2. Content
• Location
• People and culture
• Business Etiquette
• Economic legal and political system
• Opportunities and risks of doing business
• Ease of doing business
4. People and Culture
● Geography: Qatar is a small country.
o Approximately 11,586 square kilometers
● ranked 166 in the world.
o Comparing to US, it is slightly smaller than Connecticut.
● Weather: arid but mild, pleasant winters but very hot summers.
● Food: Qatar’s cuisine has been influenced by close links to Iran and India as well as Muslim dietary
conventions.
Seafood is welcomed in Qatar.
● Eg: the traditional dish of “kabsa” is a richly spiced rice combined with meat and/or
seafood served from a large platter.
The main meal is eaten at the midday, which is totally different with US.
6. People and culture
● Demography: Qatari(s): 2,267,916 of total population (by July 2015).
Ethnic groups: Arab: 40%, Indian 18%, Pakistani 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14%
Muslim 77.5% (90% of Sunni, 10% of Shia), Christian 8.5%, other (includes mainly Hindu
and other Indian religions) 14%
Over 70%of population are ages between 25-54 years.
3.39 males/females--heavily imbalance.
ranked #1 migrants rate: 22.39/1000 of populations
● Language: Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language.
They speak the Gulf Arabic (el-lahja el-khalijiyya- “the dialect of the gulf”).
7. Famous Arabic Expressions
Customary greeting: Al Salam alaikum (peace be upon you)
Reply: wa alaikum as-salam (and upon you be peace)
Goodbye: Ma salamaa
Thank you: Shukran
God willing: Inshallah
10. Economic and Political Systems
● Unitary Constitutional Monarchy
○ Al Thani family since 1825, Direct Election of 30 of the 45
members of the legislative council
● Richest country in the world 2014 GDP $210.1
billion
● US is largest foreign investor and largest importer
● Petroleum and natural gas account for more than
60% of GDP (industry diversification is a main
concern)
11. Legal System
- Sharia Law (family court)
- Adlia court (civil court) after the
termination of
History: tribal law or desert law, sharia
law and modern law
Modern: Dual Law
-Sharia Law (family court)
-Adlia court (civil court)
-The courts are separate from the Al
Thani family
12. Opportunities
➢ Business deals done in both Qatari Riyals and USD
➢ Prefered languages are Arabic and English
➢ Rail network pledge by 2026
➢ National Vision 2030
➢ World Cup 2022
➢ Expected increase in population
➢ Developing economy
➢ Large amount of liquid capital
➢ 2nd lowest perceived corruption in Middle East
➢ Eliminated certain requirements for the corporate income tax return
13. Risks
• Foreign workers are entirely dependent
on their employer for residency rights
and subject to the sponsorship (kafala)
system
• No Objection Certificate (NOC) must be
granted before an employee can leave
their employment permanently and
transfer to another employer
• Unsatisfactory labor laws
• Underlying risk for terrorism
14. Ease of doing business in Qatar vs the US
Region Middle East & North Africa
Income Category High income
Population 2,267,916
GNI Per Capita (US$) 90,420
City covered Doha
Region OECD high income
Income Category High income
Population 318,857,056
GNI Per Capita (US$) 55,200
City covered Los Angeles
15. Doing Business
Qatar the US
Topics DB 2016
Rank
DB 2015
Rank
Change
in Rank
Starting a Business 49 44 -5
Dealing with
Construction Permits
33 33 No
change
Getting Electricity 44 42 -2
Registering Property 34 33 -1
Getting Credit 2 2 No
change
Protecting Minority
Investors
35 32 -3
Paying Taxes 53 48 -5
Trading Across
Borders
34 33 -1
Enforcing Contracts 21 21 No
change
Resolving
Insolvency
5 4 -1
Topics DB 2016
Rank
DB 2015
Rank
Change
in Rank
Starting a Business 109 103 -6
Dealing with
Construction Permits
8 8 No
change
Getting Electricity 111 105 -6
Registering Property 28 27 -1
Getting Credit 133 128 -5
Protecting Minority
Investors
122 121 -1
Paying Taxes 1 1 No
change
Trading Across
Borders
119 122 3
Enforcing Contracts 112 111 -1
Resolving Insolvency 51 48 -3
VS
