Bright prospects in Doha

Doha, Qatar – Residents of Doha have been warned by the weather bureau against venturing out into the sea due to the unstable weather that is expected to continue up to Friday evening or even early Saturday. The weather has been rather unusually rainy, with visibility also dropping at certain times.   According to weather forecasts, strong winds that could blow up to 65-kph can be expected in some areas, while thundershowers will also occur primarily due to low pressure.

But while the weather has been rather gloomy, prospects are bright for the Philippine-Qatar Trade Initiative – the biggest private sector-led trade delegation to Qatar so far – with our group conducting exploratory talks with key officials from the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Qatar Chamber) led by board director Khalid bin Jaber al-Kuwari (shown in photo presenting a token).

The success of the initiative – with key areas for partnerships already identified – has convinced us to send another group of businessmen next year for further talks with our Qatari counterparts.

We’re optimistic this initiative will elevate the interest of Qatari investors, which is really what we aimed for when we conceptualized the Phl-Qat Trade Initiative. Among our objectives is to bring key players in various industries from the Philippines to have a “face-to-face” interaction with Qatari counterparts to explore potential partnerships in trade and commerce. We also envision the strengthening of cultural exchanges between the two countries which could redound to the benefit not only of businessmen, but also to Filipinos, especially OFWs whose number in Qatar is estimated at 300,000.

Qatar tourism on the upswing

The Qatar Tourism Authority is set on raising the profile of the Gulf state as a preferred international tourist destination, targeting 7 million visitors by 2030. According to officials, QTA is on track to meet its target 3 million visitors by the end of this year, with visitors from the neighboring Gulf nations comprising the bulk at 41 percent. Data from marhaba.qa showed that in 2014, 40 percent of visitors came from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, followed by 28 percent from Asia and Oceania, and 15 percent from Europe.

The QTA also unveiled the Qatar Business Destination brand aimed at consolidating the marketing and promotional efforts of stakeholders in Qatar’s business events sector, with this effort complementing the Qatar Destination Brand that was unveiled at the recent World Travel Market in London. A lot of visitors to Qatar happen to be businessmen, majority of whom are participants to the over 150 business events staged at the Gulf nation every year.

Not surprising really considering the world class venues and facilities that include the recently opened Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. Of course, its accessibility via Qatar Airways (with over 150 destinations globally) practically brings Qatar to most nations. In 2013, the government invested over $70 billion for projects to develop a fully integrated multimodal transportation system to complement the rapid economic and industrial growth of the Gulf nation. A lot of new projects have also been lined up in anticipation of the tourist boom for the 2022 World Cup in Doha, with hotels, retail establishments and related infrastructure in the pipeline.  

It certainly doesn’t hurt the Hamad International Airport (HIA) also bagged the “best airport” award in Western Asia at the first Future Travel Experience Asia Awards held in Singapore recently. According to officials of HIA, the award underscored the global standing of the airport as an international travel hub and “five-star gateway” for Qatar and the rest of the world. The award has boosted efforts to position the international airport as a major player in the aviation sector, the officials added.

According to the Future Travel Experience jurists, HIA impressed with its premium and luxurious facilities, from the self-service options to speed up processing down to “Smart Security” with Qatar Airways, and even simple transit experiences, making it deserving of the prestigious award.

Investors withdrawing from PPP projects

The recently concluded Asia Pacific Cooperation Summit put the Philippines in the spotlight, but now that it’s over it’s back to reality for Filipinos – which means we are faced by infrastructure problems once again. As commented by Air Asia CEO Anthony Fernandes during the CEO Summit at the Shangri-La hotel in Makati, inadequate infrastructure, particularly in the aviation and transport sector are keeping the Philippines from fully maximizing its potential as the emerging star of tourism in Asia.

While many investors have expressed interest in doing business in the country, a major frustration is the government’s proclivity to arbitrarily change policies, not to mention the slow action of certain government agencies, turning off investors as a result. For instance, the failure of the Department of Health to release the certificate of possession that would have allowed Megawide to start building the 700-bed specialty hospital at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute compound in Quezon City for two years now has snapped the patience of the construction company, resulting in its cancellation of the P8.69 billon PPP contract with the government.

Miscues by government agencies, such as the DOTC, are causing vital infra projects from being implemented – among them a toll road being pushed by the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. – which investors say is “Exhibit A” of a big-ticket infra proposal that has languished in the cellar for half a decade, no thanks to the failure of government to get its act together. Initially approved as a joint venture (confirmed by NEDA), the proposal was set aside after government decided to subject it to a Swiss challenge. And now that everything seems set for a Swiss challenge (after a lengthy deferment), another issue is belatedly being raised by the Department of Finance – something it should have done in the last five years. Ano ba talaga? 

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