which is roughly 23% of Qatar’s power needs, and along with

a second plant at Ras Laffan, it will add 4.5 GW of power in the medium term.

Capacity growth Other large projects include the Kahramaa’s Qatar Power Transmission System Expansion – Phase 13, worth $2.27bn, which has been awarded to various local and international companies. Under this project construction of 77 substations and laying of 453.3 km extra high voltage (EHV) cables will be undertaken to expand Qatar’s transmission network.

It should be completed in the Q4 2018, and the works will cover several upcoming residential projects across Doha and its neighbourhoods, along with the economic zones under Manateq, stadiums, business centers, hospital projects, and schools. Phase 12 of the same project, estimated at $1.7bn, came online in Q3 2015, and it is expected to finish in Q4 2017.

The region will require $85bn for the addition of 69 GW of generating capacity and another $52bn for transmission and distribution (T&D) over the next five years.

“Qatar is yet to witness the alltime peak demand of utilities in the run-up to the 2020 FIFA World Cup preparations, and Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) is much ahead in enhancing the installed capacity, which is always maintaining big surplus than the actual peak demand,” stated the Ventures report, adding that the energy sector has been a major target for investment by the Qatari government, with plans to invest $22bn in its power (includes water) infrastructure up to 2020.

According to data from UK analyst firm Wood Mackenzie, Qatar’s total power generation capacity has grown by 3.4 GW since 2010, to 11 GW in 2017 due to an increase in demand for electricity from industrial and residential sectors. They also estimate that demand for electricity in Qatar

31

bq | COVER STORY | SOLAR ENERGY

Power Sector Statistics GCC

The GCC represents 47%, or 148 GW

current MENA power generating capacity

$316bn

worth of investments in power sector are needed by 2020

$320bn

the total value of the power projects, of which over $100bn are for renewable and alternative sources.

About 85 to 90% of future renewable energy projects will utilise solar energy The GCC power capacity needs to expand at an average annual pace of 8% between 2016 and 2020

$137bn

which $85bn for the addition of 69 GW of generating capacity and $52bn T&D, is needed in the GCC over the next five years.

GCC will add 76.8 GW of capacity for power generation between 2016 and 2020 GCC regionʼs electricity consumption is expected to reach 856 terawatt-hours by 2020, requiring 100 GW of additional power over the next 10 years to meet the demand Sources: Apicorp, Ventures Onsite, IRENA, Kahramaa, BP

is likely to reach at least 46 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2022, compared to 36 TWh in 2015. The data provided

by International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) show that Qatar’s domestic gas consumption has already increased by 80% in the last five years to meet growing power and water demand, with hydrocarbon desalination plants in Qatar satisfying 87% of fresh water requirements.

As overall energy demand is expected to grow even further, Qatar is seeking the solution in renewable energy. The collective country’s target is firmly set: at 20% of renewable energy contribution in the electricity production by 2030, with the government aiming for 1.8 GW of installed capacity in 2020 and 10 GW in 2030 from solar and wind energy generation. As Qatar is geographically well-positioned to tap its tremendous solar energy potential – according to the Climate Technology Centre and Network, the annual solar energy potential of each square kilometre of Qatari soil is equivalent to 1.5m barrels of oil – country’s solar energy future is starting to steadily develop.

New solar plants Several large-scale renewable energy projects are already taking shape: earlier this year, QSTec, a joint venture (JV) between Qatar Solar (a subsidiary of Qatar Foundation), Germany’s SolarWorld AG and Qatar Development Bank, announced the production of the first polysilicon at its new plant in Ras Laffan. Polysilicon is a high-purity form of silicon and a key component in a range of solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies.

The factory will have an annual production capacity of 8,000 tonnes and is expected to start exporting later this year. The plant has a solar generation capacity of 1.1 MW and waste treatment facilities to recycle excess gases and water. And that is according to officials, just a first phase – it is expected to move up to as much as 50,000 tonnes of highpurity, Tier 1 polysilicon per annum over time. Solar photovoltaic is the energy sector’s highest growth area, with investment forecast to increase by 11.5% to $154.43bn, according

to the “Global Power Industry Outlook” by Frost & Sullivan.

Also, 200 MW solar power plant, which is expected to be fully operational by 2020, is being developed by Siraj Power – a JV between Kahramaa and Qatar Petroleum, which has provided $500m in start-up capital for the project, and there are already plans to expand the project’s capacity to 500 MW. Also, there are developments on rooftop solar installations at Mshereib Downtown Doha, Lusail City, and Energy City, an integrated energy hub being built between Lusail City and the capital, while five of the FIFA 2022 World Cup stadiums are also slated to use pioneering solar-powered cooling technology.

Qatar is yet to witness the all-time peak demand of utilities in the run-up to the 2020 FIFA World Cup preparations, and Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) is much ahead in enhancing the installed capacity.

Apart from establishing a highvoltage direct current (HVDC) network that has the capability to transport and harness large amounts of electricity over long distances, Kahramaa has forayed into multiple other ventures simultaneously to strengthen its transmission system, including the installation of solar (PV) systems in the distribution grid and introduction of smart meters. The Solar-Smart Grid project – an initiative of the Qatar Foundation (QF) – is also the first commercial photovoltaic (PV) project to be granted approval for grid connection from Kahramaa.

According to industry approximations, QF’s solar energy smart-grid-enabled systems generate up to 85% of Qatar’s total solar energy output, it is said in Ventures

September 2017

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bq | COVER STORY | SOLAR ENERGY

Power Sector Statistics Qatar

$9bn

Investments needed in power sector by2020

13.1 GW

Planned increase of power capacity by 2018

$22bn

Planned government investments in energy infrastructure up to 2020

3.4 GW in 2010, to 11 GW in 2017 Qatarʼs total power generation capacity growth

Demand for electricity is to reach at least 46 TWh in 2022, compared to 36 TWh in 2015

National Target:

20% of renewable energy contribution in the electricity production by 2030

1.5m barrels of oil

annual solar energy potential of each square kilometre of Qatari soil Sources: Apicorp, Ventures Onsite, IRENA, Kahramaa, BP

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“GCC Power Market 2017” report.

Biomass energy potential in Qatar is largely contributed by municipal wastes and a 34 MW waste-toenergy plant is already in operation at Domestic Solid Waste Management Center at Messiaeed. When it comes to wind power, experts are saying that Qatar has moderate wind speeds, suitable for small wind turbine generators for water pumping or to produce electricity at remote locations, such as isolated farms.

More investments needed In the GCC, wind power is much less prominent than solar power, but there are projects in wind power being undertaken in the Near East (particularly Jordan) and North Africa, where wind speeds are more suitable for power production. Popularity and competitiveness of renewables in the MENA region also rose because of the dramatic fall of prices of solar systems. The installation cost of utilityscale solar PV power plants has also fallen from roughly $7 per watt (in 2008) to less than $1.50 per watt (in 2014), which amounts to more than a 75% cost reduction. It means that a plant four times larger than the same 10 MW solar PV power plant in 2008 can be built today without incurring any extra cost. Despite the recent significant efforts to increase the share of renewable energy in the Middle East, according to the British Petroleum (BP) statistical review 2017, renewables in power generation grew by 42%, but accounted for just 0.1% of primary energy consumption in 2016, while power generation increased by 1.9%, well below the 10-year average of 5.7%. In the same time, the share of fossil fuels in region’s primary energy was 99.2%, the highest in any region and well above the world average of 85.5%.

The total GCC power construction contractor awards are forecast to increase from $22.38bn in 2016 to $25.52bn in 2017. The GCC countries are also set to invest $252bn over the next five years on projects for setting up new power production plants, distribution systems, and supply grids.

As stated before, the power sector in the GCC will require a total of

$137bn over the next five years for generation and T&D, while Apicorp estimates that the GCC region will add 76.8 GW of capacity for power generation between 2016 and 2020.

Despite the recent significant efforts to increase the share of renewable energy in the Middle East, according to the British Petroleum (BP) statistical review 2017, renewables in power generation grew by 42%, but accounted for just 0.1% of primary energy consumption in 2016 The per capita electricity demand in the GCC countries continues to increase at a faster rate than that of the most other developed countries in the world – according to Irena, GCC region electricity consumption is expected to reach 856 TWh by 2020, requiring 100 GW of additional power over the next 10 years to meet the demand. Irena estimated that nearly 60% of the GCC’s total surface has “excellent suitability” for solar PV deployment, of which, the development of 1% could create 470 GW of additional power generation capacity. For the whole MENA, Apicorp is estimated that in the period from 2017 to 2021, the region will need to invest $302bn in its power sector, of which $179bn will be needed to add 138 GW of generating capacity, while the rest should be invested in T&D. The region’s population is also expected to grow at an average rate of 2% per year in that period. To meet rising demand, Apicorp says that MENA power capacity will need to expand by an average of 7.4% each year between 2017 and 2021, which corresponds to an additional capacity of 138 GW. This makes alternative sources of energy extreme important.

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bq | INDUSTRIES+INFRASTRUCTURE | GUEST COLUMN

GCC

HOLES IN INDUSTRIAL NETWORK SECURITY CAN BE PLUGGED The introduction of TCP/IP protocol to industrial networks has created new possibilities, offering better connectivity but it has also increased vulnerability to attacks from adversaries.

Nowadays, Cyber security is a vital part of the process and infrastructure industry operations. Industrial cyber security refers to the protection of internal components and systems from internal and external malicious attacks to maintain the availability, integrity and confidentiality. It protects the industries against loss or damage.

Most of the network devices used in the industrial network are designed to meet functional requirement, safety, reliability and real-time response. They were physically isolated from the outside networks. Most of the time only proprietary protocol and solutions are used for the industry network. At a later stage, TCP/IP protocol is introduced to industry networks which connect the industrial network to an external network. The introduction of TCP/IP to industrial networks,

creates new possibilities for better connectivity and also provides ‘rich’ opportunities to adversaries to exploit the vulnerabilities.

The root cause of this intense new risk relates to the complexity of ICS legacy system, that was never originally designed to stop cyberattacks. The legacy water pump installed over the plant 15 years back, were obviously not designed to address modern cyber security attacks. Complex legacy technology and high attack consequences lead to a high cyber security risk for most industrial networks. The reason for such incidents could be anything.

moving from field device to field device or control server.

• Insecure remote connections.

• Lack of compatibility of security architectural components with legacy protocols and system.

• No mechanism to identify the changes in configuration of field device and files.

Likewise are factors such as: • Lack of redundancy in the network.

• No segmentation of network.

• No security perimeter is defined.

• Firewall is not incorporated in the network architecture.

• No deep inspection of packets

How to protect SCADA & ICS system To protect the SCADA and ICS, we need to introduce the security architectural components to industrial system networks. This includes firewalls, VPN, router and so on. Secondly, we need security

The biggest challenge in the ICS and SCADA security protection is that the infrastructure used in ICS & SCADA has significant legacy technology. This includes older protocol and proprietary control components.

September 2017

34

products that can understand the industrial functions and behave accordingly. Very few companies are doing their best to make their products fit for industrial network.

Phoenix contact is one of them. It offers a range of products for industrial networks and cyber security that are exclusively designed to work in environmental rigidness.

The mGuard product range is a comprehensive solution for industrial security that will strengthen the industrial cyber security posture without introducing any complexity in the network.

With its mGuard product line of network security appliances, Phoenix Contact offers router, firewall, VPN, QoS, and intrusion detection, OPC/Modbus inspection, integrity monitoring, and more supporting functionalities, complemented with highly scalable device management software.

Devices, which are both easy to install and service, can be integrated either into the production systems or connected upstream to existing systems in continuous operation.

Author biography: Aman Deep, CISA, PMP, ISO 27001, works as a Product Specialist – Cyber Security & Networks at Dubai-based Phoenix Contact Middle East. He is a certified professional in Network Security and Cyber Security with Project Management Professional credentials. He holds more than a decade of experience in all relevant domains of Cyber Security and Network Security.

bq-magazine.com

bq | INDUSTRIES+INFRASTRUCTURE | METALS

GCC

ALUMINUM MANUFACTURING TO FACE ‘GREEN’ CHALLENGE IN FUTURE GCC aluminum producers are known to produce aluminum most economically and they have emerged as formidable exporters of the metal. However, they face a ‘green’ challenge, because of their hydrocarbons-powered plants.

By Dada Zecic Pivac

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bq | INDUSTRIES+INFRASTRUCTURE | METALS

Aluminum is the world’s fastest growing industrial metal, ranking number two in consumption volumes among all the metals and surpassed only by steel. As per World Aluminum Statistics, aluminum production is the key non-hydrocarbon industry sector in the GCC region, making it the highest contributor to global aluminum production with the exception of China.

Combined with Turkey and Iran, the GCC member states have grown in less than two decades from minor players to global majors – together they currently account for close to 22% of the world aluminum output, rising from less than 6% in 2000. GCC aluminum production constitutes 10% of the total world production, of which 40% is utilised by the downstream aluminum industries in the Gulf and 60% is exported to markets such as the US, Asia, Japan and Europe.

Rising investments Within the GCC, the aluminum industry provides direct employment to about 12,000 people and indirect employment to another 30,000 people. Collectively the GCC aluminum primary producers EGA (UAE), Alba (Bahrain), Ma’aden Aluminium (Saudi Arabia), Qatalum (Qatar) and Sohar Aluminium (Oman) produced 5,229,115 tonnes of primary aluminum in 2016. In the previous year, leading Gulf aluminum smelters produced 5,274,729 tonnes of primary aluminum, or 7% more than 2014.

It is expected that the investments in the GCC aluminum industry will increase from around $50bn to $55bn by 2019, the data from the Gulf Aluminum Council (GAC) are showing. In 2016, the investments were at $40bn, while the current production capacity stands at nearly 5.5mn tonnes

annually, which accounts for 12% of the worldwide production.

GCC countries are planning to boost their aluminum production to 6m tonnes annually by 2020, when expected global demand for aluminum is to reach 70m tonnes per year.

In Qatar, aluminum production was, like in the rest of the region, boosted by the aggressive boom of the construction industry.

But this versatile lightweight material has a broad range of uses. It is primarily used in the manufacturing of automobiles, packaging, and construction, and is also used in electrical applications, machinery, and consumer durables.

Qatalum or Qatar Aluminium is the only aluminum producer in the country that exports its aluminum products globally.

Production in one of the world’s largest aluminum smelter plants, developed at the cost of $5.6bn, started in 2011. A joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Norsk Hydro of Norway, Qatalum produces about 640,000 tonnes of high-quality aluminium products per year, of which 340,000 tonnes are extrusion ingots and 300,000 tonnes are primary foundry alloys.

Industry data shows that in 2015, Qatar's the total aluminum export was 530,822 tonnes. In 2016, it jumped to 571,077 tonnes, and for this year it is estimated that it will be about 611,104 tonnes.

The estimated value of Qatar's aluminum exports was $1.2bn and $1.23bn respectively for 2015 and 2016, while in 2017, the value of exports is estimated to stand at $1.3bn. Qatalum exports to more than 52 countries and as much as 60% of their products are sold to the automotive industry. Most of the aluminum exports go to the US (115,705 tonnes), South Korea (96,879 tonnes) and Turkey (73,496 tonnes).

According to the data provided

by Qatar Chamber, in May 2017 aluminum alloys, bars, and moulds topped the list of country’s non-oil exports with a total value of more than $122m or 29.8%, of total non-oil exports valued in May at $409m.

September 2017

36

bq | INDUSTRIES+INFRASTRUCTURE | METALS

Aluminum Manufacturing Data GCC

10%

The GCC aluminum production in total world production

5,229,115 tonnes Production of primary aluminum in the GCC in 2016

5,274,729 tonnes

Production of primary aluminum in the GCC in 2015

$55 billion

Value of investments in the GCC aluminum industry by 2019

5.5 million tonnes per year Current GCC aluminum production capacity

6 million tonnes per year Aluminum production in the GCC by 2020 Sources: World Aluminum Statistics, Gulf Aluminum Council, Qatar Chamber, BMI

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Better than steel Clearly, the GCC has evolved into a lucrative aluminum hub, with its oil and gas resources ensuring that the energy-hungry aluminum industry stays a little bit cheaper than the rest of global competition. The regional producers enjoy lower energy costs compared to the global average, further supporting their competitive advantage. Because it takes a lot of energy to produce aluminum, energy constitutes about 20 to 40% of aluminum production costs. For example, the cash cost of production of aluminum in the Gulf is around $1,200 per one tonne, compared with $1,670 per tonne in the US. The US is the primary export market for GCC smelters which are using their advantage of low prices of electricity needed to produce aluminum from bauxite ore. GCC aluminum producers have readily filled the supply gap after the closure of some US plants. In the first nine months of 2016, shipments of value-added aluminum parts from the GCC to the US rose 50% to about 734,000 tonnes or 60% of the total.

At the global level, the aluminum sector is nowadays faring better than steel, in a large part because aluminum is still an evolving market, a recent analysis by global consultancy Strategy& revealed. “Aluminum volume sales have grown twice as fast as those of steel — up 82% versus 41%, respectively, from 2005 to 2015. And we expect that in the subsequent 10 years, aluminum sales will increase by another 50%, (representing a 4.1% annual growth rate), while steel consumption will grow at a much slower pace, about 24%, or about 2.2% per year”, the report named “Steel and aluminum, Quo Vadis? stated.”

Experts predict that in the coming decades the demand for aluminum will continue to increase at exponential rates, given the recent developments in the motor industry, the rapid growth of cities, new potential uses of aluminum as a substitute to copper in the power industry, all of which has ensured the position of aluminum as a key

structural material of the future.

Aluminum comprises over 8% of the earth’s crust and is the third most common element after oxygen and silicon. Because of its special material properties — low weight, high strength, superior ductility, easy machining, excellent corrosion resistance, and good thermal and electrical conductivity — aluminum is an increasingly attractive option for many applications. Examples include industrial designs that make use of aluminum’s elasticity and malleability, improving the mobility of heavy equipment (because it is denser and thus allows for lower-weight vehicles), and minimizing the materials used in building projects.

Emerging trends Aluminum recorded nearly 6% compound annual demand growth rate from 2000 to 2015, topping iron ore, the global commodity market’s most sought-after material. Demand for aluminum is expected to rise by around 4% a year over the next five years. In the motor industry, the annual growth forecast is from 10 to 20%, because companies prefer aluminum over cheaper but heavier steel to make lighter vehicles that will consume less fossil fuel.

Global aluminum production has increased by170% over the past two decades, mostly due to an increase in Chinese production, and Business Monitor International (BMI) predicts that China will remain the driving force behind the global aluminum production, accounting for about 57.2% of the total output in 2017.

They forecast that China’s aluminum production will increase by 3.5% in 2017, compared to only 1.0% growth in 2016, and begin to wind down thereafter.

Without doubt, China is a major significant competitor for GCC’s aluminum industry in the global market. But, the competitor closer home is none other than Iran.

Experts point out that Iran has one of the lowest electricity costs among all the global producers of aluminum. Its power tariffs

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are cheaper han China, India, Brazil, the US and the rest of the Middle East and GCC region. BMI predicts that standard aluminum prices will average $1,700 per tonne in 2017 and steadily increase to average $1,900 per tonne by 2021 as the global aluminum market shifts into a deficit one.

Researchers say that the price of aluminum will reach $1,750 per tonne by 2018 and increase to an average $1,900 per tonne by 2021, representing a muted recovery compared to an average of $2,421 per tonne by 2011. Global aluminum production growth will decelerate as prices remain lower over the next five years than levels seen earlier in the decade. BMI says that the global annual growth rate will average only 2.6% over 2017-2021, compared to an annual growth average of 4.5% during 2012-2016.

When it comes to the emerging

Aluminum Manufacturing Data Qatar

640,000 tonnes Annual production of Qatalum

530,822 tonnes Total aluminum export in 2015, valued at $1.2bn

571,077 tonnes Total aluminum export in 2016, valued at $1.23bn

Sources: World Aluminum Statistics, Gulf Aluminum Council, Qatar Chamber, BMI

trends in the global aluminum industry, Strategy& emphasises that energy shifts, digitisation, urbanisation and globalisation, will offer new opportunities to innovative and dynamic industry players. Some of these players are already riding the global wave geared towards a green economy.

The American media has reported that operators of aluminum smelters powered by hydroelectricity like Norway, Russia or Canada are promoting a so-called “green” aluminum, and they have also started charging higher prices thanks to the rising demand from industrial customers who are under increasing pressure to reduce carbon footprints.

Although the aluminum itself is not any “greener” than the one made in the GCC or China, the fact that it is produced by relying on renewable energy, makes it appealing to customers, especially in the US and Europe. These include customers like automotive or packaging industries which need to produce lower carbon goods to satisfy regulators, investors and consumers. As of now, smelters in GCC countries can hardly compete in this new green aluminum market, because their plants are gaspowered, an energy source that is considered the biggest contributor to overall greenhouse gas emission.

It has been reported that producing one tonne of metal in a gas-powered plant releases between five and eight tonnes of CO2 equivalent, while for plants that burn coal, like those in Australia or China, the figures can go up to 18 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per one tonne of aluminum. However, when aluminum is produced in a hydroelectricity powered plant, CO2 emissions per tonne of aluminum are restricted to one-fifth of those from a coal-powered smelter plant.

So, despite their present formidable position, smelters from the GCC region have much to be worried about in terms of retaining market share, as the ‘green’ wave tends to negate their competitive edge in pricing.

MILAHA SETS UP WAREHOUSING AND 3PL OPERATIONS IN OMAN

Abdulrahman Essa Al Mannai, Milaha’s President and CEO

Doha – Milaha, the Qatar-based maritime and logistics conglomerate, has announced the launch of in-country operations in Oman. Milaha is initially setting up warehousing and 3PL services within the Sohar Free Zone, while it continues to explore further expansion in Oman of its diverse portfolio of services.

The announcement comes on top of the company also shifting its regional transshipment hub to the Port of Sohar, where Milaha is offering competitive transit time for local cargo and a high frequency of Oman to Qatar sailings. Milaha currently calls two ports in Oman (Sohar and Salalah) and three ports in India (Nhava Sheva, Mundra, and Kandla), offering enhanced connectivity and transit times to Qatar and the region, and is actively evaluating further expansion of services.

Milaha’s logistics setup in Oman will provide excellent opportunities for local, regional, and international importers and exporters, and will increase options to access the lucrative Qatari market.

Milaha’s President and CEO, Abdulrahman Essa Al Mannai, said: “We are pleased to be setting up in Oman as we seek to strengthen our position as a leading international provider of marine transport and logistics services. We are excited about the opportunities this will bring for our partners and ourselves, especially as we add new value-added services such as distribution and LCL, among others, over the next few weeks. We will aim, as always, to provide the most cost-effective and efficient solutions to our clients.”

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PROJECTS ANNOUNCED MANATEQ TO DEVELOP HOTELS, HOTEL APARTMENTS IN RAS BUFONTAS SEZ Qatar – Manateq has unveiled plans to build two hotels and three hotel apar t men t comp lexes in i t s Ras Bufontas Special Economic Zone (SEZ), resulting in private sec tor investment worth QR488.5m. Manateq is continuing to develop its SEZs and logistics parks. A signing ceremony to mark the announcement was held in Doha on the occasion. The ability to be able to offer such a service eases the process for investment, offering businesses a tourism district in one location and the appetite from entities to partner with the company.

O n e of t h e h ote l s w i ll b e cons t ruc ted by Zukhrof Trading and Contracting and operated by the Wyndham Hotel Group, while the other 185-room property will be developed by Bab Ishtar Trading and Contracting and operated by Aspire Hospitality to have another branch of The Torch, Doha. Both properties will be developed in line with the BOT model for 25 years.

The hotel apartments will each have a minimum of 100 rooms and be constructed by Hotel Musherib, Ras Bufontas Trading and Contracting and

Al Sraiya Holding Group and operated

by Tourist Hotel, Katara Hospitality and Al Sraiya Hotels & Hospitality, respectively.

Scheduled for completion by April 2019, the business and tourism ve n tu re w i ll b e l o c a te d o n t h e waterfront at Ras Bufontas and will service business travellers working in the Ras Bufontas SEZ and surrounding areas. Guest s will benefit from a scenic relaxed environment, while being within easy reach of the retail and leisure options available on the shoreline and within the SEZ.

NPP STEERING COMMITTEE AND JEC SIGN QR1.6BN CONTRACT

TECOM GROUP TO DEVELOP EMIRATES TOWERS BUSINESS PARK

Qatar – The New Port Project (NPP) Steering Committee and Al Jaber Engineering (JEC) have signed a contract for designing and constructing food security facilities and warehouses at Hamad Port at a cost of QR1.6bn. The facilities of the project will be developed and constructed on an area of approximately 53 hectares (about 530,000 sq.m). The project consists of specialised facilities for the processing, manufacturing and refining of rice, raw sugar and edible oils. These products will be available for local, regional and global use.

The project also includes bulk storage silos with their associated infrastructure and conveyance equipment, in addition to the fundamental structures fully equipped for the project associated operations of handling, processing, packaging, reloading and transport.

One more feature of the project will be a specialised facility for the recycling of waste products arising from the processing of basic commodities to create regulatory compliant animal feed and food stocks. Those facilities will operate as a fully functional standalone terminal, while 500 metres of the wharf of the port will be dedicated for the berthing and discharging of ships of this new project.

As per the agreement, those food security facilities and warehouses will be built and equipped in collaboration with international consultants, observing best international practices and standards for manufacturing and quality such as German Ipro and Global Port, two prestigious global companies in the field of storage and world ports design.

Dubai – Tecom Group will be developing Dubai’s newly AED5bn business district, Emirates Towers Business Park, Tecom Group is member of Dubai Holding, which is carrying ou the project in collaboration with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Located close to Emirates Towers, it will offer office space for companies looking to move or expand in the region. The business park will have three luxury five-star hotels, including one to be managed by Jumeirah, retail areas and F&B options, an events arena and other facilities. Construction will begin later this year.

A three-level basement area will have one level for traffic management and the other two would have parking for13,000 vehicles. The business park location will host the Museum of the Future, offering laboratories for innovations in health, education, smart cities, energy and transportation.

Construction will begin by the end of 2017 and the development is slated for completion within four years.

The project comes at a time when the real estate market in Dubai is witnessing demand for premium commercial and office space. Premium commercial space accounts for 20% of the total business space currently available in Dubai, with an occupancy rate of 92%, a Tecom statement announced.

Tecom’s portfolio includes Dubai Internet City, Dubai Outsource City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City, Dubai Production City, Dubai Knowledge Park, Dubai International Academic City, Dubai Science Park, Dubai Design District and Dubai Wholesale City – which comprises Dubai Industrial Park and Dubai Food Park.

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DAUSI ARAMCO ACQUIRES GAVIA OFFSHORE SURVEYOR AUV SYSTEM KSA – Teledyne Gavia has announced the acquisition of a Gavia Offshore Sur veyor AU V s y s tem by Saudi Aramco. The system is expected to enhance Saudi Aramco’s agility in meeting demand for hydrographic survey services. A Gavia statement said the system would be utilised predominantly for debris survey and pipeline inspection in the Arabian Gulf, with a potential service extension for other type of surveys in water depths up to 1,000 metres in the Red Sea. The sys tem is equipped with an Interferometric side scan sonar camera and utilises a high-accuracy Doppler velocity log-aided inertial

nav igat ion s y s tem. For pipeline inspection applications, the vehicle will be equipped with field-proven SeeB y te Au tot racker sof t ware, which provides autonomous pipeline inspection capability. In order to gather environmental data, a variety of other sensors are carried in the new Gavia Science Bay module, including the SeaOWL UV-A, which is optimised for oil detection in water. In addition to the AUV, a small survey launch including all required peripheral components and a mobile launch and recovery solution are being provided

by Teledyne Gavia.

The Gavia AUV was selec ted

ABU DHABI TO GET ITS FIRST CITY CENTRE MALL Abu Dhabi – Abu Dhabi’s retail and entertainment sectors are set for further growth following the announcement of the first City Centre mall in the UAE capital. City Centre Al Jazira is a joint venture between Majid Al Futtaim and Jazira Sports and Cultural Club, a key Abu Dhabi football club.

Construction on the AED1.4bn City Centre Al Jazira, strategically located between the Airport Road and Al Muroor Road in the heart of Abu Dhabi, is set to begin in October and is scheduled for completion in early 2021. The centre will include 153 retail stores, a Carrefour Hypermarket, a 15-screen VOX Cinemas, Magic Planet family entertainment destination, a City Centre Clinic and a fitness centre, as well as indoor and alfresco dining choices. Total leasable area is expected to be 80,500 sq.m within a built-up area of 215,000 sq.m.

As par t of Al Jazira Club’s vision to diversif y its investments, the new shopping destination is an important addition to other investment projects which ensures the sustainability and diversity of Al Jazira Club’s portfolio.

City Centre Al Jazira marks a significant investment from Majid Al Futtaim into the UAE capital, driven by Abu Dhabi’s growing and affluent residential market and world-class infrastructure development projects, from transportation to museums. Bringing the City Centre brand of shopping malls to the capital will open the doors to an integrated shopping, lifestyle and entertainment destination for the community and contribute to Abu Dhabi’s vision that aims to develop a competitive, sustainable and globally open economy.

due to its modularity, offering future survey services expansion/diversity and increased sea endurance. It will increase the capability of Saudi A ramco’s ow n sur vey ser v ices provider, Geomatics Services Division, in hydrographic data acquisition to support offshore engineering and drilling campaigns.

The Gavia AUV is an autonomous, modular sensor platform that is field configurable by means of a unique twist lock system. Operators can rapidly change or add sensors, navigation, or battery modules between missions, making the Gavia AUV a flexible and cost-effective asset.

DUQM POWER AND DESALINATION PROJECT CONTRACT TO BE AWARDED NEXT YEAR Oman – The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for gas-fired power-cum-water desalination project will be awarded in Q1, 2018. The project will have a capacity of 183MW of power and 9.5m imperial gallons of water per day. The project is being developed by Marafiq and would be operational in Q4, 2020.

The Duqm project will meet energy requirements of a new refinery and petrochemical complex which is being developed at the Duqm free zone. The 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery is being jointly developed by Oman Oil Company and Kuwait Petroleum International at a cost of $7bn.Duqm currently has a 66MW diesel-fired power plant, which is owned and operated by the Rural Areas Electricity Company (RAECO, which is part of the Electricity Holding Company or the Nama Group. The Special Economic Zone Authority of Duqm (SEZAD) is expected to bring in more industries to the country, so their power requirements would need to be fulfilled. The first phase of SEZAD has a projected electicity demand of 650MW by 2025.

Chinese firms Hebei Electric Power Design and Research and Ningxia Electric Power Design Institute are planning an environmental impact assessment study for a $406m 300MW coal-fired power project in Duqm.

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bq | BQ CONNECT | ADVERTISING

RAISING THE BAR FOR MEDIA OWNERS ELAN Media’s Digital OOH assets take the advertising industry in the MENA region to the next level.

The growing market of digitalout-of-home (DOOH) around the world has propelled advertisers to commit more investments in this medium; nearly $4.5bn is expected to be spent on DOOH advertising in the US by 2019, an increase of approximately $1.2bn from

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2016. “PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that DOOH advertising revenues will overtake traditional media spend in 2020, growing at a rate of 15% a year for the next four years,” writes AdAge.com.

The worldwide expansion of DOOH networks propelled

ELAN Media, a regional market leader in the field of advertising, to envision a cutting-edge and oneof-its-kind digital network, and deploy it for the first time in the Middle East market, specifically in the State of Qatar. ELAN Media invested heavily and partnered

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with international companies specializing in DOOH technology to source the most advanced digital assets, deploy them in Qatar’s latest malls and equip them with the most advanced technologies to create a unique state-of-the-art digital network that has never been seen before in the region.

ELAN Media’s DOOH network encapsulates different styles of digital assets with a total of over 240 screens. DOOH is focused on reaching consumers when they are “on the go” in public places or in transit. Because it is location and context specific, the technology offers the opportunity to give people the right message, in the right way, at the right time in a format that’s automated, dynamic and interactive.

Exclusive Media Partnerships with Mall of Qatar, Doha Festival City and Ezdan Malls: The opening

of two new mega-malls in Qatar was the perfect opportunity to take advertising to the next level.

ELAN Media has signed multi-year strategic partnerships with Mall of Qatar and Doha Festival City to be the exclusive media partner for both malls. The involvement of ELAN Media from the early stages of construction enabled it to optimise the advertising experience with virtually no limits, and create tailormade solutions built into the fabric of the malls.

“Most of the time, you have to build advertising solutions in already established locations, which creates several constraints and limits the possibilities of what can be done. With Mall of Qatar and Doha Festival City, we had a blank canvas with a simple objective; to create the best digital out-of-home platforms in the region. This is a truly unique opportunity, and we have used it to introduce DOOH in a way that

no one has done in the Middle East before,” said Jamie Ball, Chief Operating Officer at ELAN Media.

Wether communicating a sales promotion, announcing a new product, or launching a brand campaign all require a different approach. ELAN Media understands this variety of objectives and introduced eight different screen “collections”, some of which are unique to the entire MENA region. Assets include: • The Iconics: Two super-size 72 sqm digital screens • The Axis: A giant 28 sqm double-sided rotating screen with 360-degree visibility • The Runway: Eight fully wrapped screens deployed in pairs around the pillars within Doha Festival City’s food court • The Pillars: 24 state-of-theart bezel free LCD videowalls integrated in the pillars within Mall of Qatar’s food court.

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Broadsign interface

• The Torch: The first roadside digital screens in Qatar (50sqm per screen), visible from a long distance on the Shamal Road • Digital MUPIs: 176 70-inch LCD screens distributed across three malls.

• The South Façade: Two 35sqm external digital screens visible from a long distance.

• Digital Landmarks: Italian custom-built 4 mm pitch LED screens capturing footfall at busy mall intersections.

Partnering with DOOH industry leaders worldwide: ELAN Media selected international and experienced partners to design and implement the best digital out-ofhome network possible. AVT (Audio Visual Technology), Qatar’s leading audio visual and digital media boutique systems integrator, was ELAN Media’s selected technology partner and both companies selected the LCD based assets from Esprit Digital (UK), high-definition LED screens from Altoona – Italy, content management systems by BroadSign – Canada, and audience analytics from Quividi – France.

ELAN Media appointed AVT as main contractor to provide a turnkey solution, and the scope of work included the technical design, procurement, logistics, project management and complete installation as well as maintenance for 10 years.

From the conceptual designs,

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AVT worked with ELAN Media’s vision to develop the specifications into high-level designs that could be manufactured and delivered within the projects tight timeframes. One of the main challenges and objectives of the project was to ensure that the digital assets were fully integrated into the surrounding architectural finishes to ensure the media screens looked amazing. A lot of consideration was given to the thermal management of the displays to ensure airflow and temperatures remained constant, as these are the most important factors, when installing digital screens and especially for outdoor environments.

Michael Lister, AVT’s Group Sales & Marketing Director, explained: “AVT is honoured and privileged to be selected as ELAN Media’s technology partner

for Doha Festival City and Mall of Qatar. As part of our tender recommendation, we selected the best-in-class international partners to deliver a digital out-ofhome network that in our opinion represents the most cutting-edge technology and systems integration that is currently available. All these suppliers are at the top of their game and we are delighted to have specified their products and represent them in Qatar for such prestigious projects.

“The installation AVT has delivered to ELAN Media represents the very best that is available on the planet right now.

The digital out-of-home network that we designed and delivered, meets and exceeds all international standards and provides a digital landscape for high-quality highdefinition content to be displayed and enjoyed by everyone who visits the mall. Really it doesn’t get any better than this.”

The partnership with BroadSign, the leading Canadian content management Company: ELAN Media’s digital network is powered

by Broadsign, the top-ranked DOOH Content Management Software provider in the world.

Broadsign controls ad content over The Cloud allowing ELAN Media’s team to automate campaigns based on specific KPIs; which means selling the advertisements by time of day, day of week, location and creative length. Moreover, BroadSign allows revising and

Quividi Report screenshot

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modifying the work to take place in seconds, and it provides an errorfree management environment and an accurate description about the campaign. The automation of outof-home advertising has arrived.

Ball explains that “to be able to change the ad content in real-time based on various factors such as weather, time of day and location gives advertisers the ability to add a new layer of context that means they can target the right audiences in a totally different way. This relevance, coupled with DOOH’s ability to reach mass audiences, gives brands the opportunity to create campaigns that are remembered long after they have ended. Today we have the technology to do just that here at ELAN Media.”

The Partnership with Quividi, #1 Audience and Context Aware Platform for DOOH: ELAN Media’s digital MUPIs are equipped with Anonymous Video Analytics (AVA) technology from Quividi to analyze the content featured on those assets and provide a tool to measure the performance of each communication campaign at every level.

The AVA technology provides content and audience analysis that certifies viewership and analyses the demographics and mood of the audience while fully respecting personal privacy. The analysis allows ELAN Media’s team to produce VidiReports that can exactly identify the audience of each piece of content.

Each individual copy can be analysed by second, a level of granularity that allows ELAN Media to identify the piece of content that makes people laugh, or the one that gathers the most attention. ELAN Media can then provide feedback to its clients with key insights such as: • How many times was the campaign viewed?

• Who saw the campaign, by age, gender, mood?

• Who was the campaign’s core audience?

• Which content performed best with a specific demographic group (e.g. young adults)?

• Which content gathered the most smiles?

provide advertisers with a detailed content analysis of their campaigns.

“This is where all the magic happens!” is how Ball proudly describes ELAN Live.

“Data is an essential part of advertising planning. Advertisers want to optimize their spend towards specific target audiences, and then measure return on investment to assess the success of their campaigns. By pioneering AVA technology in the Middle

What’s next?

After only a few months of operation, ELAN Media’s digital network at the three malls has carried advertising campaigns from more than 70 international and local brands. This success reflects the strong appetite that

East, we are the only player giving brands more transparent and accurate tools to guide their investment. Our aim is to drive the entire industry towards more accountability” comments Ball.

advertisers have for innovative and impactful communication platforms in the region.

ELAN Media’s vision to elevate the advertising sector and take it to the next level has raised the bar for media owners. The DOOH assets convey targeted messaging and can provide smarter and more relevant content to viewers to achieve the true purpose of advertising: to create engagement between people and brands.

About ELAN Media’s plans, Ball concludes: “DOOH is an evermoving world, and we must keep pace with it. As a market leader, ELAN Media will continue to proactively innovate and introduce technology to enhance the advertising experience for brands, consumers, and media owners.”

ELAN Live Digital Control Center To manage the new extensive digital network, ELAN Media established ELAN Live, the first Digital Content Control Center of its kind in Qatar. ELAN Live is a cutting-edge control suite, a central location from which ELAN Media’s team can control content delivery to its 240+ digital screens operating in Mall of Qatar, Doha Festival City and Ezdan Mall.

It is also where all the data gathered from the AVA is analysed to produce the Vidireports which

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QATAR

DOLLAR SLIDE EXPECTED TO SUPPORT US GROWTH QNB expects higher trade to compensate for a less expansive fiscal policy, keeping US growth around 2% for the year.

One of the more surprising developments of 2017 has been the weakening of the US dollar. Since the start of the year, the greenback has declined by 5% against a basket of the world’s most traded currencies.

This has happened despite the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates twice in 2017 while also signalling its intention to deliver another rate hike and start unwinding the balance sheet by the end of the year. So then, why has the dollar fallen? The lack of progress on promised fiscal stimulus implementation, low inflation and foreign currency appreciation are the main factors causing dollar weakness.

The first factor behind the dollar weakness is fading investor optimism about President Trump’s fiscal stimulus. In the aftermath of the election, inflation expectations rose on the promise of a massive tax cut and spending package, pushing US yields and the dollar to new heights by the end of 2016.

However, since assuming office in

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January, the new US administration throughout the first five months of has failed to implement its promised 2017, even though the US labour fiscal measures, being bogged market has continued to improve. down on other legislative issues such As a result, some market as health care. This has virtually participants have responded to eliminated the possibility of stimulus being Nominal Trade-Weighted Valie of the US dollar implemented this (Index, Jan 1997 = 100) year and reduced expectations of 130 the magnitude 125 of any possible stimulus in 120 the future.

115 The second factor is that 110 inflation has 105 disappointed.

Core personal 100 consumption 95 expenditure (PCE), the 90 Fed’s preferred 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 measure of inflation, Sources: Federal Reserve Board, Haver Analytics and has declined QNB Economics

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tepid inflation with caution, fearing that inflation weakness may be persistent and not temporary as the Fed believes. This has pushed down inflation expectations and created doubt about whether or not the Fed would continue on its current path to raise rates, putting downward pressure on the dollar.

The third factor is that growth momentum has been stronger outside of the US, especially among some of its largest trade partners such as the Euro Area, Canada and China, boosting the value of foreign currencies.

Growth in the Euro Area and Canada have both accelerated by more than expected since the start of the year and their respective central banks are tightening their monetary policy stances in response to firming growth prospects.

The Bank of Canada raised its policy rate this past July for the first time since the financial crisis and the European Central Bank has already begun discussing gradually ending its quantitative easing programme.

These developments have pushed up the value of the Canadian dollar and the euro against the dollar by 5% and 12%, respectively so far this year.

Chinese growth too has surprised on the upside in 2017 and policymakers have given indications that they are moving closer to tightening policy, although this is primarily to curtail financial stability risks. The yuan has responded in kind, ending its two-year slide in 2017 and gained 3% on the US dollar since the start of the year.

A weaker dollar has important, largely positive, implications for the US economy. Namely, it should stimulate exports, deter imports and boost the foreign earnings of US multinational companies abroad.

Part of this impact has already been seen through the first half of 2017, with net exports adding an average of 0.2 percentage points to growth.

Considering exports generally respond to currency depreciation with a lag, this impact is likely to increase in the second half of the year. We expect higher trade to compensate for a less expansive fiscal policy, keeping US growth around 2.0% for the year.

QATAR

DRIVE TO SUPPORT INDIGENOUS INDUSTRIES QDB organised the second buy local products exhibition in support of native industries.

Motivated by His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s latest address to the nation, Qatar Development Bank (QDB) organised the second edition of the “Buy Local Products” exhibition in its renewed drive to support the development of indigenous industries, empower the local private sector and diversify the economy. The exhibition was held at Al Dafna Hall, Sheraton Grand Doha. The “Buy Local Products” exhibition series is designed to give a merchantable platform to native small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) so that they may showcase their products and complement the nation’s renewed objective of localising the supply

chain and increasing self-reliance.

Following the success of the first edition of “Buy Local Products,” which witnessed the participation of 70 local companies from across various sectors, the second edition was launched to further support local industries through facilitating local procurement, especially for the industrial sector.

The second exhibition saw the participation of more than 150 companies as well as an even wider range of products on showcase than the first edition. The 2nd “Buy Local Products” exhibition saw the following items on display: general building materials, plastics, aluminum & copper, steel & iron, wood,

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paper, glass products, detergents, information technology (IT) & equipment and marine sector services.

On the sidelines of the forum, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between QDB and Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ to launch the “Taaheel” programme for SMEs in the presence of officials from both organisations and participating exhibitors.

To facilitate ad lib business transactions, the exhibition venue came equipped with different business-to-business (B2B) meeting halls that could be used by local suppliers and buyers to ink bilateral agreements and partnerships.

Commenting on the launch of the second edition of the exhibition, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), QDB, Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa said: “Over the course of time, our team, at QDB, has developed core services and initiatives aimed at accelerating the development of Qatar's private sector – particularly the industrial sector.

Today’s launch of the second edition of the ‘Buy Local Products’ exhibitions is yet another step in the same direction and the purpose of this event serves to augment our ongoing efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in the local market. By strengthening the ability of national suppliers to meet domestic demand and linking local buyers and suppliers with each other, we seek to promote the microeconomics of a self-sustaining economy.”

The launch of the two editions of “Buy Local Products” exhibitions in July came as the latest in a string of initiatives aimed at promoting a localised supply chain. In the past, in its effort to support a diverse range of local suppliers, QDB had developed numerous programmes that support the agriculture and farming industry in Qatar. Recurring schemes, such as the eco-friendly Jahiz 1 and Jahiz 2 initiatives, also empower local suppliers that operate across a diverse range of industries, including: chemicals, electronics, plastics, wood materials as well as food and beverages.

Stressing upon the importance of a strong sense of community as it relates to the “Buy Local Products” exhibition

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bq | GEOPOLITICS+TRADE | EXPO

series, Al Khalifa continued: “During the challenges of these prevailing times, His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani reminded us of the paramount importance of maintaining self-respect and composure when making rational, farsighted decisions. In his last address, he laid unparalleled emphasis on the economic independence for our country. And for us to maintain our economic sovereignty, our industries and industry-owners need to continue to play their respective critical roles.

On the sidelines of the forum, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between QDB and Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ to launch the ‘Taaheel‘ programme for SMEs in the presence of officials from both organisations and participating exhibitors.

“Qatari products have demonstrated a strong promise in the local market by helping to meet nearly all the needs of our nation’s consumers. Through strengthening the ability of Qatari suppliers to fulfill local demand, on the one hand, and matching local buyers with local suppliers, on the other, we holistically strengthen the interplay of our market actors and achieve new scales of competitiveness.

“At present, one of our key priorities is ensuring that the Qatari wholesale suppliers, who may no longer order their merchandise from their traditional sources, are matched with new providers. This effort ensures that their business may continue to operate as normal and I am delighted to share with you that in this endeavour, we have met with much success.”

On the sidelines of the forum,

a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between QDB and Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ to launch the “Taaheel” programme for SMEs in the presence of officials from both organisations and participating exhibitors. Representing their respective organisations during the signing ceremony were Al Khalifa and President, Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’, Dr Saad Bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi.

A key angle of the agreement will see QDB and Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ co-operate to support local SMEs financially and technically.

The cooperation will include the Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ restructuring procurement regulations to prioritise vendor opportunities for local SMEs, while QDB, for its part, will focus on capability development of these SMEs and conduct regular meetings to monitor the performance of these companies.

As an integral part of its growth and empowerment strategy for the local market, QDB regularly partners with other Qatari bodies to launch projects that grow the nation’s indigenous industries. Earlier this year, in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, QDB launched the 2nd Government Procurement & Contracting Conference and Exhibition – Moushtarayat 2017, which sought primarily to localise the supply chain by connect large public-sector organisations with firms operating in the local private sector. Similarly, QDB co-operated with Qatar Chamber to launch the “Made at Home” exhibition, which was designed to strengthen homebased business industry in Qatar.

To promote the private sector, QDB locally extends wide-ranging financial and non-financial support to entrepreneurs across a myriad of industries. Furthermore, the development agency is dedicated to supporting Qatar National Vision 2030 by strengthening the private sector through the provision of special advisory services, indirect loan facilities, seed investment programmes and matchmaking services so that local SMEs and entrepreneurs may play a greater economic role in Qatar.

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bq | GEOPOLITICS+TRADE | TAXATION

GCC

IMPACT OF VAT ON KSA FIRMS VAT is expected to impact each business differently and businesses will need to consider the effect of VAT on all their transactions and the potential impact on prices and margins.

Proven Saudi Arabia, the leading business support provider for the KSA, provides further insight on the implementation of VAT and the effect it will have on businesses operating within the Kingdom. It has been confirmed that a 5% VAT will be applied across the KSA at the beginning of 2018. VAT will affect most goods and services except for a list of essentials such as medical supplies, books and daily necessities as well as services such as education, health, transport and exported goods and services.

Companies exceeding an annual turnover equaling or exceeding SAR375,000 will be required to register for VAT. Once registered, businesses are required to file VAT returns with the General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) and will need to keep record of all business transactions to remit any VAT payable by a specific date, which is yet to be announced.

As many businesses trade across the GCC, it is imperative that attention is paid to new VAT regulations when operating in Saudi Arabia. Companies are encouraged to begin preparing to

ensure they remain compliant when the new regulations apply. Companies should ensure that financial records are available, clear and accurate as well as confirm the category of VAT they fall under. VAT will impact each business differently, businesses will need to consider the effect of VAT on all their transactions and the potential impact on prices and margins.

Impact of VAT on branch offices VAT will affect companies operating in both KSA and UAE and official guidelines on the process are expected to be announced shortly.

The guidelines will cover the supply of goods and services from a supplier in one GCC country to clients in other GCC countries.

Some intra-company billing and imports will be affected by VAT introduction. Companies will need to document and report intra-GCC transactions and supplies and determine who the importer of record will be.

Businesses whose clients are on their payroll For salaries and services offered

from one company to another within the same VAT registration will not incur VAT, however, it is applicable to most services offered by a third party. Companies that use third party services for clients locally, will be charged VAT by the vendor. The VAT costs will then be passed onto the client, receiving the service and will affect their invoice.

Exports are classified in the zerorated VAT category, meaning the seller collects no output tax and the input tax is fully refundable.

Impact on businesses within exempt category If goods or services are exempt, then VAT will not be charged to the customer. Businesses exempt from VAT will not be able to register for VAT and are therefore unable to claim for VAT. Businesses that are partially exempt will be able to register for VAT and claim on expenses to the extent to which it is incurred in the making of taxable supplies. This means VAT incurred on common costs and overheads will be claimable only to an extent.

September 2017

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bq | GEOPOLITICS+TRADE | GCC REPORT

RUSSIA

EXPLORING NEW POSSIBILITIES The UAE and Russia discussed future bilateral and regional co-operation on the sidelines of Innoprom Industrial Exhibition in Yekaterinberg.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE’s Minister of Economy, recently discussed prospects for future economic and industrial co-operation with the Russian Federation under the framework of the latter’s bilateral relations with the UAE, other GCC countries, and the entire region.

The Minister met with senior officials of the Russian government while heading an economic and trade delegation from the UAE in a visit to the Russian Federation to participate in the 8th International Industrial Trade Fair (Innoprom) at the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.

The delegation included Abdullah Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade and Industry; Abdullah Sultan Alfan Alshamsi, Assistant Undersecretary for Industrial affairs; and other government and private sector representatives.

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During the meeting, the two sides praised the current level of co-operation between the two countries, emphasising the importance of further enhancing ties in several areas of common interest – including the transformative

The Russians shared that their bilateral trade exceeded $2.5bn and expressed their country’s desire to expand economic co-operation with GCC countries. industries, petrochemicals and aluminum, advanced technologies, and the fields of innovation, scientific research, renewable energy, agriculture and food.

Al Mansoori underscored the importance of healthy economic and trade relations between the two countries, pointing out that the current development in foreign trade indices reflects their mutual desire to develop effective co-operative mechanisms in all vital sectors.

He further mentioned that non-oil trade between the UAE and Russia has been reaching high levels, noting a record $2.1bn in commercial exchange for 2016 which he said is likely to increase significantly in light of existing and upcoming mutual opportunities for the two countries.

Over the last two years, the UAE has welcomed more than 600,000 Russian visitors. The UAE’s national carriers operate 56 weekly flights between the two countries.

The minister reviewed priority areas under the UAE’s economic agenda, specifically citing seven sectors identified by the National

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Innovation Strategy, namely energy, transport, technology, education, healthcare, water and space. He emphasised that the UAE is keen to benefit from Russia’s world-leading experience in the fields of industry and scientific research and development.

Al Mansoori praised Innoprom as a distinguished international platform for learning about the latest industrial technologies in a number of vital disciplines and advanced Russian technology in the fields of transport and transformative industries.

The minister also invited Russian businessmen and investors to expand their presence in the UAE market and benefit from available investment opportunities as well as incentives and advantages enjoyed by locally operating companies.

For his part, Denis Manturov, the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade, emphasised the distinguished economic relations between the UAE and Russia, pointing out his country's keenness to jointly work on developing more co-operative prospects and moving on to more advanced levels.

Manturov added that there are many areas of co-operation that offer promising opportunities for establishing partnerships and enhancing mutual investments between the two sides. He pointed out that the Russian side is keen to enhance the level of its agricultural and industrial exports to the UAE and the region in general. He emphasised the importance of working on enhancing linkages between the business communities of both sides to review major investment opportunities.

Prospects for future co-operation Al Mansoori joined Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism of the Kingdom of Bahrain; Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council; and Abdul Karim Taqi Abdul Karim, General Manager of the Public Authority for Industry in Kuwait, during a meeting with Russian representatives on the sidelines of their participation in Innoprom. The gathering included senior officials of the Russian Ministry

of Industry and Trade headed by Undersecretary Sergey Tsip and representatives of the economic sectors of the Russian Federation.

The joint Gulf-Russian meeting tackled areas of economic and trade co-operation and means of investing in the potential of the two sides in establishing mutually beneficial industrial and development projects that can further enhance existing economic partnerships.

The two sides discussed investment opportunities available in several vital industries, most notably the aluminum trade where GCC countries have made great progress at the regional and international levels. The meeting also considered the Russian proposal on the establishment of an international organisation for regulating the global aluminum industry, with the Kingdom of Bahrain expressing its willingness to host the headquarters of the proposed organisation.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori expressed the UAE’s support for the proposed establishment of an organisation for regulating the global aluminum industry with the Kingdom of Bahrain as its recommended base.

The Russian side emphasised its interest in boosting industrial exports to the region and further expanding and diversifying trade, pointing out that Russia is in the process of establishing a free industrial zone in Egypt. The Ministers of the GCC expressed their appreciation for Russia’s efforts to support the development plans of Egypt as well as their region.

During the meeting, Al Mansoori underlined the importance of developing various aspects of Gulf-Russian co-operation in order to mutually benefit from

the outcomes and advance the region’s development objectives.

He also expressed the UAE’s support for the proposed establishment of an organisation for regulating the global aluminum industry with the Kingdom of Bahrain as its recommended base. He pointed out the importance of encouraging co-operation in the aluminum and petrochemical industries as the Gulf and Russia enjoy many promising opportunities in these fields.

Al Mansoori further stated that the UAE is willing to organise a forum in Dubai between their Ministers of Trade and Industry and private sectors to discuss various economic concerns between the GCC and Russia. The offer was welcomed by the Russian side which recommended further co-ordination between the Russian Government and the Secretariat General of the Gulf Co-operation Council and Chambers of Commerce on the matter.

He also noted that the UAE was one of the first countries to support Egypt, emphasising the necessity of working towards ensuring the success of all development efforts in Egypt, which he said will have a positive impact on the region.

The Russian side warmly welcomed the Gulf delegation and thanked them for accepting the invitation to participate in Innoprom. They commended the progress achieved in strengthening Gulf-Russian relations during the past few years.

The Russians added that the strategic dialogue between the Russian Federation and the GCC has been very successful and has had a clear impact on strengthening their relations and developing economic co-operation. They shared that their bilateral trade exceeded $2.5bn and expressed their country’s desire to expand economic co-operation with GCC countries.

They further expressed their country’s appreciation for the GCC’s support for the Russian proposal to establish an international organisation for regulating the global aluminum industry, pointing out Russia's interest in boosting its industrial exports and expanding its trade with the region.

September 2017

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bq | GEOPOLITICS+TRADE | INTERNATIONAL

CHINA

COURTING MORE INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR BRI QNB tries to explain China’s ‘Belt Road Initiative’.

Nearly 30 world leaders gathered in Beijing in May to discuss the “Belt Road Initiative” (BRI). First launched in 2013 (then known as the “One Belt, One Road” project), BRI is a Chinese-led global infrastructure programme aimed at improving connectivity and trade between Asia, Africa and Europe.

Now four years later, the first wave of projects is being implemented and China is courting more international support for the project. But there is still uncertainty about what exactly BRI is, what are its flagship projects and why China would embark on such an expansive project. We address these issues in this piece and highlight some of the challenges China might face in implementation.

BRI is aimed at developing transport and energy-related infrastructure such as roads, railways, ports, and power plants along six so-called economic corridors connecting China to Central Asia and Europe by land and to India and Southeast Asia by sea.

Current plans suggest BRI projects would span across more than 60 countries which account for nearly a third of global GDP. To fund the BRI,

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China announced at its recent summit that it would spend $124bn on projects while it has previously made $890bn available in loans through its development and multilateral banks.

Overall, the full cost of BRI investments is estimated to be in the range of $1-2tn but so far, just $35bn has been spent.

There are several major BRI projects.

In Pakistan, China is leading the transformation of the southern port of Gwadar into an energy hub linking China to the Middle East. This involves road and pipeline networks stretching from Gwadar to western China, reducing a 12,000km journey to import hydrocarbons by sea to less than 3,000km over land.

Work on the road network and port expansion has already begun.

Rail links between Tehran and China were established in 2016

and the Khorgos Gateway, a major cargo hub between China and Kazakhstan, is also operational and expected to be expanded under BRI. There are other promising flagship projects that have not begun.

These include rail connections from Beijing to Moscow (7,000km) and southern China to Malaysia and Singapore (3,000km) as well as a deep sea port in Sri Lanka.

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bq | GEOPOLITICS+TRADE | IN CONTEXT

QNB COMPLETES INDUCTION PROGRAMME FOR EMPLOYEES Doha – QNB held a graduation ceremony welcoming its 4th Group induction programme batch this year. QNB holds induction programs with the aim of aiding new Qatari employees in adapting and integrating within the Group’s international network.

The latest Induction program group completed 12 training modules over a period of six weeks, during which the inductees were introduced to the QNB Group’s history, current position, and future vision in addition to the basics of work in a banking environment and QNB’s products and services. This is followed by a specialised course in customer service excellence, sales and communications skills, and practical knowledge of the Group’s various banking systems.

QNB is the first organisation to offer such courses to trainees, in which they can practise banking operations and different customer service scenarios in an environment that helps them acquire self-confidence and enables them to face any possible future situations. The courses are given by a group of top banking experts, and are followed by a month of on-the-job training.

The latest batch delivered their end-of-induction presentations

to a group of QNB’s top management, earning their praise. The candidates attested that joining QNB guarantees future growth and development opportunities to qualified candidates, as well as supporting their future education.

QNB OFFERS GLOBAL BANKING SOLUTIONS TO QNB FIRST PREMIUM BANKING MEMBERS Doha — With an increasing interest in global investment opportunities, QNB, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, has enhanced its QNB First Global Recognition programme, allowing premium banking customers to benefit from its cross-border banking solutions in key markets such as the UK, France, Turkey, Kuwait, Oman and Lebanon with plans to add more. The programme allows customers to take advantage of a number of the bank’s offerings, such as global account opening, crossborder mortgage services, and real estate advisory within the selected markets.

Under the Global Recognition programme, QNB customers can open an account in any of the international markets stated above by simply visiting any local QNB branch. Along with the account opening, the programme offers customers a number of free ser vices, including debit cards, cheque books, internet banking services, transfers between accounts, emergency cash withdrawal, and much more.

QNB First members can also have Global Access to their accounts with QNB branches in Qatar, the UK, France, Oman, Kuwait and Lebanon, of fering them a

global view and free and instant transfers.

The Global Account Access through QNB Internet Banking is the most innovative solution for managing accounts maintained in various countries with one single view.

Heba Al Tamimi, QNB Group GM Retail, said: “The Global Recognition programme is designed to offer a wide range of banking solutions to our customers based on their level of activities and banking needs while they’re abroad. This is an excellent opportunity for QNB customers to benefit from bespoke international banking services that will help them become global premium customers.”

ASHGHAL LAUNCHES ‘TA’HEEL’ INITIATIVE TO QUALIFY QATARI MANUFACTURERS Doha – The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ has announced the launch of the ‘Ta’heel’ initiative in partnership and co-operation with Qatar Development Bank (QDB) to qualify and accredit Qatari factories.

The new approach gives the factories an opportunity to participate in the implementation of Ashghal’s programmes and projects, through enlistment of Qatari manufacturers in the authority’s approved supply chain, in addition to accrediting local industrial products that meet the technical requirements, specifications, and the standard quality levels.

Ashghal has adopted an effective and accessible procedure to enlist, qualify, and accredit national factories. These factories get qualified within three weeks of submitting the application to Ashghal if they meet the technical requirements in terms of required quality factors and levels.

The initiative aims as well at relying on Qatari capacities,

resources, industries and human resources, in addition to encouraging new national investors to devote their investments in establishing new factories that contribute to the needs of the state projects being implemented by Ashghal and other entities.

The Public Works Authority and Qatar Development Bank (QDB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to activate the ‘Ta’heel’ initiative, as part of the second edition of Qatar Development Bank’s forum “Buy National Product”, which aims to encourage SMEs to expand their local business in different Industry sectors.

The MoU was signed by Eng. Saad bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi, President of the Public Works Authority, and Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, CEO of Qatar Development Bank. Eng. Ahmed Ali Al Ansari, the Technical Office Manager in Ashghal gave a presentation about the initiative and how the factories can submit their applications and register for the initiative.

September 2017

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bq | R&D+TECH | WEB WOES

WORLD

KNOW WHERE TO FIND YOUR DIGITAL RISK Technology and human experts can be used to understand, not only where and when a person’s name is mentioned online, but also how it is likely impact that person’s organisation, says Alastair Paterson.

Approximately 250 years ago Samuel Johnson said, “The next best thing to knowing something, is knowing where to find it.” This is quite a fitting quote from the author of A Dictionary of the English Language and equally fitting today when it comes to understanding your digital risk.

There’s a great deal of intelligence organisations can find on the deep and dark web. Credit card numbers, bank account information, patient information and intellectual property are widely known to be for sale on forums. Now some of the intelligence is more eye-opening. We’re seeing W-2 forms, and employee credentials available, making any organisation ripe for tax fraud or account takeover, respectively.

One of the most popular marketplaces on the dark web for such information is AlphaBay. Not only is information related to a company’s assets available, but information about new techniques to compromise targets is for sale as well. One of the latest is a tool to bypass SMS account verification, making multi-factor authentication that relies on SMS vulnerable. On such forums you can also find configuration files for credential stuffing tools, like Sentry MBA, that are created for account

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takeover of specific companies.

There are dozens of marketplaces on the dark web and competition for business is steep. In fact, some less popular marketplaces offer botnets devised to spam AlphaBay users with advertisements or special promotions in an attempt to entice them to switch forums. Not all dark web sources are as readily accessible as AlphaBay, of course. Some require human analyst expertise to also gain access to closed sources to get the most relevant view of the risks.

But for all the notoriety of these marketplaces, it is also important to remember that criminal activity isn’t limited to the dark web, particularly given the fact that some countries don’t extradite cybercriminals.

With minimal consequences, bad actors have no incentive to hide. As a result, cybercrime is an Internetwide problem, almost equally present on the deep and open web.

Deer.io is a prime example. This all-in-one outsourced online shop provides hosting, design (based on WordPress-like templates) and a payment solution. Additional items for sale on the marketplace include: • Bot-registered social media accounts (usually sold in bulk),

•

• • •

typically with the intent of supporting social media spam and artificially increasing the popularity of other accounts/posts Stolen, legitimate social media accounts, which are advertised in small quantity but at higher prices compared to bot-registered accounts ‘Coupons’ to services that artificially increase the popularity of social media accounts or posts Stolen accounts from other services including banks, payment, and gift and loyalty cards Dedicated servers and domain names

The point is that criminal forums exist everywhere so focusing only on the dark web won’t give you a comprehensive view of your digital risk. Furthermore, it isn’t enough to simply detect mentions of company assets and concerns. You need context behind the information you see posted to have a better understanding of the actual risk to your organisation.

This requires a combination of technology and people.

• Automated collection technology can provide visibility into incidents with context, as they happen,

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wherever they happen – across the open, deep and dark web.

For example, being able to see previous posts by other users on the marketplace on the same thread or post can provide a deeper understanding of how your company, employees or customers may be impacted. It can also provide an overview of the user in question, with their name, data joined, activity levels and reputation.

• Data scientists and intelligence experts are able to gain access to some closed sources that collection technology alone can’t penetrate and they need to be involved in qualifying the data collected. With enhanced analytic capabilities and additional context they can help determine the potential impact to the organization, a possible timeline of events, and recommended action.

A comprehensive assessment of your digital risk starts with knowing where to find it. With an approach that combines technology and human experts looking across the open, deep and dark web, you can understand not only where and when you are mentioned online, but also why, by whom and the likely impact to your organization. This breadth and depth of coverage is essential to protect against threats associated with forums and marketplaces and, ultimately, to formulate a successful digital risk management strategy.

(Alastair Paterson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Digital Shadows)

CONSUMERS EXPECT AR AND VR TO MERGE WITH REALITY

New York – Ericsson has published its latest ConsumerLab report – Merged Reality – revealing insights into how consumers expect virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to merge with physical reality, and that 5G will be a key technology for such experiences to become mainstream.

The report reveals that when boundaries between people’s perception of physical and virtual reality start to blur, this could result in a drastic impact on lives and society. The way we live, work, and consume information and media will fundamentally change.

Realities will not merge if the user is tethered to a computer or cut off from physical reality. Early adopters of VR/AR expect next-generation networks like 5G to play a central role. Thirty-six percent have expectations on 5G to provide VR/AR mobility through a stable, fast and

high-bandwidth network. Thirty percent of early adopters also expect 5G to enable tethered headsets to become wireless.

Key findings of the latest report include that 7 out of 10 early adopters expect VR/ AR to change everyday life fundamentally in six domains: media, education, work, social interaction, travel and retail. Media is already being transformed and consumers expect virtual screens to start replacing televisions and theaters in less than a year.

The qualitative research in the report included an innovative focus group discussion series completely in VR with participants from North America and Europe, as well as traditional focus groups with current users of VR from Japan and South Korea. A series of qualitative VR tests with 20 Ericsson employees were also done to understand how lag in VR can trigger nausea.

LG Q6 BRINGS FULLVISION DISPLAY TO NEW SMARTPHONE LINEUP Dubai — LG (Electronics) announced that the LG Q6, part of its new Q series, will be the first smartphone to offer the FullVision display following the LG G6. The Q series offers many of LG’s most sought-out premium features at a competitive price.

LG’s Q series is the company’s latest line of powerful, mid-range smartphones boasting the essential features of LG premium phones at exceptional price points.

As the first in the Q series to be announced, the LG Q6 features some of the most desired innovations from LG’s premium G6 smar tphone and packages them in a sleek, stunning body highlighted by its FullVision display with minimised bezels.

The Q6 family consists of the Q6+, Q6 and Q6α. The three variants cater to different

user groups in terms of memory and storage: the Q6+ comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of ROM, the base Q6 delivers 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage and the most affordably-priced Q6α comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB of ROM. At a time when minimised bezels are an emerging trend in premium smartphones, the Q6 is the first smartphone in the midprice category to bring this feature to the masses. The unique 5.5-inch FHD+ FullVision display in the LG Q6 with its 18:9 aspect ratio makes video browsing, gaming and multi-tasking more immersive. The smartphone’s “bezel-less” form factor was designed to maximize the screen while still preventing accidental touching of the screen when being held.

September 2017

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NOKIA SMARTPHONES TO FEATURE ZEISS OPTICS Doha – HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, and ZEISS signed an exclusive partnership that aims to set new imaging standards within the smartphone industry. This long-term agreement builds on the shared history and expertise between ZEISS and Nokia smartphones.

With a joint ambition to advance the quality of the total imaging experience on smartphones spanning the entire ecosystem from software, services, through to screen quality, and optic design, the partnership will see ZEISS and HMD Global co-develop standarddefining imaging capabilities and will bring the ZEISS brand back to Nokia smartphones. This pledge to constantly improve consumers’ imaging experience is a reflection of the shared values between both businesses – a single-minded commitment to quality, true craftsmanship and a desire to improve real-life experience.

The relationship between ZEISS and Nokia phones began more than a decade ago, and is founded on a shared passion for innovation and always delivering the best for the consumer. The past collaboration saw ZEISS and Nokia phones driving technology innovations such as the world’s first multi-megapixel mobile

phone and many more standard-setting devices, from the Nokia Nseries to those featuring Nokia PureView technologies. This renewed relationship is a long-term commitment to build on that technology innovation over the years to come.

IMAGEFORMULA FLATBED SCANNER UNIT 102 OFFERS FLEXIBILITY Middle East and North Africa – Canon Middle East launched imageFORMULA Flatbed Scanner Unit 102 (FSU102) – the perfect accompaniment to the Canon imageFORMULA Document Scanner range.

Specifically designed to partner Canon imageFORMULA scanners, the compact and lightweight FSU102 enables users to capture images from both devices in one operation – using the same software driver interface. As the ADF and FSU102 work together, users are able to combine several documents, from both sources, and create a single file – improving productivity for even

complex workflows.

Alongside seamless scanning, the FSU102 further enhances efficiency by delivering scans in record time. A4 page scanning takes less than three seconds in grayscale and under four seconds in colour.

From A4 documents down to smaller items, such as passports, all materials can be captured quickly and easily, allowing work to be completed in a faster timeframe.

The FSU102 enables users to scan bound documents, books and fragile media (up to A4) swiftly and simply.

Harnessing Canon’s world renowned

image quality, the FSU102 delivers high resolution scanning to ensure crisp detail and perfect accuracy. As well as Auto Colour Detection, Auto Resize and Text Orientation Recognition, the device offers impressive image processing features including Auto Resolution, 2D Code module compatibility, Background Smoothing, Notch Removal and Dot Eraser.

Optimal energy efficiency is ensured by an all new CIS sensor and the addition of an LED light source; under which the scanner can run under 7W while in full operation and less than 1.7W in sleep mode.

CISCO INTRODUCES NEW TRAINING AND DEVELOPER PROGRAMMES Dubai — Cisco announced that its global ecosystem of customers, developers and partners are embracing the company’s ambitious vision for a new era of networking.

Unveiled last week, Cisco’s new network can recognise intent, mitigate threats, and learn over time — representing one of the most significant breakthroughs in the history of enterprise networking.

This new network is the result of years of research and development by Cisco to reinvent networking for an age where network engineers managing hundreds of devices will be expected to manage one million by 2020. Companies that are managing their networks through traditional IT

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processes will not be able to scale in this new age. Cisco’s approach creates an intuitive system that constantly learns, adapts, and protects, to optimise network operations and defend against today’s evolving threat landscape.

“Cisco is delivering a more intuitive system that automates the edge of the network and embeds machine learning and analytics at a foundational level,” said Scott Harrell, Senior Vice-President of Product Management for Enterprise Networking, Cisco. “Intent-based networking signifies a paradigm shift for our industry and a completely new era of networking. It’s exciting to witness our global ecosystem — three

million network engineers, 60,000 partners and 450,000 developers — embrace the future of networking.”

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bq | RETAIL+HOSPITALITY+TOURISM | IN CONTEXT

QATAR AIRWAYS ROYAL CARIBBEAN’S SUITE CLASS LAUNCHES FLIGHT RIVALS FINEST RESORTS TO SOHAR IN OMAN Dubai – Royal Caribbean’s latest luxury L'Occitane and dining privileges at Coast-

Doha – The first Qatar Airways non-stop flight from Doha to Sohar touched at Sohar Airport, inaugurating the award-winning airline’s newest destination in the Middle East, and its third destination in the Sultanate of Oman.

Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Ehab Amin, who travelled on board the inaugural flight, was greeted by Ali bin Fahd Al Hajri, Ambassador of Qatar in Oman, and officials from Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC) and government officials of Al Batinah Governorate.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are delighted to add Sohar to our global route network.

We launched services to the Sultanate of Oman nearly 17 years ago, and ever since, we have added additional frequencies on a yearly basis to accommodate demand for increased capacity to this charming country, known for its traditional culture and the warmth of the Omani people. Now passengers from Sohar will have the opportunity to experience our award-winning service, connecting them to a wide variety of popular summer holiday destinations.”

Sohar is a city known both for its traditional Omani culture and beautiful beaches. As the Sultanate of Oman’s largest city in the governorate of Northern Al Batinah and the country’s main shipping hub, this vibrant coastal city offers a range of tourist attractions and activities, in particular water sports such as diving, snorkelling and kite boarding. Shoppers will not want to miss the city’s souq, which offers traditional Omani handicrafts as well as leather goods, ceramics, perfumes, herbs and honey.

Oman Airports Management Company, Chief Executive Officer, Sheikh Aiman bin Ahmed Al-Hosni said: “We are delighted to welcome Qatar Airways as a new strategic partner in Sohar, which plays a significant role in the Sultanate of Oman's business model, and is home to many successful projects implemented by the Omani Government.”

liner, the Symphony of the Seas, left on her 2018 maiden voyage, Royal Caribbean continuing to honour the traditions of cruising, with services and cabins that are reminiscent of golden age of ocean-going liners. Spectacular vistas, whether gazing out over blue waters and the passing islands, or birds-eye views of the ships activities, this is exactly what the fascinating Royal Suites offer; a signature experience with the amenities and exclusivity of the world’s finest resorts.

A new level of luxury at sea, Royal Suite Class is a personalised experience combining spectacular accommodations, attentive service and exclusive features. Boasting three tiers of suites; Sky Class with its luxurious surroundings and the advantage of everything from reserved seating in the theatre to Voom internet, as well as Sea Class which carries the same features with additional little touches that leave a lasting impression such as bathroom amenities by

al Kitchen. While the Star Class is the ultimate in luxury; from Royal Genie services to access to exclusive parts of the ship such as the Bridge, Gallery and Back Stage Tours, allows guests to feel like royalty in palatial surroundings.

A realm of uncharted luxury must be explored with spectacular two-deck Royal Loft Suite, which spans 1,524 square feet with a spacious balcony up to 843 square feet which features a jetted hot tub, two bedrooms and a huge living area with a grand piano.

Those looking for a panoramic view can opt for the two-bedroom AquaTheater Suites with floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that lead to a private wrap-around veranda overlooking the Aquatheatre and Boardwalk, outdoor ocean-front dining area and bar. Boasting the perfect views of the AquaTheater, this allows guests to watch the shows from the comfort of their room

OMAN ATTRACTS INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS WITH EVISA SERVICE

Doha – Aiming to greatly boost the Sultanate of Oman’s tourism sector in the coming years launched a new eVisa service.

Tourists planning to visit Oman can apply online for visas by submitting their applications at www.evisa.rop.gov.om.

The first stage comprises non-sponsored tourist visas for people from 67 countries as well as GCC residents employed in 116 professions.

Through the eVisa system, visitors can get their visa applications processed in accordance with the laws and regulations of Oman. Tourists will only need to fill up the form online and attach the necessary documents as well as pay the application by credit card through a Global Payment Gateway that is officially certified by Oman. All applicants will receive notifications through

the emails provided.

“The Sultanate’s announcement of the eVisa system will ensure the continuous growth of Oman’s tourism sector in the coming years as this provides not only tourists but also investors, businessmen, researchers and students easier access to visa processing. Last year, the number of tourist arrivals reached 3m and it is expected to increase to more than 4m by 2020,” said Salim Adi Al Mamari, Director-General of Tourism Promotion at the Ministry of Tourism, Oman.

The eVisa system will also allow Oman to receive more tourists from key markets such as China, Russia and the US and drive the demand for experiential travel to the Sultanate.

September 2017

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bq | SMB+EDUCATION+ENTREPRENEURSHIP | GUEST COLUMN

QATAR

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE: WHAT MAKES FOR SUCCESSFUL PUBLICPRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

Successful public-private partnerships create social and economic value. As part of a Journal of Management Studies Special Issue “Public-Private Collaboration, Hybrid Organisational Design and Social Value,” Bertrand Quélin, Ilze Kivleniece and Sergio Lazzarini investigate the mechanisms that allow for successful inter-organisational collaboration.

Public and private organisations often partner, collaborating to create value for all sides. “There is no reason to think that public and private bodies would share similar objectives,” explains Bertrand Quélin. “A public body’s main aim will be to create social value, whereas a private company’s aim is normally economic sustainability and profit. However, when they understand each other well, they can work together and create both social and economic value.”

To understand how companies and organisations do this, Quélin

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and co-authors looked at the dimensions of each organisation and how they hybridise when they form a partnership. They then identified the mechanisms that result in added social and economic value.

Two forms of hybridity often present in a partnership Initially, Quélin needed to highlight and separate the two distinct dimensions of inter-organisational hybridity. “There is hybridity in governance, and hybridity in organisational logics,” he explains.

“Hybridity in governance describes

how organisations set up their collaborations and partnerships.

Hybridity in logics looks at the different, and potentially divergent, institutional patterns that influence the actions of an organisation.”

To illustrate, Quélin shares an example wherein both forms of hybridity create a successful, valueadding partnership: “Water is often provided by a private company that gives you water on tap in your home.

The primary form of governance in this scenario is the public municipality with which the private company has signed a long-term

bq | SMB+EDUCATION+ENTREPRENEURSHIP | GUEST COLUMN

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Quélin is excited that private company executives are keen to know what lies behind the success of a partnership.

“Corporate social responsibility is becoming a bigger concern in corporate operations,” he notes. “Executives pay more attention to increasing their organisations’ social value as shareholders and stakeholders hold them to account. The public decision-maker also has a voice that is heard. They want to ensure that public money is well spent and debt reduced.

Knowing how to create value from partnerships can help.” contract. Through this, the private company is obliged to supply water to a certain number of homes and may be required to ensure that poorer people also receive water.”

He goes on to add: “The contract drawn up must consider the social responsibilities of the public body and allow the private company to profit, and thus will exhibit hybridity in governance.” He explains that this has been seen in Tangiers in Morocco, where the municipality has joined forces with a French company. In this case, hybridity in logics is also observed: “A large portion of the population cannot cover the full cost of water, so the publicprivate partnership took action to ensure water is available to all.”

Four combinations of hybridity To devise a successful framework, Quélin and co-authors outlined four theoretically plausible combinations of hybridity. “We needed to disentangle the standard notions of hybridity in the existing literature to understand the distinction between governance and logics and how this adds value to partnerships,” says Quélin.

“The results show that,

when there is little hybridity in governance, we don’t see partnerships but unitary organisations. These organisations will be largely for-profit enterprises if they do not have any hybridity in logics, but if they do, they will be more aware of their corporate social responsibility and have both social and economic goals.

Conversely, when hybridity in governance is high we see publicprivate partnerships. However, without being combined with high hybridity in logics, the partnerships will only focus on economic gains.

When paired with high hybridity in logics, we often see cross-sector alliances that have emphasis on both social benefits and economic gain. So, partnerships that create both social and economic value have high levels of hybridity in logics and governance.” Quélin then asked the question, “What are the mechanisms of value creation and how can these be shared?”

Three key mechanisms that add value The team narrowed the key mechanisms down to three.

Quélin explains, “Firstly, there are contractual factors. Public and private partners need to discuss the obligations of both sides – and this takes time. Here, they may discuss the potential for public monitoring to supervise private activity and add clauses to the contract that allow for penalties if the private company does not deliver. Then, there are institutional factors. Institutional environments can be created that make it easy for organizations to enter into partnerships.

“In some countries, laws have been set up to facilitate this, and some even have specific publicprivate partnership units set up to educate the market and make it more likely that partnerships will be successful. Finally it comes down to capabilities. There are large international private firms that build, make drugs, offer utilities, and so on. They have the capabilities to regularly partner with government municipalities. The

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public sector also needs to have the capability to supervise and monitor the private companies and ensure they meet contract specifications.”

One perfect example Quélin concludes by discussing the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: “The foundation delivers drugs to low-income countries, mainly in Africa. It needs a good relationship with the government dictating health policy, with the pharmaceutical firms supplying the drugs, and with the NGOs who are on the ground distributing them.

It is a very rich organisation, which enables it to have large contracts with the drug companies – it pools purchasing and acts as a strong purchasing power. Through this, it can achieve its aim: to reduce the rates of damaging diseases for public benefit. The foundation is a good example of how the mix of hybridity in governance and hybridity in logics creates social and economic value.”

This article is based on an interview with Bertrand V. Quélin about his paper “PublicPrivate Collaboration, Hybridity and Social Value: Towards New Theoretical Perspectives,” co-authored with Ilze Kivleniece and Sergio Lazzarini (Journal of Management Studies, 2017).

Author Biography: Bertrand Quélin has been professor of strategic management and industrial economics at HEC Paris since 1989. He also directs the strategic management master’s degree programme.

September 2017

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bq | SMB+EDUCATION+ENTREPRENEURSHIP | LEARNING SKILLS

WORLD

WHO LEARNS FOREIGN LANGUAGE BETTER — INTROVERTS OR EXTROVERTS? Extrovert Chinese students learning English as a second language are likely to perform better in speaking and reading, but are less proficient in listening than their introvert counterparts, according to a study published in Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (JSSH).

In Chinese culture, students are expected to listen to their teachers attentively, as opposed to Western culture where class participation is encouraged. The Chinese culture is influenced by Confucian values, including collectivism, socialisation for achievement, and high acceptance of power and authority. Some studies have suggested that such introversion hinders Chinese students’ ability to learn English as a second language.

However, it is unclear if a relationship exists between extroversion-introversion traits and English language proficiency for non-native speakers. In an ongoing debate, psychologists argue introverts are less susceptible to distraction and have better long-term memory, while linguists claim the extroverts’ sociable and outgoing attitudes, as well as their high tolerance to risk, help with learning a foreign language.

Study of this topic that involves Chinese students based in Asia

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is lacking, explains Assistant Professor Shahcla Zarfar at the University of Central Punjab, India.

Zarfar and colleagues examined whether Chinese students are introverted by nature, whether extrovertintrovert tendencies affected English language proficiency among Chinese students in India, and how these traits influenced language learning.

The researchers analysed the data from 145 Chinese exchange students aged between 18 and 21 at VIT University, Vellore, India.

The data comprised English language test scores and two types of questionnaires — one asked about personality and linguistic information, and the other only about their personality.

They found that majority of the students were introverts (47%), followed by extroverts (35%), and ‘no tendency towards the extroversion-introversion traits’ (18%). The team confirmed

a significant relationship between the two personality traits and English language proficiency, with higher scores in speaking, reading and overall language proficiency for extrovert students.

There was little difference in writing between the two groups.

However, surprisingly, the researchers found introvert students were better listeners than extrovert students, contradicting some claims that academic excellence relies solely on the extrovert tendency. They speculate that this might indicate introverts’ ability to focus more effectively on listening than extroverts.

The researchers suggest that instructors should adjust their teaching strategies depending on different personality traits among students learning English as a second language. Further studies should involve a bigger sample group, and investigate why introvert students perform better than their peers in some conditions.

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bq | SMB+EDUCATION+ENTREPRENEURSHIP | IN CONTEXT

BEDAYA CONNECTS QATARI FIRMS AND YOUTH Doha – The Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development (Bedaya Center), a joint initiative by Qatar Development Bank and Silatech, jointly met representatives of national companies and institutions to connect them with Qatar’s young generation to encourage them to contribute towards the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030 and for a better society.

Reem Al Suwaidi, General Manager of Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development, said: “We are pleased to see today the large participation of national companies, entrepreneurs and business leaders in this meeting, which would contribute towards our economy by investing in our youth who are the backbone of our future.

During the meeting that was held at the W Doha Hotel, Bedaya Center showcased the achievements of the Entrepreneurship Department during the first half of this year, led by a distinguished team of trainers and certified mentors.

In the first half of 2017, Bedaya Center hosted a total of 70 workshops in various fields that saw the participation of more than 2,500

participants. The Center provided more than 144 hours of consultation to entrepreneurs, who are constantly seeking to reach their goals that will support the economy of Qatar. In addition, the Entrepreneurship Department reviewed the bazaars established by the Center during that period that was attended by more than 150 small and medium-sized companies.

MODARIS SIMPLIFIES THE TRAINER AND HOME-TUTOR HUNT Qatar – Modaris is an online platform that links students to tutors and the winner of the title of “Most Innovative Startup” at QITCOM 2017 – Innovation Theater Competition held in Doha this year.

Established in September 2015, Modaris has been aspiring to be the fastest and simplest way to find and book trainers and home tutors in Qatar.

Yasmin Kassem, co-founder and Marketing Manager at Modaris, claims that their win atQITCOM 2017 was mainly due to the design and responsiveness of the site. The team atModaris is currently working on plans to scale to the Middle East. Haitham Al Haidari,co-founder and Operations Manager, states that “scaling and developing key partnerships isnow possible due to the exposure we received after our win at QITCOM.” Modaris has recently collaborated with ride-hailing service provider Careem in an effort toimprove customer service offered by their Captains. The project is composed of a series ofvideos

that address various tasks that a Careem driver may face on an average day. Thetraining videos help drivers make a lasting impression on customers from the time they book a ride till they are dropped off at their destinations.

“Our team has been dedicated to providing Careem with highquality videos addressing different scenarios and how Careem Captains can improve customer experience by following a key set of guidelines and service tips,” claims Haitham.

Another project the duo is working on is providing Modaris tutors with affordable transportation.Since most Modaris tutors are university students and since they get booked for sessions allaround the city, the benefit that the partnership has created for young tutors is well-appreciated.“Careem has allowed us to provide value to our tutors in terms of discounted rides. This goes along way in our effort to attract and retain talent on Modaris,” states Yasmin.

NAMA CENTRE OFFICIALS VISIT SHEIKHA HAYA’S SEWING FACTORY Doha – NAMA Center, one of Qatar Foundation for Social Work’s (QFSW) Centers, organised an official visit to the factory of Sheikha Haya for Industrial Sewing in the presence of NAMA Center’s officials to observe the progress of work at the factory.

The visit included meetings with factory officials and workers, who talked about their most important successes and achievements and addressed the challenges and difficulties facing them, especially in light of the current crisis. They further discussed measures to overcome them and get past their side effects.

Since its inception in 1997, the Factory of Sheikha Haya for Industrial Sewing – a non-profit developmental institution with administrative and financial autonomy – has achieved a qualitative leap through the implementation of it s charitable,

developmental and humanitarian goals. The factory provides many training, recruitment and employment opportunities for families, individuals, people with special needs, as well as women with low incomes. At present, the number of workers at the Factory of Sheikha Haya for Industrial Sewing stands at 72, including 67 women. There is also a plan to increase that number and expand the factory in the future.

The factory aims at empowering families in need across Qatar, with the provision of training and qualification courses, and the creation of job opportunities that provide families with a sustainable source of income in order to help them improve their standard of living, cope with the daily burdens of life, as well as overcome their problems and achieve social integration. The factory adopts a high quality management

approach to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction and sufficient cash flow to support the continuity and independence of the factory's activity and development.

September 2017

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bq | MARKETING+CSR+CULTURE | IN CONTEXT

EHSAN VISIT TO ORYX ROTANA DOHA Doha – Oryx Rotana Doha in collaboration with the Center of Empowerment and Elderly Care (EHSAN), hosted breakfast for 30 guests at the hotel to spend some time with the elderly people and show the importance of supporting the local communities.

Lana Jwainat, Director of Marketing and Communications at Oryx Rotana Doha, said: “This visit comes in the context of strengthening our relationship with the surrounding community, as we are an integral part of it. Today we share with the elderly their beautiful moments and show our appreciation and care for older generation. " The event is part of Oryx Rotana's initiatives to help the local community and create links of compassion and affection while enjoying lunch and smiles on the faces of older participants.

“This visit brought joy to the hearts of senior citizens who are most importantly willing to visit us again." We at Oryx Rotana are happy to continue to support the local community and take care of such initiatives in different ways, “added Lana Jwainat.

The members of the Center of Empowerment and Elderly Care (EHSAN) expressed their satisfaction and happiness for this

visit, which they consider a “family visit.” The aim of this visit was to share the family atmosphere and raise awareness among the community. The guests as well took special souvenirs with them as a memory of this event.

ARABIA CSR NETWORK RECEIVES RECORD ENTRIES UAE – The Arabia CSR Network, the Middle East’s leading training service provider and think tank, has received a record-breaking number of entries to this year’s Arabia CSR Awards, the Arab region’s most prestigious Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) awards. The number of applications to the latest edition grew to a remarkable 106 applications, reflecting anew the significance of Arabia CSR Awards in the region’s bid to promote social responsibility and sustainable practices both in the public and private sectors.

N ow in i t s 1 0 t h year, t he Awards

recognise outstanding regional organisations from the public and private sector with exemplary and impactful CSR and sustainability initiatives. It looks into the contenders’ efforts to fully implement best practices in CSR and evaluates the results in terms of the initiatives’ positive effect on society.

Habiba Al Marashi, President and CEO, Arabia CSR Network, said: “The number of entries to Arabia CSR Network has been rising significantly year after year, highlighting again the awards’ indubitable credibility and great influence throughout the region. We are especially excited over the

overwhelming response of various organisations to our call for submissions this year but more importantly, we are proud of the caliber of applications vying in the competition’s 11 categories.”

This year’s categories include Public Sector, Large Business, Medium Business, Small Business, Financial Services Sector, Energy Sector, Social Enterprise Sector, Hospitality Sector, Construction Sector, Best New Business, and Partnerships & Collaborations. Additionally, 31 entities will have an opportunity to be named as CSR champions for 2017.

ARABIA CSR NETWORK CONDUCTS NEW TRAINING COURSE UAE – The Arabia C SR Net work, the Middle East’s leading training service provider and think tank, held a comprehensive training course titled ‘GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Standards for Sustainability Reporting’ in Dubai to help organisations align their business practices with longterm global sustainability goals and international society’s modern needs and expectations.

Set to take place from 25 to 27 July, 2017 at the Millennium Plaza Hotel, the three-day training course will enable attendees to gain deeper understanding of the globally recognised GRI standards for sustainability reporting. Such relevant information will effectively guide them in terms of disclosing their performance in areas of environmental, social, and governance. A new set of GRI standards for

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sustainability reporting will be shared during the training course in which the content will be delivered through lectures, discussions, exercises, and case studies.

Habiba Al Marashi, President and CEO, Arabia CSR Network, said: “As GRI’s Certified Training Partner since 2011, we are the first in the region to introduce training courses based on the new GRI standards.

This is the second course we are organizing under these new standards. We are excited to bring this course to Dubai where key stakeholders will gather to learn new ways to comply with set global CSR standards. This is a great opportunity for regional organizations to examine best practices and implement exceptional processes that will enable them to become better and more responsible companies.”

Habiba Al Marashi, President and CEO, Arabia CSR Network

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bq | LEISURE+SPORTS+AUTO | IN CONTEXT

FLAGSHIP 2018 HYUNDAI AZERA ARRIVES IN QATAR Doha – The premium all-new Azera from Hyundai Motor Company has arrived in Qatar. Exclusively engineered for the Middle East, with a luxury specification and a more powerful V6 engine option unique to the region, the Azera is available only at Skyline Automotive.

The all-new Azera large sedan offers buyers a car that is not only bigger and significantly more advanced than the model it replaces, but also comes with a larger, more powerful engine than is available anywhere else in the world.

Designed and engineered as the carmaker’s top-of-the range passenger sedan, the sixth generation of the Azera is longer, wider, and taller than ever before, and offers even higher levels of comfort and equipment. For Middle East buyers, the Azera will come with 3.5 litres and 290 PS (286 HP) as standard, matched to an eightspeed automatic transmission.

“The Azera has been very successful for us in the Middle East, and Global Headquarters in Korea has recognized the particularly high importance of the model in the region,” said Mike Song, Hyundai’s Head of Operations for Africa and the Middle East.

“When we look at buyers in this segment, we see clear demand for extra power in the Middle East when compared with other markets internationally. Hyundai has taken this feedback very seriously, and our engineers have provided a unique specification that will give the Azera even more appeal to the region’s customers.”

BOUNCE DOHA REVEALS THE NAMES OF ITS ALL-STAR TEAM Doha – Prior to its official launch, BOUNCE, the free-jumping revolution, announced its dream team that will get adrenaline junkies bouncing at the biggest trampoline park in the Middle East.

The stellar line-up includes a team from across the globe, Petar Popovic, Venue Manager, Vladimir Stankovic, Assistant Venue Manager, Dusan Muric, Senior Referee and Donna Marie Bandong, Referee. As for the amazing team leaders, BOUNCE has recruited Max Stephens, Penny Hili and Daniel Romeo to take up this role and demonstrate to guests just how fun flying and bouncing off the walls is!

Commenting on the recruitment, Petar Popovic at BOUNCE Doha said, “We are delighted to have recruited a top team to lead the BOUNCE revolution in Doha. With their experience, passion for BOUNCE and dynamic personality they have what it takes to catapult BOUNCE in Doha. We can’t wait for people to experience the adrenaline rush at our indoor trampoline park and redefine how people get fit in our fun environment.”

The soon-to-open BOUNCE Doha will be located in Tawar Mall and is set to be the largest of its kind in the Middle East with its unmatched wall to wall trampolines, Football arena, Adventure Challenge courses and much more.

NBK UNVEILS NEW MERCEDES-AMG GT R IN QATAR Doha – Nasser Bin Khaled Automobiles, the authorized general distributor of Mercedes-Benz in Qatar, presented the new Mercedes-AMG GT R, targeting the ultra-sporty car enthusiasts in Qatar.

Khaled Sha’aban, the General Manager of Nasser Bin Khaled Automobiles said: “We are proud to bring this exciting and most awaiting sporty car to our clientele. Qatari motorists are well-known for their great admiration for speed and unique cars, and we are confident that the new Mercedes-AMG GT R will be their favourite choice, thanks to its new features and design.”

From the world’s most demanding racetrack directly onto the road: never before has Mercedes AMG packed so much motorsport technology into a production vehicle than into the new AMG GT R. The front-mid-engine concept with transaxle, the twin-turbo V-8 engine rated at 430 kW/585 hp, the extensively modified suspension, the new aerodynamics and the intelligent lightweight construction lay the foundations for an especially dynamic driving experience. Even from afar, the exclusive “AMG green hell magno”

special paintwork leaves no doubt as to the sports car’s origin, having spent most of its development time in the “Green Hell” of the Nurburgring racetrack.

September 2017

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bq | PLATFORUM | EVENTS CURTAIN RAISER

DIHW AFFIRMS DUBAI’S PIVOTAL ROLE FOR HOSPITALITY SECTOR Dubai – As markets across the Middle East look to diversify their economies, the launch of Dubai International Hospitality Week (DIHW) from 18 to 20 September this month is recognition of the hospitality sector as a key driver of GDP growth in the region.

Endorsed by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), it will be the largest hotel and foodservice expo in the Middle East and include six co-located trade shows: GulfHost, owned and organised by Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC); The Hotel Show and The Leisure Show, owned and organised by dmg events; and The Speciality Food Festival (DWTC), SEAFEX Middle East (DWTC) and yummex ME, jointly organised by DWTC and Kölnmesse.

The scale of DIHW is unprecedented for the global hospitality sector, bringing together more than 2,000 of the world’s top hospitality brands from across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The full spectrum of products and services required to operate hospitality businesses – whether global hotel chains, fine dining restaurants, quick service outlets or independent coffee shops – will be showcased between the six complementary shows.

More than 50,000 visitors, including buyers from top groups that include Crowne Plaza, Dubai Duty Free, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, IHG, Marriott and Spinneys, among others, will be making key purchasing decisions during the show, ahead of the sector’s high season.

Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said: “The hospitality sector has long been a key pillar of Dubai’s tourism industry and the emirate’s wider economy. The dramatic growth we’ve seen in the sector over the years is testament to the attractiveness of Dubai as an investment prospect and a

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bq | PLATFORUM | EVENTS CURTAIN RAISER

destination that prides itself in offering an environment that facilitates and supports business success. We are therefore very pleased to launch Dubai International Hospitality Week as a platform enabling the region’s hospitality players to come together, exchange knowledge and learnings, and create valuable opportunities for future growth.”

There are currently more than 800 hotels under construction in the Middle East and Africa, equating to over 200,000 rooms according to STR Global, with an urgent requirement for furnishings, equipment, technology and hardware to enable completion as quickly as possible. Equally, the foodservice sector continues to grow with a current CAGR of 7.6%, and is expected to reach a value of $58.7bn (AED215bn) by 2021.

The co-location of shows under the DIHW umbrella offers efficiencies and convenience for professionals and buyers on a scale not previously available in the region.

GulfHost 2017 boasts a dedicated portfolio of hospitality and catering equipment solutions for both front and back of house, while The Hotel Show showcases products and services for every aspect of hotel development, from build to technology. The Leisure Show takes this further with a focus on the leisure aspects of a hotel or resort including pool and spa, and sports and fitness. The Speciality Food Events by Gulfood include The Speciality Food Festival for gourmet, artisan, organic and halal foods, SEAFEX Middle East for seafood, and yummex ME for an extensive offering of global snacks and confectionery.

September 2017

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bq | PLATFORUM | EVENTS GALLERY

SESSION PLACES QATAR’S RESILIENCE UNDER SPOTLIGHT Doha Bank recently hosted a knowledge-sharing session – ‘Qatar – Land of opportunities’ – at Four Seasons Hotel, Doha, Qatar. Sheikh Abdul Rehman bin Mohammad bin Jabor Al Thani, Managing Director, Doha Bank was instrumental in organising the event. He also honoured the chief guest of the event, HE Sheikh Abdulla Bin Saoud Al Thani, Governor of Qatar Central Bank.

The speakers at the event included Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida, CEO of Qatar Financial Centre Authority, Rashid Ali Al Mansoori, CEO of Qatar Stock Exchange, and AbdulAziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, CEO of Qatar Development Bank. The event was well-attended by key Qatari dignitaries, eminent local businessmen and representatives of various embassies.

Dr R.Seetharaman, CEO, Doha Bank, who was the key note speaker and gave the concept note.

He said: “According to IMF July 2017 Outlook, economic activity in both advanced economies and emerging and developing economies is forecast to accelerate in 2017, to 2% and 4.6% respectively, with global growth projected to be 3.5%.

Current global growth prospects are encouraging, though the pace of growth is still weaker than desired.

He gave insight on Qatar economy and also showcased the

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various developments in Qatar since the beginning of the blockade and how Qatar had managed the current situation. He stated, “Qatar has a reserve of $340bn including assets of its Sovereign Wealth Fund, QCB reserves cash and gold. Together Qatar’s reserves are more than 200% of its GDP. Qatar Banking Asset growth was close to 3% YTD till June 2017. The Overall Lending growth was close to 4% YTD till June 2017.

The deposit growth was close to 6% YTD till June 2017. Qatar’s net trade surplus for June, 2017 was $3.45bn.”

He also moderated a panel session with the eminent speakers, with discussions pertaining to foreign investors, capital market developments, regulatory reforms, Qatar food security and the SME sector.

Al Jaida of QFCA said: “Qatar has proven its resilience, it remains the world’s top LNG exporter and one of the highest rated countries in the Middle East. Additionally reserves and funds exceeding 250% of GDP means Qatar has the tools to defend its economy.” He added: “Qatar is emerging stronger than ever by proving its self-sufficiency, entering new markets and pushing ahead with its diversification strategy.

“The vast billion-dollar infrastructure projects in place in a variety of sectors such as transport, health, education and

sports means Qatar will carry on growing and remain to be one of the strongest economies worldwide.”

Al Mansoori said: The Qatar stock market is open to GCC and foreign investors and it is offering new products. We also focus on the SME sector. We are working on introducing margin trading and short-selling products. ETF will also be an interesting opportunity.

We are working on simplifying the process for investors. The change in tick size of stocks in QSE will have positive impact on certain stocks.

The new rules are also set to improve governance and transparency.”

Al Khalifa, of QDB stated the major challenges faced by SME sector such as access to information, funding and for procurement opportunities. QDB is working on the challenges faced by SME sector and to translate them into opportunities. He also highlighted the business procurement done in recent years for SME sector. The blockade is giving opportunities on the international front as well, apart from the local segment. These developments reveal that Qatar is serious for business and business is as usual. He also highlighted the benefits from home-farming initiative.

In his concluding remarks Dr Seetharaman said: “Qatar is converging as a resilient and sustainable performer.”

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bq | PLATFORUM | EVENTS GALLERY

DICTF TO HELP SUSTAIN ME CAFÉ CULTURE GROWTH The Dubai International Coffee & Tea Festival (DICTF) Middle East’s only exhibition dedicated to coffee and tea, is set to make its grand debut in the emirate this December — throwing the spotlight on the growth of the industry that is driven exclusively by consumer demand. More than 7,000 visitors are expected to attend the event, which will be hosted for the first time, at Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre (DICEC) from December 14 to 16, 2017.

DICTF will feature for the first time, the International Coffee Championships and the International Tea Masters Cup. Both these events will reiterate Dubai’s standing in the coffee and tea world, not just as yet another city of cafés but as a serious destination where professionals get together to highlight and alleviate coffee and tea in business-as a commodity and in professional development through training and competitions.

There is already a huge surge in consumer demand within the UAE as well as the volumes of tea and coffee that are being re-exported from UAE. DICTF will showcase best-in-class café products as well as some of the top talent in the preparation and service of coffee and tea from across the world. The Festival is the only regional exhibition that also focuses on education and training in the café industry through its over 40 coffee education

course offerings which draws the attention of coffee enthusiasts from around the Arab World The event comes at a time when the coffee business is booming and demand is increasing at an unprecedented rate. Over 4,000 tea and coffee houses are presently operating in Dubai alone, where around 82% of the population consumes more than two cups of

• Over 7,000 visitors to take part in Dubai exhibition • 82% of Dubai’s adult population consumes, at least, two cups of tea and coffee per day either coffee or tea each day.

Anselm Godinho, Managing Director of International Conferences and Exhibitions, DICTF’s organiser, said: “Over the last few years, the flourishing coffee and tea industry has continued to expand alongside the evolving café culture in the region. DICTF aims to address the dramatic changes taking place in the regional and global stage, providing

regional industry players access to suppliers and professionals from all over the world which allows them to interact, generate new leads, learn, and exchange experiences and knowledge under one roof.”

DICTF, which is supported by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), is expected to offer fresh new concepts, new features, and innovative products to cater to the growing specialty coffee and tea industry in the UAE and the region. The exciting three-day event will include displays of products that are critical to the functioning of an interactive and successful café business. There is no other venue in the Middle East where buyers can exclusively explore the functioning and benefits of a range of brewing equipment, espresso machines, roasters and other tools and accessories that make some cafés stand out from others. “The range of interactive activities on the event floor is tailored for buyers in search of better products; for baristas and roasters seeking continuing professional development and training; for entrepreneurs looking for direction and opportunity to get them started in the business; and for traders hoping to cash in on this lucrative industry.

“We look forward to another successful year as we work towards bringing the entire industry to the next level of unprecedented development,” Godinho said.

September 2017

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bq | ACCOLADES + CERTIFICATIONS

DIFC COURTS WIN GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Dubai – Dubai’s DIFC Courts have been recognised by the world’s largest organisation of court management professionals for their work to improve access to justice through the application of technology.

The DIFC Courts’ new Smart Small Claims Tribunal (SCT), which enables parties to access justice from anywhere in the world, was selected as a one of the year’s Top 10 Court Technology Solutions at the annual National Association for Court Management (NACM) awards in Washington, DC. Collecting the award in Washington, DC, Mark Beer, OBE, co–Chief Executive and Registrar General of the DIFC Courts, said: “From the outset, the DIFC Courts have recognised that technology has the power to transform the court experience by making the process as fast, efficient and user-friendly as possible. Over the years we have pioneered many technological firsts and we are proud to continue setting new standards for digital excellence. Our Smart SCT solves a real problem for individuals and small businesses both in the UAE and beyond, and helps to improve access to justice by enabling people to use the court wherever there is a broadband connection.”

Kevin Bowling, NACM Past President and Co-Chair of the Joint Technology Committee, said: “For Dubai International Financial Centre's English language common law Courts, innovation is a powerful driver for their ambition of leading the commercial court sector. Recognising that parties to commercial disputes are often on the move – especially SMEs – and need quick access to a court for rapid settlement wherever they may be, DIFC Courts smart Small Claims Tribunal harnesses technology to connect, mediate, and where necessary, deliver judgment.

This is proof positive of the belief that courts of the future should be fully connected and completely accessible.”

NEXANS WINS ‘DATA CENTRE SOLUTION VENDOR’ AWARD

Dubai – Nexans, the worldwide leader in cables and cabling systems, announced that it has won the ‘Data Centre Solutions Vendor of the Year’ award at the 5th Integrator ICT Champion Awards held in Dubai.

Nexans was recognised for the inroads it has made in the Data Centre market with its product innovations that meet key operational, economic, energy-saving and future growth requirements.

“Nexans has been at the forefront in bringing in innovative Data Centre solutions that helps reduce costs of operations and provide scalability options for future expansions. Along with our ‘Smart Choices for Digital Infrastructure’, our cabling solutions have become preferred choices for Data Centre upgrades in the region and receiving this accolade is a proof of the popularity of our solutions,” said Tarek Helmy, Regional Director Gulf and Middle East, South & East Africa at Nexans Cabling Solutions.

“This award is very special to us as it is a recognition of our efforts in providing continuous innovation in the Data Centre cabling space and a testimony of our team’s commitment to providing the highest-level expertise, excellence, customer service and support to our customers and partners,” Helmy added.

Nexans’ Data Centre solutions include LANmark copper and fibre cabling that provide a migration path to 10/25/100Gigabit/s transmission speeds as well as optimise often limited space usage. The company’s latest Data Centre innovations under the name of ‘Smart Choices for Digital Infrastructure’ includes different Data Centre infrastructure technologies that help managers to support flexible, cost-effective bandwidth architectures, optimised space usage and faster modular deployment.

SOPHOS XG FIREWALL RATED HIGHLY BY NSS LABS Dubai – Sophos, a global leader in network and endpoint security announced that NSS Labs has rated the Sophos XG Firewall as one of the highest performing firewalls in the industry in its most recent Next-Generation Firewall Group Test Report. The XG Firewall was “Recommended” as one of the top three products for security effectiveness. It passed all stability and reliability tests, offering some of the highest levels of protection and performance at great value.

The NSS Labs evaluation included 11 market leading next-generation firewalls which were rated for security effectiveness, performance, stability

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and reliability, and total cost of ownership (TCO).

The Sophos XG Firewall out-performed many other market-leading products across the stringent test criteria, placing it amongst the top-ranks of the seven products that also earned the NSS Labs ‘Recommended’ rating.

“Trusted, independent testing is a vital tool for any organization assessing its security needs. NSS Labs plays a critical role in determining which products deserve their place on the IT security shortlist,” said Dan Schiappa, Senior Vice-President and General Manager of the Enduser and Network Security groups at Sophos.

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bq | ACCOLADES + CERTIFICATIONS

ASTAD RECOGNISED AS CONSULTANCY AND EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR

Doha - ASTAD won the award for ‘Consultancy of The Year’ at the Construction Innovation Awards held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Doha, Qatar and was also recognised as Employer of the Year during the annual Human Capital Forum MENA 2017.

The Construction Innovation Awards, organized by BNC publishing under the Business Construction portfolio, recognised top organisations in the fields of design, engineering, contracting, MEP services and sustainability.

Reflecting on the ‘Consultancy of The Year’ win, ASTAD Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Ali Al Khalifa stated: “We are truly thrilled to win this award. However, above all, this recognition underlines the outstanding achievements of all of our teams at ASTAD. They have worked tirelessly to build our status and reputation in the market and this achievement is recognition of their efforts on a global scale. As we begin to expand our operations internationally, I am confident that our collective expertise and experience will bring more project successes for our clients in Qatar.”

ASTAD’s ‘Employer of The Year’ recognition illustrates the company’s growing reputation as an employer of choice.

Following the Human Capital Forum, ASTAD Chief Human & Shared Services Officer, Nasser Al Hajri stated: “This illustrates the emphasis we put on encouraging employee development and providing a highquality working environment that encourages the delivery of excellent outcomes. We have a diverse multicultural setting, providing our new joiners with the opportunity to work with a global network of experts that offers a wealth of knowledge and support. They are our biggest assets and are crucial to our success.”

ETIHAD AVIATION GROUP WINS FOUR TREASURY ACCOLADES IN LONDON

Adam Boukadida, Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) Acting Group Treasurer, pictured centre, flanked by Roger Fleischman, of J.P. Morgan, left, and Michael Guralnick, of Citibank, with some of EAG’s Adam Smith awards.

Abu Dhabi – Etihad Aviation Group’s (EAG) treasury team has once again been acknowledged for airline treasury management excellence with four key accolades at the 2017 Adam Smith Awards presented by Treasury Today magazine.

Following a string of successes in recent months with leading awards from various international organisations, the group took home further honours at the annual event held in London. For the third consecutive year, Etihad Aviation Group has been recognised by the leading publication for its ongoing commitment to Treasury excellence.

EAG won the award for Best in Class Treasury in the Middle East, and was Highly Commended in three further categories – Best Funding Solution, Best Risk Management Solution and Best Trade/Supply Chain Finance Solution. The awards were nominated by EAG partners, including Openlink, First Abu Dhabi Bank, ADCB, Citibank and MUFG. More than 200 entries spanning 30 countries were received for the prestigious Adam Smith Awards, now in their 10th year and firmly established as the ultimate industry benchmark for exceptional achievement in corporate treasury.

Treasury Today said this year proved particularly challenging against a backdrop of a tough operating environment, as innovation and creativity within treasury departments were key criteria for the winning entries.

Ricky Thirion, Etihad Aviation Group Interim Group Chief Financial Officer, said: “These awards are testament to the great work by the treasury team in finding solutions to further strengthen the business in a challenging environment.

MILLENNIUM AIRPORT HOTEL DUBAI WINS TROPHY AT ARABIAN TRAVEL AWARD 2017 Dubai – Millennium Airport Hotel Dubai was announced the winner of the ‘Best Airport Hotel’ at the Arabian Travel Awards held in Dubai.

The black-tie event was attended by over 150 professionals from the travel and tourism sector of the Middle East. Hotel Manager, Chady Kanaan; Director of Sales & Marketing, Binu Varghese and Assistant Marketing Manager, Sheryl Aquiatan attended and received the award on behalf of the hotel.

Expressing his delight on winning the award, Simon Moore, General Manager of Millennium Airport Hotel Dubai, said, “I am very proud to announce another achievement. We are truly grateful to Arabian Travel Awards for this amazing recognition. Awards such as these are

an indication that our hard work and perseverance in the pursuit of delivering a memorable experience to our guests is bearing fruit. I take this opportunity to thank all our team members as well as guests who are the real force behind this remarkable achievement.”

Arabian Travel Awards is DDP group’s first international initiative to celebrate talent from the tourism and hospitality industry in the Middle East. The award is divided into four categories: Personal Awards, Business Awards, Trending Awards and Partner Awards. The awards were supported by TravelTV.news, TravTalk Middle East and TravTalk India who were the premier media partners.

September 2017

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CENTRA HUB ADJUDGED ‘EMERGING VENDOR OF THE YEAR’

Dubai – Centra Hub, a specialist fast-growing vendor for CRM, HCM and retail solutions and part of the Focus Softnet group of companies, has won the ‘Emerging Vendor of the Year’ at the 2017 edition of the Integrator ICT Champion Awards in Dubai. Centra was recognised for the deep inroads it has made by meeting the growing demands of regional organisations for next-generation CRM and HCM (human capital management) solutions with a high number of customer deployments in its first year of operations.

“Since Centra Hub’s inception as a separate entity in 2016, the company has been able to execute significant product enhancements and tremendous traction in market penetration. We are quite pleased that this award comes as a recognition of the extraordinary work our team is investing behind bringing customer friendly latest generation HCM and CRM solutions to market through our efficient partner network.

We would like to dedicate this award to our hard-working team, our channel partners and our customers, who have supported us in every step of our successful journey so far,” says Nisith Naik, CEO, Centra Hub. The 5th Integrator ICT Champion Awards, hosted by JNS Media International, was based on an online industry survey that was conducted for over a month and included shortlisted nominees in various categories.

Centra Hub won the ‘Emerging Vendor of the Year’ for its performance in winning significant market share in its first year of operations and its best-of-breed solutions portfolio with highly scalable capabilities to suit organisations of varying scale and size across industries.

bq | ACCOLADES + CERTIFICATIONS

MENA IN THE TOP 10 OF A.T. KEARNEY RANKINGS Dubai – The newest edition of the A.T. Kearney Global Retail Develop Index, now in its 16th edition, ranks the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 5th this year. The UAE remains the most attractive market in the region with strong growth opportunities beyond Dubai.

Morocco (#7) rose again in the rankings, up seven positions this year thanks to government ef fo r ts to at trac t fo re i g n investments. Saudi Arabia Yana Petrova, co-author of the study, (#11) is focusing on diversifying A.T. Kearney its economy away from oil, and the retail sector is in the spotlight. Mall expansion in Algeria (#14) and a greater tourist flow in Tunisia (#24) have supported retail expansion.

Egypt, one of the region’s biggest markets, did not make the 2017 Index because of the uncertainty in the market.

The 2017 GRDI, titled “The Age of Focus,” ranks India as the top developing country for retail investment. India’s strong GDP growth and growing middle class coupled with a more favourable regulatory environment over the past few years have played significant roles in attaining this ranking. China enters the ranking at a second place despite its slower overall economic growth. The market’s size and the continued evolution of retail still make China one of the most attractive markets for retail investment.

This year, the UAE ranked 5th because it still offers an attractive retail proposition even though growth has slowed down. Innovation was the main theme for the UAE last year – strip malls, unique format, entertainment centres, outdoor cinemas, all aiming to spark and sustain consumer interest. E-commerce has grown at about 30% in the past few years and the recent developments (Amazon’s purchase of Souq. com and Noon.com) prove the strong growth trajectory of e-commerce.

Saudi Arabia, the other major retail market in the region, ranked 11th. Despite the challenging economic situation in the country, the retail sector was quite resilient and grew by 4.6% on 2016. The sector is one where the government aims to create a lot of new Saudi jobs and is focusing on growing modern formats and e-commerce. Recent regulatory changes, such as allowing 100% foreign ownership in retail and increased financing to small retail enterprises, will strengthen the further development of the sector.

CERNER MIDDLE EAST UNVEILS 2017 ACHIEVEMENT AND INNOVATION AWARD WINNERS UAE – Cerner Middle East & Africa celebrated the sixth edition of its annual Achievement and Innovation Awards by recognising clients across the Middle East for their most rewarding health care technology adoptions across five categories.

Cerner created the Achievement and Innovation Awards to honour clients that have effectively increased quality and value for their organisations and patients through health IT. The five categories cover various areas that have used innovative technology over the past 12 months: Patient Experience, Support Services, Population Health Management, Clinical Decision Support and User Experience.

“Our esteemed client organizations from across the Middle East

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have worked tirelessly with their caregiver and IT teams to help their communities have a world-class care experience and advance health care in their respective countries,” said Michael Pomerance, VicePresident and Managing Director, Cerner Middle East & Africa. “I am truly honoured to be able to highlight their achievements and wish them continued success.”

During the annual Cerner Middle East Collaboration Forum, at the Address Dubai Marina hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, finalists presented their submissions. The audience voted to select their preferred winner in each category. Finalists and winners were announced during the forum’s awards ceremony.

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bq bq || PLATFORUM PLATFORUM || EVENTS EVENTS

EVENTS ENERGY FLARE MANAGEMENT AND REDUCTION

25 – 27 September, 2017 The event will provide a platform for industry leaders to share knowledge, experiences and practical solutions on how to maintain their current level of flaring. Professionals will also get an opportunity to identify recent technologies for fare flow and composition measurement, innovative and cost-effective methods for flare gas recovery and solutions for flare gas utilisation.

Dusit Thani, Dubai, UAE www.flaremanagementme.iqpc.ae

LPG TRADE SUMMIT

23 – 25 October, 2017 The summit will look at export competitiveness from the Middle East, US and Russia, supply/demand outlook in Africa, Iran production and international export, the LPG retail demand scene in the Asia Pacific, China’s LPG demand development and updates on India and South Asian LPG demand and infrastructure.

H Hotel, Dubai, UAE www.cmtevents.com

FINANCE MIDDLE EAST NXT BANKING SUMMIT

26 – 27 September, 2017 The summit is designed to gather the region’s top banking experts from both worlds, business and technology.

Investing in the next wave of seamless software and hardware banking technology is significant to ensure a superior experience leading in business sustainability.

Address Hotel, Dubai Marina, Dubai, UAE www.alphaone.events/middle-east-nxtbanking-summit

INDUSTRIES NATIONAL SECURITY MIDDLE EAST 11 – 13 September, 2017

September 2017 to November 2017

The two-day event will focus on countering terrorism with specialised and strategic operations, improve long-range surveillance and remote monitoring capabilities as well as develop superior capabilities to counter narco-terrorism with state-of-the-art technology. The event will have discuss enhancing capabilities to deal with the security threats in the Gulf.

Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa, Abu Dhabi, UAE www.nationalsecurityme.iqpc.ae

6 – 7 November, 2017 Over 500 delegates from the manufacturing industry will come together for a truly interactive discussion on the technological developments and innovative manufacturing strategies being implemented within multiple disciplines in the region. The summit is an unmissable event for manufacturing professionals in the region.

Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai, UAE www.expotradeglobal.com/ events/gccmanufacturing

CORROSION & INSPECTION CONFERENCE

E-TRAVEL MIDDLE EAST

17 – 19 September, 2017 Meet experts and stakeholders and learn new strategies and developments in mitigating corrosion and effectively carrying out inspectionrelated activities, to maximise asset integrity and life. The conference will address the latest technologies in mitigating corrosion, mainly related to our environments and stress cracking corrosions, and will also discuss the benefits and practices of using drones.

Sheraton Oman, Muscat, Oman www.corrosionandinspection.iqpc.ae

MARCOMMS360

4 October, 2017 With topics ranging from how to embrace local talent to the evolution of media and how to manage fake news, the event will bring together senior marketing, communications and PR personnel from across the region to discuss and debate the challenges ahead.

Steigenberger Hotel, Dubai, UAE www.marcomms360.com CULTURAL TOURISM MIDDLE EAST 31 October - 2 November, 2017 The conference will gather highlevel officials from the tourism, cultural development and antiquities, heritage and arts, cultural activities and architectural heritage community to showcase their latest developments and share ideas and strategies to protect, preserve and promote their unique culture and heritage.

TBD, Dubai, UAE www.culturaltourismme.iqpc.ae

FUTURE MANUFACTURING & TRADE SUMMIT

27 – 28 November, 2017 The event will gather thought leaders and market influencers in the travel and tourism market to discuss digital strategies to drive bookings, improve experience and improve profitability.

The 2017 edition will host leading travel agencies, OTA, meta search engines, hotels and airlines to discuss, share and collaborate on digital strategies for improved ROI and online performance.

Grosvenor House, Dubai, UAE www.etravelmiddleeast.iqpc.ae

QATAR HVAC CONTRACTING

4 – 5 December, 2017 The event will focus on the sustainable trends and technologies of HVAC systems to align the roles of MEP and HVAC contractors for Vision Qatar 2030.

The case studies and panel discussions from HVAC experts will aim to provide an interactive brainstorming opportunity to discuss energy efficiency, optimisation and conservation.

InterContinental Doha, Qatar www.qatarhvaccontracting.iqpc.ae

SURTECH MIDDLE EAST

4 – 6 December, 2017 With the development of the automobile, electronics, communication, aerospace and aviation, marine shipbuilding, high-rise buildings construction and machine industries, there is an increasing demand for excellent and innovative surface treatment, plating and painting industries. Through the connection with the surface treatment industry, the event will promote industry exchange and development.

Dubai International Convention & Exhibitipn Centre, Dubai, UAE www.setcor.org/confer-

September 2017

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ences/Surtech-ME-2017

MIDDLE EAST IRON & STEEL CONFERENCE

4 – 6 December, 2017 This is the largest iron ore and steel industry gathering in the MENA region, giving delegates the insights required to thrive in the year ahead. Take advantage of this key opportunity to network with representatives of more than 400 companies from both the regional steel market and the global steel supply chain.

Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, UAE www.metalbulletin.com/events/middleeast-iron-and-steel-conference

INFRASTRUCTURE ITS AND FUTURE MOBILITY QATAR FORUM

18 – 20 September, 2017 The forum will focus on the integration and connectivity of mobility models through the use of intelligent transport solutions such as autonomous vehicles, big data, intelligent signage and effective traffic management strategies. Among those participating will be ministries, developers, consultants and contractors, working to leverage the latest intelligent transport solutions for the development of Qatar’s smart and sustainable transport.

Shangri-La Hotel, Doha, Qatar www.itsandfuturemobility.iqpc.com

SMART PARKING KSA

24 – 25 October, 2017 Bringing together designers, contractors, materials and technology providers with building and community owners and managers, event organisers and other car park and parking facility operators, the event will explore the design and construction considerations of car parks and parking facilities, as well as the new smart technologies which can lead to optimisation of these facilities.

Movenpick City Star Jeddah, KSA www.smartparkingsaudi.com

POWER QATAR SUMMIT

13 – 14 November, 2017 Qatar’s only power generation, transmission and distribution event. The summit is the only event of its kind in the region focusing on the future of the power sector in Qatar with a strong emphasis on renewable energy, smart energy solutions, smart meters and smart grids.

Ritz-Carlton, Doha, Qatar www.powerqatar.com

INDEX QATAR

13 – 15 November, 2017 INDEX Qatar will gather hundreds of international product manufacturers

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bq PLATFORUM || EVENTS EVENTS bq || PLATFORUM

and interior design firms at the Doha Exhibition & Conference Centre from 13 to 15 November. The show is expected to attract thousands of interior designers, architects, project managers, importers and distributors from the full spectrum of retail, hospitality, residential and commercial design.

Doha Exhibition & Convention Centre, Doha, Qatar www.index-qatar.com

GULF TRAFFIC

4 – 6 December, 2017 Dedicated to bringing the world’s most exciting and forward-thinking products to the Gulf region, to drive the mobility sector and to make cities smarter.

Governments within the GCC depend on the event to showcase global solutions.

This year, there are new themes like parking event, e-mobility and road to safety tunnels.

Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE www.gulftraffic.com

SAUDI TRANSTEC

5 – 7 December, 2017 The premier gathering of KSA’s logistics and transport community. This year, it would focus on the practicalities of Saudi Vision 2030 and its implications for the Saudi logistics and transport community.

Where there are opportunities there are also challenges but Vision 2030 has the potential to transform the Saudi economy, from innovation and skills to attracting FDI. Dhahran International Exhibitions Centre, Dammam, KSA www.sauditranstec.com

FUTURE PLAY & PLAYSPACES KSA

2 – 3 October, 2017 The event will provide a timely, business-critical platform for senior decision-makers from government authorities, urban planners, architects, developers, hotel operators and leisure, entertainment, playground and playspace concept experts to meet and discuss future opportunities in the Kingdom’s playspace and entertainment sector.

Rosh Rayhaan Riyadh, Riyadh, KSA www.futureplayandplayspacesksa.com

RETAIL & HOSPITALITY GULFHOST

18 – 20 September, 2017 A first for the region, the event showcases the A-Z of hospitality: a full inventory of back of house solutions that include commercial ovens and culinary equipment, fittings and utensils and a wide spectrum of front of house

elements to help deliver exceptional dining experiences that will stand out in a competitive market.

Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai, UAE www.gulfhost.ae

CUSTOMER CONNECT WEEK MIDDLE EAST

22 – 24 October, 2017 Empowers testing, learning and trying the next big thing in customer experience optimisation. Walk away with the skills and insight needed to understand how to get the foundation rock-solid, whilst simultaneously reviewing new innovations and strategies for transforming the way of connecting to customers Dusit Thani, Dubai, UAE customerconnect.iqpc.ae

TO THE TABLE MEA

14 – 16 November, 2017 A B2B forum for senior decision-makers in the restaurant and bar industry. A programme of pre-arranged one-to-one meetings, seminars sessions, networking functions and dinners, aimed at a specific industry sector. The event brings decision-makers in the industry together.

Only the most senior buyers are invited, to connect with suppliers of the latest products and innovations.

Shangri-la Barr Al Jissah, Muscat, Oman www.tothetableemea.com

TECHNOLOGY VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY CONFERENCE

26 – 27 November, 2017 Put together to discuss how government and smart businesses can incorporate AR and VR into their business strategy.

This cross-industry event is the one place for individuals passionate about AR-VR to network and discuss how they can increase business value with the help of this technology.

Dusit Thani, Dubai, UAE www.vrarmiddleeast.iqpc.ae

ARAB MARKETING INNOVATION SUMMIT

27 – 28 November, 2017 The summit aims to explore the latest topics in the digital marketing realm, such as smart data, predictive analytics, big data, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and many more. This is a summit designed especially for marketers to familiarise themselves with the latest innovations in the marketing industry.

Sofitel Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa, Dubai, UAE www.expotradeglobal.com/events/ arabmarketinginnovation

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bq | PLATFORUM | APPOINTMENTS

SAEID HEIDARI

SHERATON GRAND DOHA

Sheraton Grand Doha has appointed Saeid Heidari as its General Manager.

Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel has appointed Saeid Heidari, a veteran hospitality professional, as its new general manager. He will be responsible for strengthening the premier position of Doha’s iconic hotel, and driving its growth in regional and international markets.

Heidari has 28 years of experience in luxury hospitality, and brings in-depth insights on key industry trends.

MOHAMMAD ATATREH

THE LATEST SENIOR APPOINTMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST ALI AMER CISCO

Drake & Scull International PJSC, a regional market leader in engineering and related services, has appointed seasoned UAE entrepreneur Mohammad Atatreh as its board member during the company’s board meeting. Atatreh replaces Khalaf Sultan Al Daheri, who resigned from his seat on the Board.

COOPER TIRE

Cooper Tire strengthens Middle East presence by appointing Christophe Huss as Middle East sales director.

Ali Amer will be leading Cisco’s Global Service Provider Business in the Middle East and Africa.

DRAKE & SCULL

Drake & Scull appoints Mohammad Atatreh as its board member.

CHRISTOPHE HUSS

Cisco appointed Ali Amer as Managing Director for Global Service Provider Sales in the Middle East and Africa at Cisco. In his new role, Ali will be responsible for helping telecommunications service providers transform their networks, businesses and customers’ experiences to capture the opportunities created by the digital era.

In addition to driving the segment’s sales strategy and growth across the Middle East and Africa, he will also focus on streamlining business operations, including sales and channel strategy, business development and customer support.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd. has strengthened its Middle East presence with two new appointments. Christophe Huss has been appointed Middle East Sales Director and Michiel Kramer has been appointed Marketing Director for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Cooper has taken several important steps towards expanding its presence in the Middle East and providing consumers in the region with greater access to both the brand and its products. These include being named official tyre sponsor of the Dubai International Motor Show 2015 and launching the Cooper Tire website and marketing materials in Arabic.

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL

SALES AND MARKETING LEADERSHIP TEAM

IBRAHIM ALBULOUSHI JLL MENA

JLL MENA announces new country head for Saudi Arabia.

Marriott International announces dynamic new sales and marketing leadership team to support its rapidly growing Middle East and Africa portfolio.

JLL, the world’s leading real estate investment and advisory firm, has appointed Eng. Ibrahim Albuloushi as its new National Director and Country Head for Saudi Arabia. Albuloushi is an international executive with 20 years’ experience in creating vision and strategic direction with primary skills in Islamic banking, real estate development and property management.

Marriott International has expaned and strengthened its sales and marketing leadership team for Middle East and Africa. The revamped Brand, Marketing, Sales and Consumer Services (BMSC) Leadership Team comprises highly experienced professionals from Marriott International and legacy Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Led by seasoned Marriott International veteran, Neal Jones, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International, the team will provide dedicated support to the company’s thriving regional portfolio and will be responsible for driving top line revenue for Marriott International brands, ensuring the regional Sales and Marketing strategy is aligned with the company’s vision and priorities.

September 2017

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‫إعالنات| |‪bqbq‬‬ ‫والعالم |‬ ‫‪GALLERY‬قطر‬ ‫لقاءات‬ ‫‪PLATFORUM‬‬ ‫‪| EVENTS‬‬

‫المنصات اإلعالنية وتوفير تقارير أداء عن الحمالت‬ ‫اإلعالنية‪.‬‬ ‫حيث توفر هذه التكنولوجيا إمكانية تحليل الجمهور‬ ‫المستهدف الذي يشاهد المحتوى اإلعالني ويحلل‬ ‫تركيبته السكانية ومزاج الجمهور في ظل احترام‬ ‫الخصوصية الشخصية للجمهور‪ .‬وتسمح الحلول‬ ‫المقدمة لفريق إعالن ميديا بإصدار تقارير يمكن‬ ‫أن تحدد بالضبط طبيعة الجمهور المستهدف لكل‬ ‫إعالن على حدى‪.‬‬ ‫يمكن تحليل كل مادة إعالنية بالثانية‪ ،‬وهو مستوى‬ ‫متقدم يمكن من تحديد أي من المحتويات اإلعالنية‬ ‫تتير تفاعل المشاهدين وأيها تحظى بأكبر قدر‬ ‫من االهتمام‪ .‬تستطيع إعالن ميديا اليوم تقديم‬ ‫المحتوى اإلعالني ثم تقديم تقارير عرض متقدمة‬ ‫ومفصلة لعمالئها مثل‪:‬‬ ‫• ‬

‫كم عدد مرات مشاهدة الحملة اإلعالنية‬

‫• ‬

‫من رأى الحملة‪ ،‬بحسب العمر والجنس‬ ‫والمزاج‬

‫• ‬

‫من كان الجمهور الرئيسي للحملة‬

‫• ‬

‫ما هو المحتوى المفضل من قبل المجموعات‬ ‫السكانية المعينة (مثل البالغين أو الشباب)‬

‫• ‬

‫ما هو المحتوى الذي حصد أكبر عدد من‬ ‫االبتسامات من قبل الجمهور‬

‫بشاشاته الرقمية البالغ عددها‬ ‫‪ 240‬شاشة تعمل في قطر مول‬ ‫ودوحة فستيفال سيتي ومركز‬ ‫الدوحة للمعارض وإزدان مول‪.‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫أيضا يتم تحليل‬ ‫وعن طريقه‬ ‫جميع البيانات التي يتم جمعها‬ ‫من قبل ‪ AVA‬التي توفر للمعلنين‬ ‫تحليل مفصل لمحتوى إعالناتهم‬ ‫الرقمية‪.‬‬ ‫"هذا هو بيت القصيد" كما يصف‬ ‫السيد جيمي بول إعالن اليف‪.‬‬

‫ً‬ ‫معلقا‪" :‬البيانات‬ ‫وأوضح السيد جيمي بول‬ ‫والتقارير هي جزء أساسي من عملية التخطيط‬ ‫اإلعالني‪ ،‬حيث يرغب المعلنون في تحسين‬ ‫إنفاقهم واستهداف جمهور معين‪ ،‬ثم قياس العائد‬

‫على االستثمار لتقييم نجاح حمالتهم‪ .‬من خالل‬ ‫هذه التكنلوجيا الرائدة في الشرق األوسط‪ .‬ونحن‬ ‫الالعبون الوحيدون في هذا المجال والذين بإمكاننا‬ ‫إعطاء العالمات التجارية أدوات أكثر شفافية ودقة‬ ‫لتوجيه استثماراتهم"‪.‬‬ ‫إعالن اليف‪ :‬مركز التحكم الرقمي‬ ‫أنشأت إعالن ميديا "إعالن اليف" وهو مركز إدارة‬ ‫للشبكة الرقمية الواسعة‪ ،‬وهو أول مركز للتحكم‬ ‫الرقمي بالمحتوى من نوعه في قطر‪ .‬إعالن اليف‬ ‫هو جناح تحكم متطور‪ ،‬وموقع مركزي يمكن لفريق‬ ‫إعالن ميديا التحكم بالمحتوى اإلعالني الموصل‬

‫ماذا بعد؟‬ ‫بعد بضعة أشهر فقط من إطالق‬ ‫شبكة إعالن ميديا الرقمية‬ ‫لإلعالنات الخارجية المقامة في‬ ‫ثالثة مراكز تجارية استطاعت‬ ‫تنفيذ حمالت إعالنية ألكثر من ‪70‬‬ ‫عالمة تجارية دولية ومحلية‪ .‬وهو‬ ‫نجاح يعكس تعطش المعلنين‬ ‫إلى منصات التواصل اإلعالني‬ ‫المبتكرة والمؤثرة في المنطقة‪.‬‬ ‫واستطاعت رؤية إعالن‬ ‫ميديا االرتقاء بقطاع اإلعالن‬ ‫إلى المستوى التالي بالنسبة‬ ‫ألصحاب المحتوى اإلعالني‪ .‬عبر‬ ‫قدرة التسويق الرقمي الخارجي‬ ‫على نقل الرسائل المستهدفة وتوفير محتوى‬ ‫ذكاء ومالئمة للمشاهدين لتحقيق الغرض‬ ‫أكثر‬ ‫ً‬ ‫الحقيقي من اإلعالن‪ :‬خلق التواصل بين الناس‬ ‫والعالمات التجارية المعلنة‪.‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫وردا على الخطط المستقبلية إلعالن ميديا‪،‬‬ ‫خلص السيد جيمي بول إلى القول‪" :‬نعتبر عالم‬ ‫التسويق الرقمي الخارجي عالم متحرك على الدوام‪،‬‬ ‫ويجب علينا مواكبة هذا التطور‪ .‬وباعتبارها الشركة‬ ‫ً‬ ‫إقليميا في هذا المجال ستواصل إعالن‬ ‫الرائدة‬ ‫ميديا االبتكار بشكل استباقي لتعزيز تجربة اإلعالن‬ ‫لكل من العالمات التجاري والمستهلكين وأصحاب‬ ‫الوسائط اإلعالنية"‪.‬‬

‫‪bq-magazine.com‬‬

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‫‪bq‬‬ ‫لقاءات قطر والعالم | إعالنات || ‪bq‬‬

‫ً‬ ‫جدا لتوريد هذه الحزمة المتميزة من‬ ‫سعيدون‬ ‫األجهزة والحلول اإلعالنية ولتمثيلنا إياهم في دولة‬ ‫قطر بهذه المشاريع المتميزة"‪.‬‬ ‫وأضاف السيد ليستر‪" :‬إن الحلول الرقمية‬ ‫اإلعالمية التي تم تثبيتها إلعالن ميديا تمثل‬ ‫أفضل وآخر ما هو متاح على كوكب األرض حتى‬ ‫اآلن‪ .‬الشبكة الرقمية اإلعالنية الخارجية التي قمنا‬ ‫بتصميمها وتسليمها تلبي وتتجاوز جميع المعايير‬ ‫ً‬ ‫مشهدا لمحتوى عالي الجودة ومواد‬ ‫الدولية وتوفر‬ ‫إعالمية عالية الوضوح ليتم عرضها ويتم االستمتاع‬ ‫بها من قبل جميع من يزور المركز التجاري"‪.‬‬

‫واجهه المستخدم ل ‪BroadSign‬‬

‫الدوحة فستيفال سيتي‪.‬‬ ‫• ‬

‫ذي رنواي‪ 8 :)The Runway( ‬شاشات‬ ‫ملفوفة بالكامل منتشرة في ارجاء منطقة‬ ‫المطاعم في مول الدوحة فستيفال سيتي‪.‬‬

‫• ‬

‫الشعلة‪( ‬الدوحة فستيفال سيتي)‪ :‬أول‬ ‫شاشات رقمية خارجية في قطر مرئية من‬ ‫مسافة طويلة وزوايا واسعة من طريق‬ ‫الشمال‪.‬‬

‫• ‬

‫‪ 176‬شاشة رقمية من‪ ‬الموبيز‪ )MUPIs( ‬‬ ‫وهي من نوع ‪ LCD‬حجم كل واحدة منها ‪70‬‬ ‫إنشا‪.‬‬

‫• ‬

‫الواجهة الجنوبية (‪:)South Façade‬‬ ‫شاشتين خارجيتين يصل حجمها إلى ‪ 35‬متر‬ ‫مربع‪.‬‬

‫• ‬

‫الوجهات الرقمية (‪:)Digital Landmarks‬‬ ‫شاشات عريضة إيطالية الصنع‪ ،‬تجذب األنظار‬ ‫في تقاطعات داخل المجمعات التجارية‪.‬‬

‫الشراكة مع رواد صناعة اإلعالن الرقمي الخارجي‬ ‫من جميع أنحاء العالم‬ ‫اختارت شركة إعالن ميديا شركاء دوليين ذوي خبرة‬ ‫بغرض تصميم وإنشاء أفضل شبكات التسويق‬ ‫الرقمي الخارجي‪ .‬فاختارت شركة ‪AVT (Audio‬‬ ‫‪ ،)Visual Technology‬وهي الشركة الرائدة‬ ‫في قطر في مجال وسائل اإلعالم السمعية‬ ‫والبصرية المتكاملة التي تعاونت معها الختيار‬ ‫الشركة البريطانية ‪ Esprit Digital‬بغرض تزويدها‬ ‫بشاشات الـ ‪ ،LCD‬وشركة ‪ Altoona‬اإليطالية‬ ‫لتوريد شاشات الـ ‪ ،LED‬في حين اختارت الشركة‬ ‫الكندية ‪ BroadSign‬ألنظمة إدارة حمالت اإلعالن‬ ‫الرقمية وشركة ‪ Quividi‬الفرنسية لتحليل انطباعات‬ ‫الجمهور المستهدف‪.‬‬ ‫فقد عينت إعالن ميديا شركة ‪ AVT‬كوسيط‬ ‫حلوال جاهزة وشاملة بما يتضمن التصميم‬ ‫لتوفر‬ ‫ً‬ ‫التقني والمشتريات والخدمات اللوجستية وإدارة‬ ‫وتركيب جميع أصول اإلعالنات باإلضافة إلى عقد‬

‫سبتمبر ‪٢٠١٧‬‬ ‫‪September‬‬ ‫‪2017‬‬

‫صيانة لمدة عشر سنوات‪.‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫طبقا لرؤية ومفاهيم شركة‬ ‫وعملت ‪AVT‬‬ ‫إعالن ميديا على تطوير مواصفات إعالنية عالية‬ ‫ً‬ ‫طبقا ألطر‬ ‫المستوى يمكن تصنيعها وتسليمها‬ ‫زمنية ضيقة‪ .‬ولعل أحد أهم التحديات التي تواجه‬ ‫هذا النوع من المشاريع هو ضمان دمج األصول‬ ‫ً‬ ‫طبقا للتصميم المعماري وضمان‬ ‫الرقمية بالكامل‬ ‫أن تكون جميع الشاشات اإلعالنية تظهر للجمهور‬ ‫المستهدف بصورة مذهلة‪.‬‬ ‫وتم األخذ بعين اإلعتبار أثناء عملية التصميم‬ ‫ضمان تدفق الهواء لتثبيث درجة الحرارة بما يناسب‬ ‫سالمة الشاشات وهو ما يعتبر من أهم العوامل‬ ‫عند تركيب شاشات رقمية مخصصة للبيئات‬ ‫الخارجية‪ .‬وفي هذا المجال قال السيد مايكل ليستر‪،‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫معلقا‪" :‬اختيار شركتنا من‬ ‫مدير التسويق في ‪AVT‬‬ ‫قبل إعالن ميديا كشريك تكنولوجي لمشروعهم‬ ‫في مول الدوحة فستيفال سيتي ومول قطر‬ ‫نعتبره تكريم لنا‪ .‬وقد اخترنا في إطار تقديمنا‬ ‫لهذه المناقصة أفضل وآخر ما توصل إليه شركائنا‬ ‫الدوليين في مجال التسويق التجاري الخارجي والذي‬ ‫يعتبر برأينا آخر ما توصلت إليه التكنولوجيا ونظم‬ ‫المعلومات في هذا المجال‪ .‬وجميع الموردين‬ ‫الذي اعتمدنا عليهم هم األفضل في العالم ونحن‬

‫الشراكة مع ‪ ،BroadSign‬الشركة الكندية الرائدة‬ ‫إلدارة المحتوى اإلعالمي‬ ‫يتم تشغيل شبكة اإلعالنات الرقمية عبر حلول‬ ‫تقنية مقدمة من قبل ‪ ،Broadsign‬وهي أفضل‬ ‫مزود لبرامج إدارة المحتويات في العالم‪ .‬حيث‬ ‫يمكن التحكم في محتوى اإلعالن عبر الحوسبة‬ ‫السحابية‪ ،‬مما يسمح لفريق إعالن ميديا بإدارة‬ ‫ً‬ ‫استنادا إلى مؤشرات أداء معينة‪ ،‬وهو‬ ‫الحمالت‬ ‫ما يتيح بيع اإلعالنات بحسب توقيت عرضها في‬ ‫اليوم‪ ،‬أو أيام محددة في األسبوع أو بحسب موقع‬ ‫العرض أو مدة المادة اإلعالنية‪ .‬وعالوة على ذلك‬ ‫يمكن للحلول المقدمة من قبل ‪BroadSign‬‬ ‫تنقيح وتعديل اإلعالن ليتم عرضه في خالل ثوان‪،‬‬ ‫بأسلوب خالي من األخطاء ويتبع ذلك توفير تقارير‬ ‫دقيقة عن أداء الحملة اإلعالنية‪.‬‬ ‫وأوضح السيد جيمي بول بأن "القدرة على‬ ‫ً‬ ‫إستنادا‬ ‫تغيير محتوى اإلعالن في الوقت المناسب‬ ‫إلى عوامل مختلفة مثل الطقس والموقع والوقت‬ ‫يتيح للمعلنين إمكانية إضافة طبقة جديدة من‬ ‫السياق اإلعالني‪ ،‬األمر الذي يعني أنه يمكنهم‬ ‫ً‬ ‫تماما‬ ‫استهداف الجمهور المناسب بطريقة مختلفة‬ ‫عن الطرق التقليدية‪ .‬وهو ما يعني تقديم الفرصة‬ ‫للعالمات التجارية إلقامة حمالت ترويج يمكن‬ ‫تذكرها بعد فترة طويلة من انتهائها"‬ ‫"اليوم لدينا التكنلوجيا للقيام بذلك في إعالن‬ ‫ميديا"‪.‬‬ ‫الشراكة مع ‪ :Quividi‬الشركة األولى في العالم‬ ‫لحليل انطباعات الجمهور‬ ‫تم تجهيز الموبيز (‪ )MUPIs‬بتكنولوجيا تحليل‬ ‫الفيديو (‪ )AVA‬من قبل ‪ Quividi‬لتحليل محتوى‬

‫لقطة شاشة لتقرير ‪Quividi‬‬

‫‪11‬‬ ‫‪11‬‬

‫لقاءات قطر والعالم | إعالنات | ‪bq‬‬ ‫| ‪bq‬‬

‫دفعت األسواق المتنامية لإلعالنات التجارية‬ ‫الرقمية الخارجية (‪ )DOOH‬في مختلف أنحاء العالم‬ ‫المعلنين لزيادة استثماراتهم في هذا المجال‪ ،‬فقد‬ ‫حدد تقرير أصدرته شركة برايس ووترهاوس كوبر‬ ‫حجم االنفاق في هذا المجال لما يقارب ‪ $4.5‬مليار‬ ‫دوالر أمريكي في الواليات المتحدة األمريكية‬ ‫بحلول عام ‪ 2019‬وذلك بزيادة قدرها ‪ $1.2‬مليار‬ ‫دوالر مقارنة بعام ‪.2016‬‬ ‫كما نقل موقع ‪ AdAge.com‬دراسة توقع‬ ‫فيها أن يتخطى إجمالي اإلنفاق على اإلعالنات‬ ‫التجارية الرقمية الخارجية اإلنفاق على اإلعالنات‬ ‫الخارجية التقليدية بحلول عام ‪ ،2020‬بنسبة نمو‬ ‫ً‬ ‫سنويا خالل األعوام األربع المقبلة‪.‬‬ ‫تناهز ‪%15‬‬ ‫وقد دفع هذا التوسع في اإلعالنات الرقمية‬ ‫التجارية الخارجية شركة إعالن ميديا‪ ،‬إحدى الشركات‬ ‫اإلقليمية الرائدة في مجال اإلعالن‪ ،‬لتطوير شبكة‬ ‫من أحدث الشبكات اإلعالنية الرقمية الخارجية‪ ،‬وأن‬ ‫ً‬ ‫وتحديدا في‬ ‫تطلقها في منطقة الشرق األوسط‬ ‫دولة قطر‪ .‬حيث استثمرت إعالن ميديا في هذا‬ ‫المجال بكثرة ووقعت اتفاقيات مع شركات دولية‬ ‫متخصصة القتناء الشاشات وتجهيزها بأحدث‬ ‫المعدات وأكثرها تقنية ثم لتركيبها في أحدث مراكز‬ ‫التسوق في دولة قطر لخلق شبكة إعالن رقمية ال‬ ‫مثيل لها في منطقة الشرق األوسط‪.‬‬ ‫وتتكون شبكة إعالن الرقمية لإلعالنات‬ ‫التجارية الخارجية من عدد من المنصات اإلعالنية‬ ‫يتخطى عددها الـ‪ 240‬شاشة‪ .‬تركز على استهداف‬

‫المستهلكين في أثناء مرورهم على الممرات‬ ‫والطرقات ومختلف األماكن العامة‪ .‬وهو ما تتميز‬ ‫فيه هذه التكنلوجيا التسويقية‪ ،‬كون الموقع‬ ‫الجغرافي والسياق التسويقي محددين‪ ،‬األمر الذي‬ ‫يتيح للشركات المعلنة إيصال الرسالة التسويقية‬ ‫الصحيحة‪ ،‬بالطريقة األمثل وفي الوقت المناسب‬ ‫عبر تنسيق آلي وديناميكي وتفاعلي في نفس‬ ‫الوقت‪.‬‬ ‫كال‬ ‫تمتلك إعالن ميديا شراكة إعالن حصرية مع ً‬ ‫من مول قطر‪ ،‬الدوحة فستيفال ستي ومركز إزدان‬ ‫للتسوق‬ ‫رأت إعالن ميديا في افتتاح مركزين تجاريين جديدين‬ ‫في قطر فرصة مثالية لالرتقاء بما توفره من حلول‬ ‫إعالنية إلى مستوى أعلى‪ ،‬حيث وقعت الشركة‬ ‫شراكة استراتيجية متعددة السنوات مع مول‬ ‫قطر ومول دوحة فستفال سيتي لتكون الشريك‬ ‫اإلعالمي الحصري لكليهما‪ .‬وبفضل مشاركة‬ ‫إعالن ميديا مند مرحلة مبكرة من أعمال اإلنشاء‬ ‫للمولين فقد تمكنت من إبداع تجربة إعالنية رفيعة‬ ‫المستوى وتوفير بيئة إعالنية رقمية مصممة‬ ‫ً‬ ‫خصيصا لتتشابك مع نسيج المجمعين التجارين‬ ‫وهيئتيهما الداخليتين‪.‬‬ ‫وقال السيد جيمي بول‪ ،‬رئيس العمليات في‬ ‫ً‬ ‫تعليقا على ذلك‪" :‬في أغلب الحاالت‬ ‫إعالن ميديا‬ ‫نتقيد بالمساحات المتاحة الستغاللها كمنصات‬ ‫إعالنية حيث أنها مبنية وقائمة بالفعل‪ ،‬لكن‬

‫كال من قطر مول ومول الدوحة‬ ‫ما توفر لنا في ً‬ ‫فستفال سيتي هو لوحة فارغة أتيح لنا ملئها‬ ‫وخلق أفضل منصة إعالن رقمي تجاري خارجي في‬ ‫المنطقة‪ .‬كانت هذه بحق فرصة فريدة من نوعها‪،‬‬ ‫وفقنا فيها لتقديم تجربة إعالن لم يسبقنا إليها أحد‬ ‫في منطقة الشرق األوسط"‪.‬‬ ‫شبكة إعالن ميديا لإلعالنات الرقمية الخارجية‪:‬‬ ‫تتطلب الحمالت اإلعالنية مناهج تسويقية مختلفة‬ ‫سواء كان الهدف من التواصل اإلعالني هو ترويج‬ ‫المبيعات أو اإلعالن عن منتج جديد أو إطالق‬ ‫ً‬ ‫جيدا هذا‬ ‫حملة لعالمة تجارية‪ .‬تتفهم إعالن ميديا‬ ‫التنوع فأدخلت ثمانية أنواع من الشاشات الرقمية‬ ‫المختلفة يعتبر بعضها هو األول من نوعه في‬ ‫منطقة الشرق األوسط وشمال أفريقيا‪ ،‬وتشمل‬ ‫كال من‪:‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫• ‬

‫وهي‬ ‫ذي أيكونكس‪:)The Iconics( ‬‬ ‫شاشات رقمية ضخمة موجودة في مول قطر‬ ‫والتي يصل حجمها إلى ‪ 72‬متر مربع‪.‬‬

‫• ‬

‫االعمدة(‪ 12 :)The Pillars‬شاشة عمالقة تم‬ ‫دمجها في أعمدة منطقة المطاعم في مول‬ ‫قطر‪.‬‬

‫• ‬

‫ذي أكسس(‪ :)The Axis‬شاشة عمالقة دوارة‬ ‫بحجم ‪ 28‬متر مربع‪ ،‬ترى من ‪ 360‬درجة في مول‬

‫‪bq-magazine.com‬‬

‫‪10‬‬ ‫‪10‬‬

‫‪bq‬‬ ‫لقاءات قطر والعالم | إعالنات || ‪bq‬‬

‫معايير متطورة‬ ‫ألصحاب اإلعالنات‬ ‫منصات اإلعالنات الرقمية الخارجية إلعالن ميديا ترتقي بصناعة اإلعالم في‬ ‫الشرق األوسط وشمال أفريقيا إلى المستوى التالي‬

‫سبتمبر ‪٢٠١٧‬‬ ‫‪September‬‬ ‫‪2017‬‬

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‫البنية التحتية ‪ +‬الصناعة | المعادن | ‪bq‬‬ ‫| ‪bq‬‬

‫الصلب الذي يعتبر أرخص لكنه أثقل وزنا‪ ،‬و ذلك‬ ‫لجعل المركبات أخف وزنا و التي بدورها سوف‬ ‫تستهلك وقودا أحفوريا أقل‪.‬‬ ‫لقد نما إنتاج األلمنيوم العالمي بما نسبته‬ ‫‪ % ١٧٠‬خالل العقدين الماضيين‪ ،‬غالبا بسبب إرتفاع‬ ‫اإلنتاج الصيني‪ ،‬و يبدي مؤشر األعمال العالمي‪ ،‬بي‬ ‫إم آي‪ ،‬توقعات بأن تبقى الصين القوة المحركة وراء‬ ‫انتاج األلمنيوم العالمي‪ ،‬بحجم إنتاج تبلغ نسبته‬ ‫‪ % ٥٧.٢‬من إجمالي الناتج في عام ‪.٢٠١٧‬‬ ‫و قد تنبأ األخصائيون في مؤشر األعمال‬ ‫العالمي بأن إنتاج الصين لأللمنيوم سوف يزيد‬ ‫بنسبة ‪ % ٣.٥‬بحلول عام ‪ ٢٠١٧‬مقارنة بنسبة نمو‬ ‫قدرها ‪ ١,٠‬فقط في عام ‪ ،٢٠١٦‬ثم يبدأ باإلستقرار‬ ‫بعدها‪ .‬و بال شك فإن الصين تعد منافسا رئيسيا‬ ‫و مهما في السوق العالمية بالنسبة لصناعة‬ ‫األلمنيوم بدول مجلس التعاون الخليجي‪ .‬و لكن‬ ‫المنافس األقرب لدول مجلس التعاون الخليجي‬ ‫إقليميا‪ ،‬هي إيران و ليس أحدا آخر‪.‬‬ ‫و يشير الخبراء إلى أن إيران لديها أقل معدل‬ ‫للنفقات الكهربائية عبر منتجي األلمنيوم عالميا‪ .‬و‬ ‫تعريفات الطاقة لدبها أرخص من الصين و الهند و‬ ‫البرازيل و الواليات المتحدة األمريكية و كذلك بقية‬ ‫منطقة الشرق األوسط و دول مجلس التعاون‬ ‫الخليجي‪ .‬و يتوقع مؤشر النمو العالمي بي إم آي‪،‬‬ ‫أن أسعار األلمنيوم القياسية سوف تبلغ ‪ ١.٧٠٠‬دوالر‬ ‫للطن الواحد في عام ‪ ٢٠١٧‬و و تزداد إضطراديا لتصل‬ ‫إلى معدل ‪ ١.٩٠٠‬دوالر أمريكي للطن الواحد بحلول‬

‫ﺑﻴﺎﻧﺎت ﺗﺼﻨﻴﻊ‬ ‫اﻷﻟﻤﻨﻴﻮم‬ ‫ﻗﻄﺮ‬

‫‪ ٦٤٠,٠٠٠‬ﻃﻦ‬ ‫اﻹﻧﺘﺎج اﻟﺴﻨﻮي ﻹﻟﻮﻣﻨﻴﻮم‬ ‫ﻗﻄﺮ )ﻛﺘﺎﻟﻮم(‬

‫‪ ٥٣٠,٨٢٢‬ﻃﻦ‬

‫إﺟﻤﺎﻟﻲ ﺗﺼﺪﻳﺮ اﻷﻟﻤﻨﻴﻮم ﻓﻲ‬ ‫ﻋﺎم ‪ ٥١٠٢‬ﺑﻘﻴﻤﺔ ‪ ٢٫١‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر‬

‫‪ ٥٧١,٠٧٧‬ﻃﻦ‬

‫إﺟﻤﺎﻟﻲ ﺗﺼﺪﻳﺮ اﻷﻟﻤﻨﻴﻮم ﻓﻲ ﻋﺎم‬ ‫‪ ٦١٠٢‬ﺑﻘﻴﻤﺔ ‪ ٣٢٫١‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر‬ ‫اﻟﻤﺼﺎدر‪ :‬إﺣﺼﺎﺋﻴﺎت ﻋﺎﻟﻢ اﻷﻟﻮﻣﻨﻴﻮم‪ ،‬ﻣﺠﻠﺲ‬ ‫اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺞ ﻟﻸﻟﻤﻨﻴﻮم‪ ،‬ﻏﺮﻓﺔ ﻗﻄﺮ‪ ،‬ﺑﻲ إم آي‬

‫عام ‪ ٢٠٢١‬مع تحول سوق األلمنيوم العالمي إلى عجز‬ ‫واحد‪.‬‬ ‫و يقول الباحثون بأن سعر األلمنيوم سوف يبلغ‬ ‫‪ ١.٧٥٠‬دوالر أمريكي للطن الواحد بحلول عام ‪ ٢٠١٨‬و‬ ‫يتزايد إلى معدل قيمته ‪ ١.٩٠٠‬للطن الواحد بحلول عام‬ ‫‪ ،٢٠٢١‬و يمثل ذلك إنتعاشا صامتا مقارنة بمتوسط‬ ‫قدره ‪ ١,٩٠٠‬دوالر أمريكي للطن الواحد بحلول عام‬ ‫‪ ،٢٠٢١‬و سوف يتباطئ نمو إنتاج األلمنيوم العالمي‬ ‫مع إستمرار إنخفاض األسعار على مدى السنوات‬ ‫الخمس المقبلة مقارنة بالمستويات التي شهدها‬ ‫العقد السابق‪ .‬و قد ذكر بي إم آي ‪ ،‬مؤشر النمو‬ ‫العالمي‪ ،‬بأن معدل النمو السنوي العالمي سوف‬ ‫يصل إلى‪ %٢.٦‬فقط خالل الفترة ما بين ‪،٢٠٢١-٢٠١٧‬‬ ‫مقارنة بمتوسط نمو سنوي قدره ‪ % ٤.٥‬خالل‬ ‫األعوام ما بين ‪.٢٠١٦-٢٠١٢‬‬ ‫عندما يتعلق األمر باالتجاهات الناشئة في‬ ‫صناعة األلمنيوم العالمية‪ ،‬فقد أكدت شركة‬ ‫إستراتيجي & العالمية لإلستشارات أن تحوالت‬ ‫الطاقة‪ ،‬الرقمنة‪ ،‬التحضر‪ ،‬و العولمة‪ ،‬سوف‬ ‫توفر فرصا جديدة ألولئك الضالعين في الصناعة‪،‬‬ ‫المبتكرين و الديناميكيين‪ .‬بعض هؤالء المنخرطين‬ ‫في المجال قد ركبوا بالفعل على متن الموجة‬ ‫العالمية الموجهة نحو إقتصاد يعنى ببيئة أقل تلوثا‪.‬‬ ‫و قد أفادت وسائل اإلعالم األمريكي بأن‬ ‫مشغلي مصاهر األلمنيوم التي تعمل بالطاقة‬ ‫الكهرومائية مثل النرويج و روسيا و كندا‪ ،‬يروجون لما‬ ‫يسمى باأللمنيوم األخضر ( الذي التسبب طريقة‬ ‫تصنيعه الضرر للبيئة )‪ ،‬كما بدأوا أيضا في فرض‬ ‫أسعار أعلى بفضل الطلب المتزايد من عمالء مجال‬ ‫الصناعة الذين هم تحت ضغط متزايد للحد من آثار‬ ‫الكربون‪.‬‬ ‫و على الرغم من أن األلمنيوم بحد ذاته ال يعتبر‬ ‫أكثر حفاظا على البيئة من ذاك الذي يتم تصنيعه‬ ‫في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي أو الصين‪ ،‬إن‬ ‫حقيقة كونه ينتج من خالل اإلعتماد على الطاقة‬ ‫المتجددة‪ ،‬يجعله جذابا للعمالء‪ ،‬و بشكل خاص في‬ ‫الواليات المتحدة األمريكية و دول أوروبا‪ .‬و تشمل‬ ‫هذه المنتجات العمالء مثل صناعات السيارات‬ ‫أو التعبئة و التغليف التي تحتاج إلى إنتاج سلع‬ ‫منخفضة الكربون لتلبية المنظمين‪ ،‬المستثمرين‪ ،‬و‬ ‫المستهلكين‪ .‬و حتى اآلن‪ ،‬تجاهد المصاهر في دول‬ ‫مجلس التعاون الخليجي للمنافسة بالكاد في سوق‬

‫تصنيع األلمنيوم الجديد المراعي للبيئة النظيفة‪ ،‬و‬ ‫ذلك ألن محطاتها تعمل بالغاز‪ ،‬و هو مصدر الطاقة‬ ‫الذي يعتبر أكبر مساهم في إنبعاثات غاز اإلحتباس‬ ‫الحراري بشكل عام‪.‬‬

‫و يشير الخبراء إلى أن إيران‬ ‫لديها أقل معدل للنفقات‬ ‫الكهربائية عبر منتجي‬ ‫األلمنيوم عالميا‪ .‬و تعريفات‬ ‫الطاقة لدبهاأرخص من‬ ‫الصين و الهند و البرازيل و‬ ‫الواليات المتحدة األمريكية‬ ‫و كذلك بقية منطقة الشرق‬ ‫األوسط و دول مجلس‬ ‫التعاون الخليجي‪.‬‬ ‫و قد أفيد بأن عملية إنتاج طن من المعدن‬ ‫في محطة تعمل بالغاز‪ ،‬يطلق ما بين خمسة إلى‬ ‫ثمانية أطنان من مكافئ ثاني أكسيد الكربون‪ ،‬أما‬ ‫بالنسبة للمحطات التي تحرق الفحم‪ ،‬مثل تلك‬ ‫الموجودة في أستراليا أو الصين‪ ،‬حيث من الممكن‬ ‫أن تقفز األرقام إلى ‪ ١٨‬طنا من مكافئ ثاني أكسيد‬ ‫الكربون لكل طن من األلمنيوم‪ .‬و مع ذلك‪ ،‬فإنه‬ ‫عندما يتم إنتاج األلمنيوم في محطة تعمل بالطاقة‬ ‫الكهرومائية‪ ،‬تقتصر إنبعاثات ثاني أكسيد الكربون‬ ‫لكل طن من األلمنيوم على خمس تلك التي يتم‬ ‫إنتاجها من مصنع لصهر الفحم‪.‬‬ ‫لذا‪ ،‬و بالرغم من مكانتهم الحالية الممتازة‪ ،‬فإن‬ ‫المصاهر من منطقة الخليج العربي لديها الكثير مما‬ ‫يدعو للقلق من حيث مسألة الحفاظ على حصتها‬ ‫في السوق‪ ،‬حيث تميل الموجة الخضراء ( الحفاظ‬ ‫على بيئة أقل تلوثا ) إلى إبطال قدرتها التنافسية في‬ ‫التسعير‪.‬‬

‫‪bq-magazine.com‬‬

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‫‪bq‬‬ ‫البنية التحتية ‪ +‬الصناعة | المعادن || ‪bq‬‬

‫ﺑﻴﺎﻧﺎت ﺗﺼﻨﻴﻊ‬ ‫اﻷﻟﻤﻨﻴﻮم‬ ‫دول ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺘﻌﺎون اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻲ‬

‫‪٪١٠‬‬

‫إﻧﺘﺎج دول ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺘﻌﺎون اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻲ‬ ‫ﻣﻦ اﻟﻨﺎﺗﺞ اﻟﻜﻠﻲ ﻟﻠﻌﺎﻟﻢ‬

‫‪ ٥,٢٢٩,١١٥‬ﻃﻦ‬

‫إﻧﺘﺎج اﻷﻟﻤﻨﻴﻮم اﻟﺮﺋﻴﺴﻲ ﻓﻲ دول‬ ‫ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺘﻌﺎون اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻲ ﻓﻲ ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠١٦‬‬

‫‪ ٥,٢٧٤,٧٢٩‬ﻃﻦ‬

‫إﻧﺘﺎج اﻷﻟﻤﻨﻴﻮم اﻟﺮﺋﻴﺴﻲ ﻓﻲ دول‬ ‫ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺘﻌﺎون اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻲ ﻓﻲ ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠١٥‬‬

‫‪ ٥٥‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر‬

‫ﻗﻴﻤﺔ اﻻﺳﺘﺜﻤﺎرات ﻓﻲ ﺻﻨﺎﻋﺔ‬ ‫اﻷﻟﻤﻨﻴﻮم ﻟﺪول ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺘﻌﺎون‬ ‫اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻲ ﺑﺤﻠﻮل ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠١٩‬‬

‫‪ ٥٫٥‬ﻣﻠﻴﻮن ﻃﻦ‬ ‫ﺑﺎﻟﺴﻨﺔ‬

‫اﻟﻘﺪرة اﻟﺤﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﻹﻧﺘﺎج اﻷﻟﻤﻨﻴﻮم ﻓﻲ‬ ‫دول ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺘﻌﺎون اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻲ‬

‫‪ ٦‬ﻣﻠﻴﻮن ﻃﻦ‬ ‫ﺑﺎﻟﺴﻨﺔ‬

‫إﻧﺘﺎج اﻷﻟﻤﻨﻴﻮم ﻓﻲ دول ﻣﺠﻠﺲ‬ ‫اﻟﺘﻌﺎون اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻲ ﺑﺤﻠﻮل ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠٢٠‬‬ ‫اﻟﻤﺼﺎدر‪ :‬إﺣﺼﺎﺋﻴﺎت ﻋﺎﻟﻢ اﻷﻟﻮﻣﻨﻴﻮم‪ ،‬ﻣﺠﻠﺲ‬ ‫اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺞ ﻟﻸﻟﻤﻨﻴﻮم‪ ،‬ﻏﺮﻓﺔ ﻗﻄﺮ‪ ،‬ﺑﻲ إم آي‬

‫سبتمبر ‪٢٠١٧‬‬ ‫‪September‬‬ ‫‪2017‬‬

‫و أيضا في التطبيقات الكهربائية‪ ،‬و مجموعة من‬ ‫اآلالت‪ ،‬و السلع المعمرة‪ .‬و تعد كاتالوم أو قطر‬ ‫لأللمنيوم‪ ،‬منتجة األلمنيوم الوحيدة التي تصدر‬ ‫إنتاجاتها من األلمنيوم عالميا‪.‬‬ ‫و قد بدأ اإلنتاج لأللمنيوم في واحدة من أكبر‬ ‫مصانع صهر األلمنيوم في العالم‪ ،‬و الذي تم تطويره‬ ‫بتكلفة بلغت ‪ ٥.٦‬مليار دوالر أمريكي‪ ،‬في عام ‪.٢٠١١‬‬ ‫إن شركة كاتالوم‪ ،‬و هي مشروع مشترك بين قطر‬ ‫للبترول و نورسك هيدرو من النرويج‪ ،‬تنتج حوالي‬ ‫‪ ٦٤٠,٠٠٠‬طن من منتجات األلمنيوم عالية الجودة كل‬ ‫عام‪ ،‬منها ما يعادل ‪ ٣٤٠,٠٠٠‬طنا من سبائك القذف‬ ‫و ‪ ٣٠٠,٠٠٠‬من السبائك األولية المسبقة‪.‬‬ ‫و قد أظهرت البيانات الصناعية بأنه في عام‬ ‫‪ ،٢٠١٥‬بلغ حجم إجمالي إصدارات قطر لأللمنيوم‬ ‫‪ ٥٣٠,٨٢٢‬طنا‪ .‬و قد قفز هذا الرقم حتى ‪ ٥٧١,٠٧٧‬طن‪،‬‬ ‫و بالنسبة للعام الحالي فإنه من المتوقع أن يقفز‬ ‫حتى ‪ ٥٧١.٠٧٧‬طن‪ ،‬و أما لهذا العام‪ ،‬فيقدر بأنه سيبلغ‬ ‫‪ ٦١١.١٠٤‬طنا‪ .‬كما تقدر قيمة صادرات قطر لأللمنيوم‬ ‫ب‪ ١.٢‬مليار دوالر أمريكي و ‪ ١.٢٣‬مليار دوالر أمريكي‬ ‫للعامين ‪ ٢٠١٥‬و ‪ ٢٠١٦‬على التوالي‪ ،‬بينما في العام‬ ‫‪ ،٢٠١٧‬فإن قيمة الصادرات من المقدر أن تصل حتى‬ ‫‪ ١.٣‬مليار دوالر أمريكي‪ .‬و تصدر كتالوم إلى أكثر من‬ ‫‪ ٥٢‬دولة ‪ ،‬كما يباع ما نسبته ‪ % ٦٠‬من من منتجاتها‬ ‫تباع لمجال صناعة السيارات‪ .‬و معظم صادرات‬ ‫األلمنيوم تذهب إلى الواليات المتحدة األمريكية (‬ ‫‪ ١١٥.٧٠٥‬طن )‪ ،‬جنوب كوريا (‪ ٩٦.٨٧٩‬طن )‪ ،‬و تركيا‬ ‫( ‪ ٧٣.٤٩٦‬طن )‪.‬‬ ‫ووفقا لبيانات زودت بها غرفة تجارة قطر‪ ،‬في‬ ‫شهر مايو من العام ‪ ،٢٠١٧‬فإن سبائك األلمنيوم‪،‬‬ ‫األلواح‪ ،‬القوالب‪ ،‬قائمة صادرات الدول غير النفطية‬ ‫بقيمة إجمالية بلغت قيمتها ‪ ١٢٢‬مليون دوالر‬ ‫أمريكي أو ما يعادل ‪ ، % ٢٩.٨‬من إجمالي الصادرات‬ ‫غير النفطية التي بلغت قيمتها ‪ ٤٠٩‬مليون دوالر‬ ‫أمريكي في شهر مايو ‪.‬‬ ‫أفضل من الصلب‬ ‫من الواضح ‪،‬أن دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي‬ ‫قد تطورت إلى مركز هام و مربح لأللمنيوم‪،‬‬ ‫حيث تضمن مواردها من النفط و الغاز بأن تبقى‬ ‫صناعة األلمنيوم المتعطشة للطاقة‪ ،‬أرخص بقليل‬ ‫من بقية المنافسة العالمية‪ .‬و يتمتع المنتجون‬ ‫اإلقليميون بتكاليف أقل للطاقة مقارنة بالمتوسط‬ ‫العالمي‪ ،‬مما يقدم المزيد من الدعم كميزة تنافسية‬ ‫‪ .‬ألنه يأخذ الكثير من الطاقة إلنتاج األلمنيوم‪ ،‬حيث‬ ‫تشكل الطاقة حوالي ‪ ٢٠‬إلى ‪ % ٤٠‬من تكاليف إنتاج‬ ‫األلمنيوم‪ .‬على سبيل المثال‪ ،‬تبلغ التكلفة النقدية‬ ‫إلنتاج األلمنيوم في الخليج حوالي ‪ ١.٢٠٠‬دوالر‬ ‫أمريكي للطن الواحد‪ ،‬مقارنة مع ‪ ١.٦٧٠‬للطن الواحد‬ ‫في الواليات المتحدة االمريكية‪.‬‬ ‫تعد الواليات األمريكية المتحدة سوق التصدير‬ ‫الرئيسية لمصاهر دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي‬ ‫و الذين يستغلون ميزتهم المتمثلة في إنخفاض‬ ‫أسعار الكهرباء الالزمة لعملية إنتاج األلمنيوم من‬ ‫خام البوكسيت‪.‬و قد ساهم منتجو األلمنيوم قد‬ ‫قاموا بالفعل بسهولة بسد فجوة العرض بعد‬ ‫إغالق بعض المصانع األمريكية‪.‬و في األشهر‬ ‫التسعة األولى من عام ‪ ٢٠١٦‬إرتفعت شحنات قطع‬ ‫األلمنيوم ذات القيمة المضافة من دول مجلس‬ ‫التعاون الخليجي إلى الواليات المتحدة األمريكية من‬ ‫ما نسبته ‪ % ٥٠‬إلى حوالي ‪ ٧٣٤,٠٠٠‬طن أو نسبة ‪٦٠‬‬ ‫‪ %‬من اإلجمالي‪.‬‬ ‫و على مستوى عالمي‪ ،‬فإن قطاع صناعة‬

‫األلمنيوم حاليا تبلي بشكل أفضل من الصلب‪،‬‬ ‫بجزء كبير ألن األلمنيوم ال يزال سوقا في طور‬ ‫التحسين‪ ،‬و مؤخرا ذكرت شركة اإلستشارات‬ ‫العالمية إستراتيجي &‪ ،‬في تحليل حديث " إن حجم‬ ‫مبيعات األلمنيوم قد نما بمعدل ضعف سرعة‬ ‫مبيعات الصلب بنسبة ‪ % ٨٢‬مقابل ‪ % ٤١‬على‬ ‫التوالي‪ ،‬من عام ‪ ٢٠٠٥‬و حتى ‪ .٢٠١٥‬كما نتوقع أن‬ ‫تزيد مبيعات األلمنيوم خالل السنوات العشر اآلتية‬ ‫بنسبة قدرها ‪ ،% ٥٠‬و هو ما يمثل معدل نمو سنوي‬ ‫قدره ‪ ، % ٤.١‬في حين أن إستهالك الصلب سوف‬ ‫ينمو بوتيرة أبطأ بكثير‪ ،‬بنسبة ‪ % ٢٤‬أو حوالي ‪% ٢.٢‬‬ ‫سنويا " كما يقول كو فاديس في التقرير المسمى ‘‬ ‫الصلب و األلمنيوم‘‪.‬‬ ‫و يتكهن الخبراء بأنه في العقود القادمة‪،‬‬ ‫سيستمر الطلب على األلمنيوم في اإلرتفاع‬ ‫بمعدالت مضاعفة‪ ،‬نظرا للتطورات التي بات‬ ‫يشهدها مجال صناعة السيارات‪ ،‬والتضخم المتسارع‬ ‫للمدن‪ ،‬و إستخدامات جديدة محتملة لأللمنيوم‬ ‫كبديل للنحاس في صناعة الطاقة‪ ،‬كل ذلك قد‬ ‫ضمن موقع األلمنيوم كمادة هيكلية رئيسية في‬ ‫المستقبل‪.‬‬

‫في األشهر التسعة األولى‬ ‫من عام ‪ ٢٠١٦‬إرتفعت‬ ‫شحنات قطع األلمنيوم ذات‬ ‫القيمة المضافة من دول‬ ‫مجلس التعاون الخليجي إلى‬ ‫الواليات المتحدة األمريكية‬ ‫من ما نسبته ‪ % ٥٠‬إلى‬ ‫حوالي ‪ ٧٣٤,٠٠٠‬طن أو نسبة‬ ‫‪ % ٦٠‬من اإلجمالي‪.‬‬ ‫و يشكل األلمنيوم ما نسبته أكثر من ‪% ٨‬‬ ‫من قشرة األرض‪ ،‬و هو ثالث أكثر عنصر شائع‬ ‫بعد األكسجين و السيليكون‪ .‬بسبب خصائصه‬ ‫المميزة مثل إنخفاض الوزن‪ ،‬القوة العالية‪ ،‬الليونة‬ ‫المتفوقة‪ ،‬سهولة القطع‪ ،‬مقاومة التآكل بشكل‬ ‫ممتاز‪ ،‬ذات توصيل حراري جيد‪ ،‬و لكل ما سلف‬ ‫فإن األلمنيوم هو الخيار األكثر جاذبية بشكل متزايد‬ ‫للعديد من التصاميم الصناعية التي تستفيد من‬ ‫مرونة األلمنيوم و قابليته للتطويع‪ ،‬مما يحسن من‬ ‫قدرة المعدات الثقيلة على الحركة‪ ،‬ألنه أكثر كثافة‬ ‫و بالتالي يسهل إستخدلمه للمركبات ذات الوزن‬ ‫األخف‪ ،‬و أيضا يقلل من حجم المواد المستخدمة‬ ‫في مشاريع البناء‪.‬‬ ‫توجهات مستجدة‬ ‫و قد سجل األلمنيوم نسبة نمو تقارب ال ‪% ٦‬‬ ‫كمعدل نمو سنوي متراكب من عام ‪ ٢٠٠٠‬و حتى‬ ‫‪ ،٢٠١٥‬متفوقا على مادة خام الحديد‪ ،‬و السوق‬ ‫العالمية للسلع األكثر رواجا‪ .‬كما من المتوقع أن‬ ‫يرتفع الطلب على األلمنيوم بنحو ‪ % ٤‬سنويا على‬ ‫مدى السنوات الخمس المقبلة‪ .‬أما بالنسبة لصناعة‬ ‫السيارات‪ ،‬فإن توقعات النمو السنوي تبلغ نسبة‬ ‫من‪ ١٠‬إلى‪ %٢٠‬ألن الشركات تفضل األلمنيوم على‬

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‫البنية التحتية ‪ +‬الصناعة | المعادن | ‪bq‬‬ ‫| ‪bq‬‬

‫مجلس التعاون الخليجي‬ ‫قطر‬

‫صناعة األلمنيوم تواجه تحدي‬ ‫الحفاظ على البيئة مستقبال‬ ‫من المعروف أن منتجي األلمنيوم في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي ينتجون األلمنيوم بالشكل‬ ‫األكثر إقتصادا‪ ،‬و قد برزوا كمصدرين هائلين للمعدن‪ .‬لكنهم باتوا اليوم يواجهون تحديا يتمثل‬ ‫بتلوث البيئة الناجم عن هذه الصناعة‪ ،‬بسبب محطاتهم التي تعمل بالطاقة الهيدروكربونية‪.‬‬ ‫بقلم‪ :‬دادا زيسيك بيفاك‬

‫يعد األلمنيوم المعدن الصناعي األسرع نموا في‬ ‫العالم‪ ،‬باحتالله المرتبة الثانية من حيث كميات‬ ‫اإلستهالك بين جميع المعادن و يتجاوزه الصلب‬ ‫فقط في المرتبة األولى‪ .‬ووفقا لإلحصاءات‬ ‫العالمية لأللمنيوم‪ ،‬فإن إنتاج األلمنيوم هو القطاع‬ ‫الرئيسي غير الهيدروكربوني في منطقة دول مجلس‬ ‫التعاون الخليجي‪ ،‬مما يجعله أكبر مساهم في إنتاج‬ ‫األلمنيوم العالمي بإستثناء الصين‪.‬‬ ‫و باإلضافة إلى تركيا و إيران‪ ،‬فقد إزدهر‬ ‫أعضاء دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي في أقل من‬ ‫عقدين‪ ،‬من كونهم من الالعبين الصغار نسبيا إلى‬ ‫متخصصين عالميين‪ ،‬و هي تمثل حاليا ما يقرب‬ ‫من ‪ % ٢٢‬من الناتج العالمي لأللمنيوم‪ ،‬حيث‬ ‫إرتفعت من أقل من نسبة ‪ % ٦‬في عام ‪ .٢٠٠٠‬و‬ ‫يشكل اإلنتاج ما نسبته ‪ % ١٠‬من إجمالي اإلنتاج‬ ‫العالمي‪ ،‬و نسبة ‪ % ٤٠‬منها تستخدمه صناعات‬ ‫األلمنيوم في الخليج‪ ،‬و يتم تصدير نسبة ‪% ٦٠‬‬

‫منها إلى أسواق مثل الواليات المتحدة و آسيا و‬ ‫اليابان و أوروبا‪.‬‬ ‫إرتفاع اإلستثمارات‬ ‫و في داخل دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي‪ ،‬توفر‬ ‫صناعة األلمنيوم فرص عمل مباشرة لحوالي‬ ‫‪ ١٢,٠٠٠‬شخص‪ ،‬كما و توفر العمالة الغير مباشرة‬ ‫فرص عمل ل‪ ٣٠,٠٠٠‬أشخاص آخرين‪ .‬كما و قد بلغ‬ ‫إجمالي إنتاج مادة األلمنيوم األولي في دول مجلس‬ ‫التعاون الخليجي‪ ،‬في كل من‪‘:‬إيجا‘ ( اإلمارات‬ ‫العربية المتحدة)‪‘ ،‬ألبا‘ (البحرين)‪ ‘ ،‬معادن‘ ألمنيوم‬ ‫(المملكة العربية السعودية)‪‘ ،‬كاتالوم‘ ( قطر) و‬ ‫‘صحار‘ ألمنيوم ( عمان)‪ ،‬ما مجموعه ‪٥.٢٢٩.١١٥‬‬ ‫طنا من األلمنيوم األولي في عام ‪ .٢٠١٦‬و في العام‬ ‫السابق‪ ،‬حيث أنتجت مصاهر األلمنيوم الخليجية‬ ‫‪ ٥.٢٧٤.٧٢٩‬طن‪ ،‬أي بزيادة نسبتها ‪ %٧‬عن عام ‪.٢٠١٤‬‬ ‫و من المتوقع أن ترتفع اإلستثمارات بصناعة‬

‫األلمنيوم في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي من‬ ‫حوالي ‪ ٥٠‬مليار دوالر أمريكي بحلول عام ‪،٢٠١٩‬‬ ‫حتى ‪ ٥٥‬مليار دوالر أمريكي بحلول عام ‪ ،٢٠١٩‬كما‬ ‫تظهر بيانات مجلس الخليج لأللمنيوم (غاك)‪ .‬و في‬ ‫عام ‪ ،٢٠١٦‬بلغت قيمة اإلستثمارات ‪ ٤٠‬مليار دوالر‬ ‫أمريكي‪ ،‬بينما تبلغ الطاقة اإلنتاجية الحالية حوالي‬ ‫‪ ٥.٥‬مليون طن سنويا‪ ،‬و التي تمثل ما نسبته ‪١٢‬‬ ‫‪ %‬من اإلنتاج العالمي‪ ،‬كما و تعتزم دول مجلس‬ ‫التعاون الخليجي زيادة إنتاجها من األلمنيوم إلىى‬ ‫‪ ٦‬ماليين طن سنويا بحلول عام ‪ ،٢٠٢٠‬عندما يبلغ‬ ‫الطلب العالمي المتوقع لأللمنيوم ما قيمته ‪٧٠‬‬ ‫مليون طن في العام الواحد‪.‬‬ ‫و في قطر‪ ،‬كان إنتاج األلمنيوم‪ ،‬مثل باقي المنطقة‪،‬‬ ‫قد عززته الطفرة الساحقة التي شهدها مجال البناء و‬ ‫التشييد‪.‬و هذه المادة برغم خفة وزنها‪ ،‬إال أنها ذات‬ ‫إستخدامات متعددة وواسعة‪ .‬حيث يستخدم بشكل‬ ‫أساسي في تصنيع السيارات‪ ،‬التغليف‪ ،‬و البناء‪،‬‬

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‫‪bq‬‬ ‫القصة الرئيسية | طاقة شمسية || ‪bq‬‬

‫إﺣﺼﺎﺋﻴﺎت‬ ‫ﻗﻄﺎع اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ‬ ‫ﻗﻄﺮ‬

‫‪ ٩‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر‬

‫ﻣﻦ أﺟﻞ اﻻﺳﺘﺜﻤﺎرات اﻟﻤﻄﻠﻮﺑﺔ ﻓﻲ‬ ‫ﻗﻄﺎع اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ ﺑﺤﻠﻮل ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠٢٠‬‬

‫‪ ١٣٫١‬ﺟﻴﺠﺎ واط‬ ‫ﻗﻴﻤﺔ اﻟﺰﻳﺎدة اﻟﻤﺨﻄﻄﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗﺪرة‬ ‫اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ ﺣﺘﻰ ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠١٨‬‬

‫‪ ٢٢‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر‬

‫أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻰ ﻗﻴﻤﺔ اﻻﺳﺘﺜﻤﺎرات اﻟﻤﺨﻄﻄﺔ‬ ‫ﻓﻲ ﺑﻨﻴﺔ اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ اﻟﺘﺤﺘﻴﺔ ﺣﺘﻰ ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠٢٠‬‬

‫‪ ٣٫٤‬ﺟﻴﺠﺎ واط ﻓﻲ ﻋﺎم‬ ‫‪ ٢٠١٠‬إﻟﻰ ‪ ١١‬ﺟﻴﺠﺎ واط‬ ‫ﻓﻲ ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠١٧‬‬ ‫ﻧﻤﺖ اﻟﻘﺪرة اﻟﻜﻠﻴﺔ ﻟﺘﻮﻟﻴﺪ اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ‬ ‫ﻟﺪوﻟﺔ ﻗﻄﺮ ﻣﻦ‬

‫ﺳﻴﺼﻞ اﻟﻄﻠﺐ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻜﻬﺮﺑﺎء إﻟﻰ ‪ ٤٦‬ﺗﻴﺮا‬ ‫واط ﺑﺎﻟﺴﺎﻋﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻋﺎم ‪ ٢٠٢٢‬ﻣﻘﺎرﻧﺔ ب ‪٣٦‬‬ ‫ﺗﻴﺮا واط ﺑﺎﻟﺴﺎﻋﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠١٥‬‬

‫اﻟﻬﺪف اﻟﻮﻃﻨﻲ‪:‬‬ ‫أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻰ ﻗﻴﻤﺔ اﻻﺳﺘﺜﻤﺎرات اﻟﻤﺨﻄﻄﺔ‬ ‫ﻓﻲ ﺑﻨﻴﺔ اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ اﻟﺘﺤﺘﻴﺔ ﺣﺘﻰ ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠٢٠‬‬

‫‪ ١٫٥‬ﻣﻠﻴﻮن ﺑﺮﻣﻴﻞ‬ ‫ﻣﻦ اﻟﻨﻔﻂ‬

‫ﻗﺪرة اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ اﻟﺸﻤﺴﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻨﺘﺠﺔ ﺳﻨﻮﻳﺎ ﻟﻜﻞ‬ ‫ﻛﻴﻠﻮ ﻣﺘﺮ ﻣﺮﻳﻊ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺘﺮﺑﺔ اﻟﻘﻄﺮﻳﺔ ﺗﻌﺎدل‬ ‫اﻟﻤﺼﺎدر‪ :‬أﺑﻴﻜﻮرب‪ ،‬ﻓﻴﻨﺘﺸﺮز أون ﺳﺎﻳﺖ‪،‬‬ ‫آﻳﺮﻳﻨﺎ‪ ،‬ﻛﻬﺮﻣﺎء‪ ،‬ﺑﻲ ﺑﻲ‬

‫سبتمبر ‪٢٠١٧‬‬ ‫‪September‬‬ ‫‪2017‬‬

‫و قد نمت مصادر الطاقة المتجددة في توليد الطاقة‬ ‫بنسبة ‪ % ٤٢‬و لكنها كانت تمثل ‪ % ٠,١‬فقط من حجم‬ ‫استهالك الطاقة األولية في عام ‪ ،٢٠١٦‬في حين‬ ‫أن توليد الطاقة بنسبة ‪ % ١.٩‬و هي أقل بكثير من‬ ‫متوسط ‪ ١٠‬سنوات بنسبة ‪ % ٥.٧‬في نفس الوقت‪،‬‬ ‫كانت حصة الوقود األحفوري في الطاقة األولية في‬ ‫المنطقة ‪ ،% ٩٩.٢‬و هي أعلى نسبة في أي منطقة‪،‬‬ ‫و هي أعلى بكثير من المتوسط العالمي الذي يبلغ‬ ‫‪.% ٨٥.٥‬‬

‫إن إمدادات الطاقة في‬ ‫قطر حاليا تصدر من خمسة‬ ‫مصانع و ثالث محطات‬ ‫ساتاليت في منطقة الدوحة‬ ‫و ما حولها‪ ،‬بطاقة إنتاجية‬ ‫يبلغ حجمها ‪ ٨.٨‬جيجا واط‪،‬‬ ‫في حين يبلغ حجم الطلب‬ ‫عليها حوالي ‪ ٨.٢‬جيجا واط‬ ‫و من المتوقع أن يزداد إجمالي عدد عقود‬ ‫المقاولين في مجال توليد الطاقة الكهربائية من‬ ‫‪ ٢٢.٣٨‬مليار دوالر أمريكي في عام ‪ ٢٠١٦‬حتى ‪٢٥.٥٢‬‬ ‫مليار دوالر أمريكي في عام ‪ .٢٠١٧‬و من المقدر‬ ‫أيضا أن تستثمر دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي ما‬ ‫قيمته ‪ ٢٥٢‬مليار دوالر أمريكي خالل الخمس سنوات‬ ‫القادمة في مشاريع إلنشاء محطات جديدة إلنتاج‬ ‫الطاقة‪ ،‬أنظمة التوزيع‪ ،‬و شبكات اإلمداد‪ .‬و كما ذكر‬ ‫مسبقا‪ ،‬فإن قطاع الطاقة في منطقة دول مجلس‬ ‫التعاون الخليجي سيتطلب قيمة إجمالية تبلغ ‪١٣٧‬‬

‫مليار دوالر أمريكي خالل السنوات الخمس القادمة‬ ‫لتوليد الطاقة و إلجراء البحوثات و التطوير‪ ،‬بينما‬ ‫تقدر آبيكورب بأن دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي‬ ‫سوف تضيف ‪ ٧٦.٨‬جيجا واط من القدرة على توليد‬ ‫الطاقة بين عامي ‪ ٢٠١٦‬و ‪.٢٠٢٠‬‬ ‫و يزداد معدل الطلب على الكهرباء للفرد‬ ‫الواحد في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي بمعدل‬ ‫أسرع من معدل النمو في معظم البلدان المتقدمة‬ ‫في العالم‪ ،‬ووفقا آليرينا‪’،‬الوكالة الدولية للطاقة‬ ‫المتجددة’ فإنه من المتوقع بأن يصل معدل‬ ‫إستهالك الكهرباء في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي‬ ‫إلى ‪ ٨٥٦‬تيرا بحلول عام ‪ ،٢٠٢٠‬األمر الذي سيحتاج‬ ‫إلى ما مقداره ‪ ١٠٠‬جيجا واط من الطاقة اإلضافية‬ ‫خالل العشر سنوات القادمة لتلبية الطلب‪ .‬و قد‬ ‫قدرت آيرينا بأن ما يقارب نسبة ‪ %٦٠‬من المساحة‬ ‫اإلجمالية لدول مجلس التعاون الخليجي لديها قدرة‬ ‫ممتازة على نشر الطاقة الشمسية الكهروضوئية‪ ،‬و‬ ‫التي يمكن من خالل تطوير نسبة ‪ ،% ١‬خلق ‪ ٤٧٠‬غيغا‬ ‫واط من الطاقة اإلضافية لتوليد الطاقة‪ .‬و بالنسبة‬ ‫لكامل منطقة الشرق األوسط و دول شمال أفريقيا‪،‬‬ ‫فقد قدرت آبيكورب بأنه في فترة مابين عام ‪٢٠١٧‬‬ ‫و حتى عام ‪ ،٢٠٢١‬ستحتاج المنطقة إلى أن تستثمر‬ ‫ما قيمته ‪ ٣٠٢‬مليار دوالر أمريكي في قطاع الطاقة‪،‬‬ ‫حيث سيستخدم منها ‪ ١٧٩‬مليار دوالر أمريكي من‬ ‫أجل إضافة ‪ ١٣٨‬غيغا واط من الطاقة المولدة‪ ،‬في‬ ‫حين ينبغي إستثمار القيمة الباقية في البحث و‬ ‫التطوير‪.‬‬ ‫و من المتوقع أيضا ارتفاع التعداد السكاني في‬ ‫المنطقة بمعدل نسبته ‪ % ٢‬للسنة الواحدة في تلك‬ ‫الفترة‪ .‬و من أجل تلبية الطلب المتزايد‪ ،‬تقول شركة‬ ‫آبيكورب أن مقدرة إنتاج الطاقة في منطقة الشرق‬ ‫األوسط و شمال أفريقيا سيتوجب عليها التوسع‬ ‫بمعدل قدره ‪ % ٧.٤‬سنويا في المتوسط بين عامي‬ ‫‪ ٢٠١٧‬و ‪ ،٢٠٢١‬و هو ما يتوافق مع قدرة إضافية تبلغ‬ ‫‪ ١٣٨‬غيغا واط‪.‬‬

‫‪55‬‬

‫القصة الرئيسية | طاقة شمسية | ‪bq‬‬ ‫| ‪bq‬‬

‫حيث أن قطر ذات موقع جيوغرافي ممتاز يخولها‬ ‫اإلستفادة القصوى من إمكانات الطاقة الشمسية‬ ‫الهائلة‪ ،‬ووفقا لمركز و شبكة تكنولوجيا المناخ‪،‬‬ ‫فإن إمكانيات الطاقة الشمسية السنوية لكل‬ ‫كيلومتر مربع من التربة القطرية تعادل ‪ ١.٥‬مليون‬ ‫برميل من النفط‪ .‬إن مستقبل الطاقة الشمسية‬ ‫بدأ يتطور بشكل ثابت ‪.‬‬ ‫محطات جديدة للطاقة الشمسية‬ ‫و العديد من المشاريع الكبيرة للطاقة المتجددة قد‬ ‫بدأت تتوضح مالمحها‪ :‬ففي وقت سابق هذا العام‪،‬‬ ‫أعلنت( كيستيك )‪ ،‬و هي مشروع مشترك بين‬ ‫شركة قطر للطاقة الشمسية ( و هي شركة تابعة‬ ‫لمؤسسة قطر)‪ ،‬و شركة سوالر وورلد األلمانية‪ ،‬و‬ ‫مصرف قطر للتنمية‪ ،‬عن إنتاج أول بولي سيليكون‬ ‫في مصنعها الجديد في رأس لفان‪ .‬البولي سيليكون‬ ‫هو شكل من أشكال السيليكون عالي النقاء و عنصر‬ ‫مكون رئيسي في مجموعة من التقنيات الضوئية‬ ‫الشمسية‪.‬و سوف يتوفر لدى هذا المصنع مقدرة‬ ‫إنتاج سنوية بمقدار ‪ ٨,٠٠٠‬طن و من المتوقع أن يبدأ‬ ‫عملية التصدير الحقا هذا العام‪ .‬و تملك المحطة‬ ‫مقدرة توليد طاقة شمسية بمقدار ‪ ١.١‬ميجا واط‬ ‫و مرافق لمعالجة الفائض إلعادة تدوير الغازات و‬ ‫المياه الفائضة‪ .‬و هذا األمر وفقا للمسؤولين‪ ،‬هو‬ ‫المرحلة األولى فحسب‪ ،‬و من المتوقع أن تواصل‬ ‫التقدم حتى تصل مع مرور الوقت إلى ‪ ٥٠,٠٠٠‬طن‬ ‫من البولي سيليكون فئة ‪ ،١‬عالية النقاء‪ .‬و تعتبر‬ ‫الطاقة الكهروضوئية الشمسية أكبر منطقة نمو في‬ ‫قطاع الطاقة‪ ،‬مع ارتفاع اإلستثمار بنسبة ‪ % ١١.٥‬إلى‬ ‫‪ ١٥٤.٤٣‬مليار دوالر أمريكي‪ ،‬وفقا لتوقعات صناعة‬ ‫الطاقة العالمية‪ ،‬فروست و سوليفان‪.‬‬

‫هذا و لم تشهد قطر بعد‪،‬‬ ‫كل ذروة الطلب من المرافق‬ ‫في مدى التحضيرات للفيفا‪،‬‬ ‫بطولة كأس العالم لكرة‬ ‫القدم‪ ،‬وتعتبر شركة قطر‬ ‫للكهرباء و الماء متقدمة جدا‬ ‫في تحسين القدرة المثبتة‬ ‫و أيضا‪ ،‬محطة الطاقة الشمسية ذات ال‪٢٠٠‬‬ ‫ميجا واط‪ ،‬و التي من المتوقع أن تصبح فعالة‬ ‫بشكل كامل بحلول عام ‪ ،٢٠٢٠‬تم تطويرها من قبل(‬ ‫سراج) للطاقة‪ ،‬و هي مشروع مشترك بين كهرماء و‬ ‫قطر للبترول‪ ،‬و التي قدمت مبلغ ‪ ٥٠٠‬مليون دوالر‬ ‫أمريكي في رأس المال لبدء المشروع‪ ،‬و هنالك‬ ‫بالفعل خطط مسبوقة للتوسع في قدرة المشروع‬ ‫حتى ‪ ٥٠٠‬ميغا واط‪ .‬و كذلك فإن هنالك تطورات‬ ‫على المنشآت الشمسية على السطح في وسط‬ ‫مدينة الدوحة‪ ،‬مدينة لوسيل‪ ،‬و مدينة الطاقة‪ ،‬و هو‬ ‫محور الطاقة المتكاملة التي يتم بناؤها بين مدينة‬ ‫لوسيل و العاصمة‪ ،‬في حين أن خمسة من إستادات‬ ‫كأس العالم لكرة القدم ‪ ٢٠٢٢‬قد ذكر أنها ستستخدم‬ ‫التقنيات الرائدة للتبريد بالطاقة الشمسية‪.‬‬ ‫و كجزء من إنشاء شبكة التيار الكهربائي ذات‬ ‫الجهد العالي‪ ،‬التي لديها القدرة على نقل و تسخير‬

‫إﺣﺼﺎﺋﻴﺎت‬ ‫ﻗﻄﺎع اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ‬ ‫دول ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺘﻌﺎون اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻲ‬

‫دول ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺘﻌﺎون‬ ‫اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻲ ﺗﻤﺜﻞ ‪ ٪٤٧‬أو‬ ‫‪ ١٤٨‬ﺟﻴﺠﺎ واط‬ ‫ﻗﺪرة ﺗﻮﻟﻴﺪ اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ اﻟﺤﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﻟﻤﻨﻄﻘﺔ‬ ‫اﻟﺸﺮق اﻷوﺳﻂ و دول ﺷﻤﺎل أﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﺎ‬

‫‪ ٣١٦‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر‬

‫أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ‪ ،‬ﻗﻴﻤﺔ اﻻﺳﺘﺜﻤﺎرات اﻟﻤﻄﻠﻮﺑﺔ ﻓﻲ‬ ‫ﻗﻄﺎع اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ ﺣﺘﻰ ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠٢٠‬‬

‫‪ ٣٢٠‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر‬

‫أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ‪ ،‬اﻟﻘﻴﻤﺔ اﻟﻜﻠﻴﺔ ﻟﻤﺸﺎرﻳﻊ اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ و‬ ‫ﻣﻨﻬﺎ أﻛﺜﺮ ﻣﻦ ‪ ١٠٠‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻرأﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﻗﻴﻤﺔ‬ ‫ﺗﺠﺪﻳﺪات و ﻣﺼﺎدر ﺑﺪﻳﻠﺔ‬ ‫ﺣﻮاﻟﻲ ‪ ٨٥‬إﻟﻰ ‪ ٪٩٠‬ﻣﺸﺎرﻳﻊ اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ اﻟﺘﺠﺪﻳﺪﻳﺔ‬ ‫ﺳﻴﺘﻢ ﺗﻮﻇﻴﻒ اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ اﻟﺸﻤﺴﻴﺔ ﻓﻴﻬﺎ‬ ‫ﻗﺪرة اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ ﻟﺪول ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺞ اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻲ‬ ‫ﺗﺤﺘﺎج إﻟﻰ اﻟﺘﻮﺳﻊ ﺑﻤﻌﺪل ﺳﻨﻮي ‪٪٨‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫وﺳﻄﻴﺎ ﺑﻴﻦ ﻋﺎم ‪ ٢٠١٦‬و ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠٢٠‬‬

‫ﺑﺤﺎﺟﺔ إﻟﻰ ‪١٣٧‬‬ ‫ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر‬

‫أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ )‪ ٨٥‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻرأﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﻣﻦ أﺟﻞ‬ ‫إﺿﺎﻓﺔ ‪ ٦٩‬ﺟﻴﺠﺎ واط ﻟﻘﺪرة اﻟﺘﻮﻟﻴﺪ و ‪٥٢‬‬ ‫ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻرأﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﻣﺨﺼﺼﺔ ﻟﻠﺒﺤﺚ و‬ ‫اﻟﺘﻄﻮﻳﺮ( ﻓﻲ دول ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺘﻌﺎون‬ ‫اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻲ ﺧﻼل اﻟﺴﻨﻮات اﻟﺨﻤﺴﺔ اﻟﻘﺎدﻣﺔ‬ ‫دول ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺘﻌﺎون اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻲ ﺳﺘﻀﻴﻒ‬ ‫‪ ٧٦٫٨‬ﺟﻴﺠﺎ واط ﻣﻦ ﻗﺪرة اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ اﻟﺘﻮﻟﻴﺪﻳﺔ‬ ‫ﺑﻴﻦ ﻋﺎﻣﻲ ‪ ٢٠١٦‬و ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠٢٠‬‬ ‫ﻳﺘﻮﻗﻊ أن ﻳﺼﻞ اﺳﺘﻬﻼك اﻟﻜﻬﺮﺑﺎء ﻓﻲ ﻣﻨﻄﻘﺔ‬ ‫دول ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺘﻌﺎون اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻲ إﻟﻰ ‪ ٨٥٦‬ﺗﻴﺮا‬ ‫واط ﺑﺎﻟﺴﺎﻋﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻋﺎم ‪ ٢٠٢٠‬ﺑﻤﺎ ﻳﺘﻄﻠﺐ ‪١٠٠‬‬ ‫ﺟﺒﺠﺎ واط إﺿﺎﻓﻴﺔ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ ﺧﻼل اﻟﺴﻨﻮات‬ ‫اﻟﻌﺸﺮ اﻟﻘﺎدﻣﺔ ﻟﻤﻘﺎﺑﻠﺔ ﻛﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻄﻠﺐ‬ ‫اﻟﻤﺼﺎدر‪ :‬أﺑﻴﻜﻮرب‪ ،‬ﻓﻴﻨﺘﺸﺮز أون ﺳﺎﻳﺖ‪،‬‬ ‫آﻳﺮﻳﻨﺎ‪ ،‬ﻛﻬﺮﻣﺎء‪ ،‬ﺑﻲ ﺑﻲ‬

‫كميات كبيرة من الكهرباء على إمتداد مسافات‬ ‫طويلة‪ ،‬قد توغلت كهرماء في عدة مشاريع أخرى‬ ‫في وقت واحد لتعزيز نظام نقلها‪ ،‬بما في ذلك‬ ‫تركيب الطاقة الشمسية في شبكة التوزيع و إدخال‬ ‫العدادات الذكية‪ .‬و مشروع الشبكة الذكية الشمسية‬ ‫مبادرة من مؤسسة قطر‪ ،‬هو أيضا أول مشروع يتم‬ ‫فيه منح الموافقة على إتصال الشبكة من كهرماء‪.‬‬ ‫ووفقا لتقديرات تقريبية للصناعة‪ ،‬فقد تمكنت‬ ‫الشبكة الذكية للطاقة الشمسية التابعة لمؤسسة‬ ‫قطر من توليد ما يصل إلى ‪ % ٨٥‬من مجموع اإلنتاج‬ ‫الكلي للطاقة الشمسية في قطر ‪ ،‬كما يقال في‬ ‫تقرير فينتشرز ‘‘ سوق الطاقة في مجلس التعاون‬ ‫الخليجي‘‘ ‪ .‬و يساهم مركز إدارة النفايات البلدية في‬ ‫مسيعيد إلى حد كبير في إمكانات الطاقة الحيوية‬ ‫في قطر‪ .‬و فيما يتعلق بطاقة الرياح‪ ،‬يقول الخبراء‬ ‫إن قطر لديها سرعة رياح معتدلة‪ ،‬و مناسبة لمولدات‬ ‫توربينات الرياح الصغيرة لضخ المياه أو إلنتاج‬ ‫الكهرباء في المواقع النائية‪ ،‬مثل المزارع المعزولة‪.‬‬

‫على الرغم من الجهود الكبيرة‬ ‫التي بذلت مؤخرا لزيادة حصة‬ ‫الطاقة المتجددة في الشرق‬ ‫األوسط‪ ،‬وفقا لمراجعة‬ ‫استعرضتها البريطانية‬ ‫اإلحصائية للبترول لعام‬ ‫‪ ،٢٠١٧‬و قد نمت مصادر‬ ‫الطاقة المتجددة في توليد‬ ‫الطاقة بنسبة ‪ % ٤٢‬و لكنها‬ ‫كانت تمثل ‪ % ٠,١‬فقط‬ ‫من حجم استهالك الطاقة‬ ‫األولية في عام ‪٢٠١٦‬‬ ‫الحاجة لمزيد من اإلستثمارات‬ ‫في منطقة دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي‪ ،‬تعد‬ ‫طاقة الرياح أقل وضوحا من الطاقة الشمسية‪،‬‬ ‫و لكن هنالك مشاريع في طاقة الرياح التي يجري‬ ‫اإلضطالع بها في الشرق القريب (و خاصة األردن)‬ ‫و شمال أفريقيا‪ ،‬حيث سرعة الرياح هي أكثر مالئمة‬ ‫إلنتاج الطاقة‪،‬إن الشعبية و القدرة التنافسية‬ ‫للطاقة المتجددة في منطقة الشرق األوسط و دول‬ ‫شمال أفريقيا قد ارتفعت أيضا بسبب اإلنخفاض‬ ‫الدراماتيكي في أسعار األنظمة الشمسية‪ .‬و قد‬ ‫إنخفضت تكلفة تركيب محطات توليد الطاقة‬ ‫الكهروضوئية الشمسية من حوالي ‪ ٧‬للواط الواحد‬ ‫في عام ‪ ٢٠١٤‬إلى أقل من ‪ ١.٥٠‬للواط الواحد في‬ ‫عام ‪ ،٢٠١٤‬و الذي يوصل إلى خفض التكاليف بنسبة‬ ‫أكثر من ‪ .% ٧٥‬و هذا يعني أنه يمكن بناء مصنع أكبر‬ ‫بأربعة أضعاف من نفس محطة الطاقة الشمسية‬ ‫الكهروضوئية ذات ال ‪ ١٠‬ميغا واط في عام ‪٢٠٠٨‬‬ ‫اليوم دون تكبد عناء تكلفة إضافية‪ .‬و على الرغم‬ ‫من الجهود الكبيرة التي بذلت مؤخرا لزيادة حصة‬ ‫الطاقة المتجددة في الشرق األوسط‪ ،‬وفقا لمراجعة‬ ‫استعرضتها البريطانية اإلحصائية للبترول لعام ‪،٢٠١٧‬‬

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‫‪bq‬‬ ‫القصة الرئيسية | طاقة شمسية || ‪bq‬‬

‫إﺣﺼﺎﺋﻴﺎت‬ ‫ﻗﻄﺎع اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ‬ ‫ﻣﻨﻄﻘﺔ اﻟﺸﺮق اﻷوﺳﻂ و دول‬ ‫ﺷﻤﺎل أﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﺎ‬

‫ﻣﻦ ال ‪ ٦٢٢‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر‬ ‫أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ اﻟﻤﺨﻄﻄﺔ‬ ‫ﻟﻼﺳﺘﺜﻤﺎر‬ ‫ﻳﻮﺟﺪ ‪ ٢٠٧‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﻟﻘﻄﺎع‬ ‫اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ و ‪ ١٩٥‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﻟﻘﻄﺎع‬ ‫اﻟﻨﻔﻂ و ‪ ١٥٩‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﻟﻘﻄﺎع‬ ‫اﻟﻐﺎز و ‪ ٦١‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎردوﻻر أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﻟﻠﻜﻴﻤﺎوﻳﺎت‬

‫‪ ١٧٤‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر‬ ‫دوﻻر أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ‬

‫ﺣﺼﺔ دول ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﺘﻌﺎون اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻲ )أﻛﺜﺮ‬ ‫ﻣﻦ ‪ (٪٥٠‬ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﺠﻤﻮع اﻟﻜﻠﻲ‬ ‫ﻟﻼﺳﺘﺜﻤﺎرات اﻟﻤﺨﺼﺼﺔ ﻟﻤﻨﻄﻘﺔ اﻟﺸﺮق‬ ‫اﻷوﺳﻂ و دول ﺷﻤﺎل أﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﺎ‬

‫اﻟﺘﺠﺪﻳﺪات ﻓﻲ ﺗﻮﻟﻴﺪ اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ ﻧﻤﺖ‬ ‫ﺑﻤﻘﺪار ‪ ٪٤٢‬و ﻟﻜﻦ ﺗﻢ اﺣﺘﺴﺎب ‪٪٠٫١‬‬ ‫ﻓﻘﻂ ﻣﻦ اﻻﺳﺘﻬﻼك اﻟﺮﺋﻴﺴﻲ‬ ‫ﻟﻠﻄﺎﻗﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻋﺎم ‪٢٠١٦‬‬

‫ﺗﻮﻟﻴﺪ اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ ازداد‬ ‫ﺑﻨﺴﺒﺔ ‪٪١٫٩‬‬ ‫و ﻫﻮ أﻗﻞ ﻣﻦ ﻣﺘﻮﺳﻂ اﻟﻌﺸﺮ‬ ‫ﺳﻨﻮات ‪٪٥٫٧‬‬

‫ﺣﺼﺔ اﻟﻮﻗﻮد اﻷﺣﻔﻮري ﻓﻲ ﺳﻮق‬ ‫اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ اﻟﺮﺋﻴﺴﺔ ﻟﻠﺸﺮق اﻷوﺳﻂ‬ ‫ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ‪ ،٪٩٩٫٢‬اﻷﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﻦ ﺗﻠﻚ ﻓﻲ أي‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ﺗﻤﺎﻣﺎ ﻣﻦ‬ ‫ﻣﻨﻄﻘﺔ أﺧﺮى و ﻫﻲ أﻋﻠﻰ‬ ‫اﻟﻤﺘﻮﺳﻂ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻲ اﻟﻤﻘﺪر ب ‪٪٨٥٫٥‬‬ ‫اﻟﻤﺼﺎدر‪ :‬أﺑﻴﻜﻮرب‪ ،‬ﻓﻴﻨﺘﺸﺮز أون ﺳﺎﻳﺖ‪،‬‬ ‫آﻳﺮﻳﻨﺎ‪ ،‬ﻛﻬﺮﻣﺎء‪ ،‬ﺑﻲ ﺑﻲ‬

‫سبتمبر ‪٢٠١٧‬‬ ‫‪September‬‬ ‫‪2017‬‬

‫إمكانات هائلة‬ ‫في الوقت الحالي‪ ،‬تلقى الطاقة المتجددة رواجا‬ ‫عبر الشرق األوسط مرة أخرى‪ ،‬مع كون بلدان‬ ‫المنطقة ملتزمون بشكل ملحوظ بزيادة كبيرة في‬ ‫إنتاج الطاقة من خالل الموارد المتجددة و البديلة‪ .‬و‬ ‫في دراسة أجراها معهد أكسفورد لدراسات الطاقة‪،‬‬ ‫قدرت بأن الطاقة الشمسية في دول مجلس‬ ‫التعاون الخليجي قادرة على إنتاج أكثر ب‪ ٣٠٠‬مرة من‬ ‫معدل إستهالكهم الحالي للكهرباء‪ ،‬و أكثر ب‪ ٣٤‬مرة‬ ‫من إجمالي الطلب على الطاقة‪.‬‬ ‫و أشار تقرير فينتشرز بعنوان ' سوق الطاقة‬ ‫لدول مجلس التعاون الخليجي ‪ ' ٢٠١٧‬إلى أن الطاقة‬ ‫اإلنتاجية لدول مجلس التعاون الخليجي تحتاج إلى‬ ‫التوسع بمعدل سنوي متوسط و قدره ‪ % ٨‬بين‬ ‫عامي ‪ ٢٠١٦‬و ‪ ، ٢٠٢٠‬مضيفا أن المنطقة ستحتاج‬ ‫إلى ‪ ٨٥‬مليار دوالر إلضافة ‪ ٦٩‬جيجا واط من قدرة‬ ‫التوليد و إلى ‪ ٥٢‬مليار دوالر أخرى لنقلها و توزيعها‬ ‫على مدى السنوات الخمس المقبلة‪.‬‬ ‫و تواجه دولة قطر مثل باقي دول مجلس‬ ‫التعاون الخليجي‪ ،‬صعوبات و تحديات لمواكبة‬ ‫و تلبية الطلب المتزايد على الكهرباء مع مراعاة‬ ‫تخفيض نسبة إنبعاثات الهيدروكربونات السامة في‬ ‫الوقت ذاته‪ .‬ويحتاج البلد استثمارا بقيمة ‪ ٩‬مليار‬ ‫دوالر أمريكي في قطاع الطاقة لديه من العام ‪٢٠١٦‬‬ ‫و حتى عام ‪ ،٢٠٢٠‬بينما من المتوقع أن ترتفع قدرة‬ ‫توليد الطاقة في قطر بما نسبته ‪ % ٥٠‬في العامين‬ ‫القادمين‪ ،‬مع وجود خطط لرفع المقدرة اإلنتاجية‬ ‫للطاقة حتى ‪ ١٣.١‬جيجا وات بحلول عام ‪ ،٢٠١٨‬وفقا‬ ‫لما ذكره تقرير فينتشرز‪.‬‬ ‫إن إمدادات الطاقة في قطر حاليا تصدر من‬ ‫خمسة مصانع و ثالث محطات ساتاليت في منطقة‬ ‫الدوحة و ما حولها‪ ،‬بطاقة إنتاجية يبلغ حجمها ‪٨.٨‬‬ ‫جيجا واط‪ ،‬في حين يبلغ حجم الطلب عليها حوالي‬ ‫‪ ٨.٢‬جيجا وات‪ .‬غير أن الطلب آخذ في النمو بشكل‬ ‫ثابت‪ .‬كما و قد بلغت أعلى ذروة للطلب على‬ ‫الكهرباء في عام ‪ ٢٠١٥‬ما مقداره ‪ ٧,٠٠٠‬ميجا واط‪،‬‬ ‫أما بالنسبة للماء فقد بلغت ‪٣٣٠‬م جالون في اليوم‬ ‫الواحد‪ .‬ومن المتوقع أن يزيد هذا الرقم بنسبة ‪٦‬‬ ‫إلى ‪ % ٨‬وفقا لبيانات أصدرتها شركة قطر للكهرباء‬ ‫و الماء (كهرماء)‪ ،‬ما بين عامي ‪ ٢٠٠٦‬و ‪ ،٢٠١٦‬و قد‬ ‫سجلت نسبة استهالك الطاقة و المياه معدل نمو‬ ‫سنوي متوسط بلغت ‪ % ١٠.٤‬و ‪ % ٧.٧‬على التوالي‪.‬‬ ‫و مع إستكمال المشاريع الجارية‪ ،‬و التي تشمل‬ ‫محطة أم الحول‪ ،‬فإنه من المتوقع أن يفوق حجم‬ ‫القدرة المركبة ‪ ١١,٠٠٠‬ميجا واط من الكهرباء و ‪ ٤٩٠‬م‬ ‫غالون إمبريالي يوميا من الماء بحلول نهاية ‪ .٢٠١٨‬و‬ ‫بموقعها على بعد ‪ ١٥‬كم جنوب الدوحة‪ ،‬بين مدينتي‬ ‫الوكرة و مسيعيد‪ ،‬فإن قيمة محطة أم الحول تقدر‬ ‫ب‪ ٣.١‬مليار دوالر أمريكي‪ ،‬و بذلك ستكون أكبر‬ ‫محطات البلد و من المتوقع أن تكون ضمن أضخم‬ ‫المحطات في الشرق األوسط‪ .‬كما بدأت أعمال‬ ‫البناء في الربع الثالث من عام ‪ ٢٠١٥‬و يتوقع اإلنتهاء‬ ‫منها في الربع الثالث من عام ‪ .٢٠١٨‬و ما إن تبلغ‬ ‫المحطة القدرة الكاملة‪ ،‬فستصبح قادرة على إنتاج‬ ‫‪ ٢.٥٢٠‬ميجا واط من الطاقة‪ ،‬و الذي يمثل ما نسبته‬ ‫‪ % ٢٣‬تقريبا من حاجة قطر للطاقة‪ ،‬و تماشيا مع‬ ‫خطة ثانية في منطقة رأس لفان‪ ،‬مما سيضيف ‪٤.٥‬‬ ‫جيجا واط من الطاقة على المدى المتوسط‪.‬‬ ‫نمو القدرات‬ ‫و تشمل المشاريع الكبيرة األخرى المرحلة الثالثة‬ ‫عشرة من نظام نقل الطاقة الكهربائية في شركة‬

‫كهرماء بقيمة ‪٢.٢٧‬مليار دوالر‪ ،‬و التي يتم منحها‬ ‫لمختلف الشركات المحلية و العالمية‪ .‬و بموجب‬ ‫مشروع إنشاء ‪ ٧٧‬محطة فرعية‪ ،‬ووضع كابالت‬ ‫إضافية عالية الجهد تبلغ ‪ ٤٥٣.٣‬كم لتوسيع شبكة‬ ‫النقل في قطر‪ .‬و من المتوقع أن يتم اإلنتهاء منه‬ ‫في الربع الرابع من عام ‪ ،٢٠١٨‬و ستغطي أعماله‬ ‫العديد من المشاريع السكنية القادمة عبر الدوحة‬ ‫و أحيائها‪ ،‬باإلضافة إلى المواقع اإلقتصادية تحت‬ ‫مناطق‪ ،‬المالعب‪ ،‬و مراكز األعمال‪ ،‬و مشاريع‬ ‫المستشفيات‪ ،‬و المدارس‪ .‬أما المرحلة ‪ ١٢‬من‬ ‫المشروع نفسه‪ ،‬و التي تقدر بنحو ‪ ١.٧‬مليار دوالر‬ ‫أمريكي‪ ،‬قد قد دخلت على الخط في الربع الثالث من‬ ‫عام ‪ ،٢٠١٥‬و من المتوقع أن تنتهي في الربع األخير‬ ‫من عام ‪.٢٠١٧‬‬ ‫‘‘هذا و لم تشهد قطر بعد‪ ،‬كل ذروة الطلب‬ ‫من المرافق في مدى التحضيرات للفيفا‪ ،‬بطولة‬ ‫كأس العالم لكرة القدم‪ ،‬وتعتبر شركة قطر للكهرباء‬ ‫و الماء متقدمة جدا في تحسين القدرة المثبتة‪ ،‬و‬ ‫الذي يتأتى من المحافظة الدائمة على فائض من‬ ‫الذروة الفعلية للطلب‪ ‘‘،‬كما يذكر تقرير فينتشرز‪،‬‬ ‫مضيفا بأن بأنه لطالما كان قطاع الطاقة هدفا‬ ‫رئيسيا وعامل جذب لإلستثمار من قبل الحكومة‬ ‫القطرية‪ ،‬مع كونها تخطط لتستثمر مبلغ ‪ ٢٢‬مليار‬ ‫دوالر أمريكي في البنية التحتية لطاقتها ( بما في‬ ‫ذلك المياه) حتى عام ‪.٢٠٢٠‬‬

‫المنطقة ستحتاج إلى ‪٨٥‬‬ ‫مليار دوالر إلضافة ‪٦٩‬‬ ‫جيجاوات من قدرة التوليد‬ ‫و إلى ‪ ٥٢‬مليار دوالر أخرى‬ ‫لنقلها و توزيعها على مدى‬ ‫السنوات الخمس المقبلة‪.‬‬ ‫ووفقا لبيانات ذكرتها شركة التحليل البريطانية‬ ‫ماكينزي‪ ،‬فإن إجمالي قدرة قطر على توليد الطاقة‬ ‫قد تنامت من معدل ‪ ٣.٤‬جيجا واط في عام ‪،٢٠١٠‬‬ ‫وحتى ‪ ١١‬جيجا واط في عام ‪ ٢٠١٧‬نسبة إلرتفاع‬ ‫الطلب على الكهرباء من قبل القطاع الصناعي و‬ ‫السكني‪ .‬وقد قدروا أيضا بأنه من المرجح أن يبلغ‬ ‫الطلب على الكهرباء في قطر ‪ ٤٦‬تيرا واط ساعية‬ ‫على األقل في عام ‪ ،٢٠٢٢‬مقارنة ب‪ ٣٦‬تيرا واط‬ ‫ساعية في عام ‪ .٢٠١٥‬و قد أظهرت بيانات نشرت‬ ‫من قبل الوكالة العالمية للطاقة المتجددة (آيرينا)‬ ‫بأن إستهالك الغاز المحلي في قطر قد ارتفع‬ ‫بالفعل بنسبة ‪ % ٨٠‬في السنوات الخمس الماضية‬ ‫لتلبية الطلب المتزايد على الطاقة و المياه‪ ،‬مع‬ ‫وجود محطات تحلية المياه الهيدروكربونية و التي‬ ‫تلبي نسبة ‪ % ٨٧‬من إحتياجات المياه العذبة‪.‬‬ ‫و مع التوقع بالمزيد من اإلرتفاع في الطلب‬ ‫الكلي على الطاقة‪ ،‬فإن قطر تبحث عن الحل في‬ ‫الطاقة المتجددة‪ ,‬و يحدد هدف البلد الجماعي‬ ‫بشكل ثابت بنسبة ‪ % ٢٠‬من مساهمة الطاقة‬ ‫المتجددة في إنتاج الكهرباء بحلول عام ‪،٢٠٣٠‬‬ ‫حيث تسعى الحكومة إلى توليد ‪ ١.٨‬غيغا واط من‬ ‫الطاقة المركبة في عام ‪ ٢٠٢٠‬و ‪ ١٠‬غيغا واط في عام‬ ‫‪ ٢٠٣٠‬من توليد الطاقة الشمسية و طاقة الرياح‪.‬و‬

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‫القصة الرئيسية | الطباعة و التغليف | ‪bq‬‬ ‫| ‪bq‬‬

‫إﺣﺼﺎﺋﻴﺎت‬ ‫ﻗﻄﺎع اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ‬ ‫ﻣﻨﻄﻘﺔ اﻟﺸﺮق اﻷوﺳﻂ و دول‬ ‫ﺷﻤﺎل أﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﺎ‬

‫ﻫﻨﺎﻟﻚ ﺣﺎﺟﺔ إﻟﻰ‬ ‫‪ ٣٠٢‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر‬

‫دوﻻر أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﻣﻦ اﻻﺳﺘﺜﻤﺎرات ﻓﻲ ﻗﻄﺎع‬ ‫اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ ﺣﺘﻰ ﻋﺎم ‪ ١٧٩) ٢٠٢١‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر‬ ‫دوﻻرأﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﻣﻨﻬﺎ ﺗﺘﻌﻠﻖ ﺑﺎل ‪ ١٣٨‬ﺟﻴﺠﺎ‬ ‫واط ﻣﻦ ﻗﺪرة اﻟﺘﻮﻟﻴﺪ‪،‬و ‪ ١٢٣‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر‬ ‫)ﻣﺨﺼﺼﺔ ﻟﻠﺒﺤﺚ و اﻟﺘﻄﻮﻳﺮ‬ ‫ﺳﺘﺤﺘﺎج ﻗﺪرة اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ ﻟﻤﻨﻄﻘﺔ اﻟﺸﺮق‬ ‫اﻷوﺳﻂ و دول ﺷﻤﺎل أﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﺎ أن ﺗﺰداد‬ ‫ً‬ ‫وﺳﻄﻴﺎ ﻛﻞ ﻋﺎم ﺑﻴﻦ ‪ ٢٠١٧‬و‬ ‫ب ‪٪٧٫٤‬‬ ‫‪٢٠٢١‬و اﻟﺬي ﻳﺘﻮاﻓﻖ ﻣﻊ ﻃﺎﻗﺔ إﺿﺎﻓﻴﺔ‬ ‫ل ‪ ١٣٨‬ﺟﻴﺠﺎ واط‬

‫‪ ٩٧‬ﺟﻴﺠﺎ واط‬

‫ً‬ ‫أﺳﺎﺳﺎ ﻓﻲ‬ ‫ﻣﻦ ﻗﺪرة اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ ﻫﻲ‬ ‫ﻣﺮﺣﻠﺔ اﻟﺘﻨﻔﻴﺬ‬

‫ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ﺗﻘﺮﻳﺒﺎ‬ ‫‪،‬أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ‬

‫ﻫﻲ اﻟﻘﻴﻤﺔ اﻟﺘﻘﺪﻳﺮﻳﺔ ﻟﺠﻤﻴﻊ‬ ‫اﻻﺳﺘﺜﻤﺎرات ﻟﻠﻄﺎﻗﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻨﻄﻘﺔ‬ ‫اﻟﺸﺮق اﻷوﺳﻂ و دول ﺷﻤﺎل‬ ‫أﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﺎ )‪ ٣٣٧‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﺗﻢ‬ ‫ﺗﺨﺼﻴﺼﻬﺎ ﻟﻤﺸﺎرﻳﻊ ﺗﺤﺖ اﻟﺘﻨﻔﻴﺬ‬ ‫ﻓﻲ ﻧﻬﺎﻳﺔ ﻋﺎم ‪ ،٢٠١٦‬ﻓﻲ ﺣﻴﻦ أن ‪٦٢٢‬‬ ‫ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﻗﻴﻤﺔ اﻟﺘﻄﻮﻳﺮ‬ ‫ﻫﻲ ﻓﻲ ﻣﺮﺣﻠﺔ اﻟﺘﺨﻄﻴﻂ‬

‫ﻣﻦ ال ‪ ٣٣٧‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر‬ ‫أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ اﻟﻤﺨﺼﺼﺔ‬ ‫ﻟﻼﺳﺘﺜﻤﺎر ﻳﻮﺟﺪ ‪ ١٢١‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ‬ ‫ﻟﻘﻄﺎع اﻟﻨﻔﻂ و ‪ ١٠٨‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ‬ ‫ﻟﻘﻄﺎع اﻟﻐﺎز و ‪ ٩١‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر أﻣﺮﻳﻜﻰ‬ ‫ﻟﻠﻄﺎﻗﺔ و ‪ ١٧‬ﻣﻠﻴﺎر دوﻻر أﻣﻴﺮﻛﻲ‬ ‫ﻟﻠﻜﻴﻤﺎوﻳﺎت‬ ‫اﻟﻤﺼﺎدر‪ :‬أﺑﻴﻜﻮرب‪ ،‬ﻓﻴﻨﺘﺸﺮز أون ﺳﺎﻳﺖ‪،‬‬ ‫آﻳﺮﻳﻨﺎ‪ ،‬ﻛﻬﺮﻣﺎء‪ ،‬ﺑﻲ ﺑﻲ‬

‫‪bq-magazine.com‬‬

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‫‪bq‬‬ ‫القصة الرئيسية | الطباعة و التغليف || ‪bq‬‬

‫مجلس التعاون الخليجي‬

‫تماشيا مع زيادة الطلب و‬ ‫اإلستهالك الكبير للطاقة‬ ‫حاليا‪ ،‬دول مجلس التعاون‬ ‫الخليجي ‪ ،‬تتحول نحو‬ ‫إنتاج الطاقة الشمسية‬ ‫تتشير التقديرات إلى أنه إذا قامت بلدان مجلس التعاون الخليجي‬ ‫بإستغالل الطاقة الشمسية إلى الحد األقصى‪،‬فستتمكن من‬ ‫مضاعفة إنتاجها ‪ ٣٠٠‬مرة عن إستهالكها الحالي للكهرباء و ‪ ٣٤‬مرة‬ ‫من إجمالي الطلب على الطاقة‪.‬‬ ‫بقلم‪ :‬دادا زيسيك بيفاك‬

‫في أقل من عقد‪ ،‬شهدت بيئة الطاقة في منطقة‬ ‫الشرق األوسط تغيرا ملحوظا‪ .‬فلم تعد المنطقة‬ ‫مجرد مصدر تزويد عالمي للطاقة‪ ،‬و لكنها كذلك‬ ‫باتت مكانا تتطلب فيه الطاقة بشكل كبير‪ .‬إن معرفة‬ ‫أن مخزون الوقود األحفوري لن يدوم لألبد‪ ،‬قد أدى‬ ‫إلى تزايد في التنويع باإلقتصادات المحلية‪ ،‬األمر‬ ‫الذي أدى بدوره إلى ارتفاع في معدالت الدخل و‬ ‫طفرة سكانية‪ .‬و هكذا ارتفع الطلب على الطاقة في‬ ‫المنطقة ارتفاعا كبيرا‪.‬‬ ‫وفقا ل أبيكورب ‪ ، APICORP‬الشركة العربية‬ ‫لإلستثمارات البترولية‪ ،‬فإن إنتاج دول مجلس‬ ‫التعاون الخليجي يمثل ما نسبته ‪ % ٤٧‬أي ما تعادل‬ ‫قيمته ‪ ١٤٨‬غيغا واط من إجمالي اإلنتاج الحالي‬ ‫للطاقة المولدة في منطقة الشرق األوسط و دول‬ ‫شمال أفريقيا‪ ،‬لكن من الواضح أنها نسبة غير‬ ‫كافية‪ .‬و قد سارعت الحكومات‪ ،‬خاصة في دول‬ ‫مجلس التعاون الخليجي الغنية بالغاز و النفط‪ ،‬إلى‬ ‫إدراك تداعيات و مخاطر حرق و استنزاف الموارد‬ ‫الهيدروكربونية الثمينة و القيمة من أجل تلبية‬

‫سبتمبر ‪٢٠١٧‬‬ ‫‪September‬‬ ‫‪2017‬‬

‫اإلستهالك المحلي المتزايد للطاقة‪ ،‬األمر الذي‬ ‫سيؤدي في النهاية إلى إعاقة الصادرات‪ .‬و لذا فإن‬ ‫دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي بدأت تحول تركيزها‬ ‫تدريجيا نحو إنتاج متجدد و بديل للطاقة‪.‬‬ ‫و بالرغم من هذا اإلدراك‪ ،‬فإنه و حتى صدمة‬ ‫الهبوط الذي شهدته أسعار النفط في عام ‪،٢٠١٤‬‬ ‫كان موضوع الطاقة المتجددة‪ ،‬مجرد مشروع عند‬ ‫قلة من المتحمسين للفكرة‪ ،‬و ليس إلتزاما جديا‪.‬‬ ‫غير أنه مع اإلعتقاد السائد بأن األسعار لن ترتفع‬ ‫بشكل سحري في أي وقت قريب إلى ‪ ١٠٠‬دوالر‬ ‫للبرميل الواحد‪ ،‬إضطرت الحكومات المحلية إلى‬ ‫اتباع سياسة شد الحزام‪ ،‬و إحدى اإلجراءات المبكرة‬ ‫كانت التخفيضات واإللغاءات لكمية ال يستهان بها‬ ‫من دعم الطاقة في أسعار الوقود و الكهرباء في‬ ‫المنطقة‪ .‬ووفقا لبيانات صادرة عن البنك الدولي‪،‬‬ ‫فقد أنفق أعضاء دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي ما‬ ‫يزيد على ‪ ١٦٠‬مليار دوالر أمريكي بمعدل سنوي‬ ‫على دعم الطاقة‪ ،‬أي ما يعادل نسبة‪ % ١٠‬من‬ ‫إجمالي الناتج المحلي‪.‬‬

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‫في هذا العدد | ‪bq‬‬ ‫| ‪bq‬‬

‫في هذا العدد‬ ‫سبتمبر ‪ - ٢٠١٧‬العدد السابع واألربعون‬

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‫موضوع الغالف‬

‫‪Business in Qatar and beyond‬‬

‫"قطــر والعالــم"‬ ‫تصــدر عــن شــركة جلــف ســتار جروب‬ ‫صنــدوق بريــد‪ – 19177 :‬الدوحــة – قطــر‬ ‫هاتــف‪+974 4491 3761 :‬‬ ‫فاكــس‪+974 4491 3778 :‬‬ ‫موقعنــا اإللكترونــي‪www.bq-magazine.com :‬‬

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‫تماشــيا مــع زيــادة الطلب و‬ ‫اإلســتهالك الكبيــر للطاقــة حاليــا‪ ،‬دول‬ ‫مجلــس التعــاون الخليجــي ‪ ،‬تتحــول‬ ‫نحــو إنتــاج الطاقة الشمســية‬ ‫البنيةالتحتية‪+‬الصناعة‬

‫لقاءات قطر والعالم‬

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‫صناعة األلمنيوم تواجه تحدي الحفاظ‬ ‫على البيئة مستقبال‬

‫معايير متطورة ألصحاب اإلعالنات‬

‫الناشــر‪ :‬شــركة جلــف ســتار جروب‬ ‫رئيــس مجلــس اإلدارة‪ :‬محمــد منصــور راشــد الخاطــر‬ ‫العضــو المنتــدب‪ :‬بــي‪ .‬كــي‪ .‬عبــد اللــه‬ ‫مديــر األعمــال‪ :‬نافيــد عبــد اللــه‬ ‫رئيــس التحريــر‪ :‬ايــه‪ .‬كــي‪ .‬فيجيــه‬ ‫المراســلون (قطــر)‪ :‬قديــزا بيجــم ‪ -‬دادا بيفاتــس‬ ‫المراســلون (دول مجلــس التعــاون)‪ :‬رابيــن جوبتــا‬ ‫مســؤول تســويق رقمــي‪ :‬عــا أحمــد دياب‬ ‫المصمــم‪ :‬ماركــس أمانتــي‬ ‫مصمــم الغــاف‪ :‬ماركــس أمانتــي‬ ‫الترجمــة‪ :‬رانيــة محمــد نــادر ظاظــا‬ ‫التصويــر الضوئــي‪ :‬بوســكو مينيزيــس‪،‬‬ ‫لالستفســارات المتعلقــة بالتحريــر‬ ‫المجلــة‪editor@bqdoha.com :‬‬ ‫إلرســال البيانــات الصحفيــة‪rabin@bqdoha.com :‬‬ ‫مديــر اإلعــان والتســويق‪ :‬بوســكو مينيزيــس‬ ‫تنفيــذي تســويق‪ :‬محمــد ابراهيــم‬ ‫بريــد إلكترونــي‪bmenezes@bqdoha.com :‬‬ ‫هاتــف‪+974 5534 0297 :‬‬ ‫توزيــع‪ :‬ســتار هوســبيتاليتي‬ ‫هاتــف‪+974 4491 3761 :‬‬ ‫لالشــتراكات واالستفســارات العامــة‬ ‫نرجــو التواصــل علــى البريــد اإللكترونــي‪:‬‬ ‫‪reachus@bqdoha.com‬‬ ‫او هاتــف‪+974 4491 3761 :‬‬ ‫او فاكــس‪+974 4491 3778 :‬‬ ‫مســؤول التوزيــع‪ :‬شــركة ســتار هوســبيتاليتي‬ ‫المجلــة تُ طبــع فــي مطابــع‪ :‬مطابــع الرايــه‬ ‫يمكنــك شــراء نســختك الشــهرية مــن مجلــة "بــي كيــو"‬ ‫مــن جميــع المكتبــات واألســواق والفنــادق فــي دولــة قطــر‪.‬‬

‫جميع الحقوق محفوظة للناشر‪ .‬المجلة تملكها وتديرها شركة جلف‬ ‫ستار للنشر التابعة لمجموعة جلف ستار جروب‪ .‬ال يجوز نسخ أو إعادة‬ ‫طباعة أو تسويق أي جزء من محتويات المجلة دون موافقة كتابية من‬ ‫الناشر‪ .‬ويحظر على أي فرد أو جهة استخدام العالمة التجارية للمجلة‬ ‫أو الشركة دون إذن من الناشر‪ .‬وال تتحمل شركة جلف ستار للنشر‬ ‫أي مسؤولية عن األخطاء التحريرية غير المقصودة أو المواد التحريرية‬ ‫التابعة للغير‪ .‬جميع الصور غير المنسوبة تستخدم بترخيص من‬ ‫موقع شاترستوك‪ .‬يتم حجب او تغيير اسماء و هويات االشخاص فى‬ ‫المقاالت لحماية هوياتهم‪.‬‬

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