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Category Archives: Qatar

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Ready for Takeoff: A Look at the Space Sector in the Middle East

The Middle East’s rapidly advancing space sector has seen a slew of landmark achievements in the last few years. By Alexander Hendry In 2014, the UAE established the UAE Space Agency to oversee and grow its space sector, and it has since successfully completed numerous projects. In July 2020, it became the fifth country in … Continue Reading

3 Key Considerations Before You Begin Outsourcing in Qatar, Saudi Arabia or the UAE

Outsourcing has historically not been a major pillar in Middle East public and private sector organisation’s strategic architecture. While the benefits of outsourcing are understood and recognised, organisations have sought to engage with major outsourced service providers through managed service agreements and joint ventures. This approach has generally worked well. It has enabled local organisations … Continue Reading

Financing the Middle East’s Shopping Spree

The continuing strong economic conditions of the UAE and other GCC economies has led to an upsurge in consumer spending in recent years. With retail sales in the region expected to reach US$284.5 billion by 2018, the need to meet the growing demand for consumer goods has led to a boom in planned shopping mall … Continue Reading

How Oil and Gas Companies can Optimize Technology Performance and Costs During Oil Price Volatility

An unexpected surge in production coupled with weakened global demand has resulted in a 50 percent drop in the price of crude oil since June 2014 and currently averaging US$50 a barrel. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced it would leave market forces to determine crude oil price and would not cut … Continue Reading

Is Green Sukuk a Viable Option for Clean Energy Initiatives in the GCC?

A number of GCC governments, including those in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have set ambitious clean energy and energy efficiency targets. As the fastest growing region in the world, the GCC’s population is expected to grow more than 53 million by 2020. Substantial amounts of investments will be required to finance the clean energy … Continue Reading

5 Ways to Protect your Business from a Cyber Attack

Global cyber-attack threats stand at the highest ever recorded level, jumping 14 percent from 2012 to 2013 (Cisco 2014 Annual Security Report). Furthermore, a recent Microsoft Security Intelligence Report found that operating system infection rates in the GCC countries were almost twice the worldwide average, with up to 13 computers out of every 1,000 being … Continue Reading

Top 4 Innovations Driving Growth in the Global Sukuk Market

The Sukuk Opportunity Total Sukuk issuances for 2013 stood at approximately US$120 billion and the Sukuk market is likely to sustain double-digit growth in the coming two to three years with assets in Islamic finance expected to reach US$2.8 trillion by 2015. The growth of the Sukuk market has allowed investors to diversify their portfolio … Continue Reading

How the GCC Can Boost Confidence in its Local Exchanges

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries accounted for IPO issuances valued at US$1.1 billion in 2013, according to Bloomberg. Notably, Qatar Exchange bounced back this year with the successful IPO and listing of Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding company Q.S.C. (a Qatar Petroleum Subsidiary), the first IPO in Qatar since 2010 and the first under the current … Continue Reading

How Educational Institutions Can Capitalise on Real Estate Assets

With investment pouring into the education sector, academic institutions have never been in a stronger position to capitalise on costly real estate assets to fuel future expansion.  Research suggests the public and private education market in MENA is projected to be worth US$96 billion by 2015, with the GCC region claiming US$61 billion of that … Continue Reading

How to comply with laws that protect personal #data in the #Middle East

Digital Identity Dominates  Having a digital identity for online browsing, transactions and interactions has become necessary to operate in this information age.  As more and more lifestyle and business services shift to the digital platform, there has been an explosive growth in personal data capture.  The “Big Data” phenomenon has the potential to transform, innovate … Continue Reading
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