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EMBASSY OF INDIA DOHA

ONTHLY COMMERCIAL REPORT – May, 2016 Name of the Country: Qatar 1.1 A new report from Timetric shows property insurance in Qatar is expected to remain the largest in the non-life insurance sector over the next couple of years and is likely to value QR6.4bn (US$1.8bn) by 2019. Qatar plans to spend QR546.1bn (US$150bn) on infrastructure projects, as well as allocating more budget to non-oil sectors. There are six leading insurance providers in Qatar and Qatar Insurance Company is the market leader with 43.5 percent market share, followed by Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance (QGIRCO) with 18.7 percent share. Qatar’s real GDP is expected to rise from QR280.9bn (US$77.2bn) in 2014 to QR368.3bn (US$101.2bn) in 2019, at a compound annual growth rate of 5.6 percent. In 2015, India entered into a bilateral agreement with Qatar to invest in the country’s infrastructure and information technology sectors as part of the Qatar 2030 vision initiative. 1.2 Qatar has identified nearly USUS$20bn of investment opportunities in the sports sector ahead of its hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The market size in Qatar’s sports sector is estimated to reach about QR72 billion in 2023. Qatar is also spending up to US$200bn on infrastructure required to host the tournament. The Ministry of Culture and Sports has identified 83 commercial and investment opportunities offered by the government sector to the private sector divided into seven parts – sports event management and promotion, development of sports, construction of sports facilities, goods and sports equipment, sports marketing, sports and tourism as well as operations and maintenance of sports facilities. Qatar is using sport to boost its soft power and hosts 30 major events on an annual basis. These include the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in 2018, the World Championships in Athletics in 2019 and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, in addition to more than 30 local, regional and world events hosted by the state annually. 1.3 The Doha-based International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) and Qatar Chamber (QC) have signed a multi-faceted cooperation agreement, based on which, the two sides launched a joint initiative under the name of "sport and commerce." Under the agreement, Qatar Chamber will encourage local and international private companies to promote sports by including ICSS programmes in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives through foreign trade chambers, by holding bilateral meetings between Qatari businessmen and their counterparts in the countries concerned. The Agreement with Qatar Chamber will play a vital role in roping in private companies for strengthening good governance and integrity in sport. The size of sports industry across the globe has grown to US$36 billion. 1.4 Qatar’s unprecedented US$9bn Eurobond sale has pressed the re-set button for the Gulf region’s debt market. This is the first sale in four years from Qatar, the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas. Qatar’s bonds comprised US$3.5bn in five-year notes priced to yield 120 basis points more than US Treasuries, the same amount in 10-year bonds at 150 basis points over Treasuries and US$2bn of 30-year paper at a 210 basis-point spread. The Middle East’s 2016 bond sales have now reached almost US$30 billion, which is a record for the first half of a year. 1.5 Qatar Rail has awarded a four-year, a USUS$42mn project management contract for the Lusail light rail network to a joint venture of Hill International, with Italian state railway engineer Italferr and Qatar-based project manager ASTAD Engineering Consultancy and Project Management Company Hill has a 50% stake in the joint venture.The 38.5km tram system will have four lines, 25 at-grade stations and seven underground stations.

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1.6 Qatar Islamic Insurance Company decided in a board meeting to increase its stake in Qatari Unified Bureau Insurance (QUBI) to 25% from 20% in a deal worth QAR 6.75 million (US$1.85 million). QUBI is a limited liability company which provides insurance on vehicles entering the country and sell insurance cards for vehicles traveling outside the country. 1.7 Qatar's Ahli Bank has started talks to raise a US$250 million three-year loan. The loan will be partially used to refinance an existing US$200 million facility the bank signed in September 2014 and is due to mature next year. 1.8 Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is reportedly abandoning the Qatar Holding name since 2014. By grouping US$100bn of Qatar Investment Authority stakes in Qatar Airways, Qatar National Bank and other companies will be placed into a new internal division named Qatar Investments. The Qatar Holding name, which invested in big companies such as Glencore and Barclays, will now be replaced by QIA on international investments. The Qatar Holding name, which invested in big companies such as Glencore and Barclays, will now be replaced by QIA on international investments. The Qatari fund has more than US$250 billion of assets. 1.9 Qatar has mandated banks for a US$5 billion sovereign bond. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays and HSBC were among nine banks arranging the issue. The issue included two tranches; one with a five year tenor and the other spanning 10 years. Qatar has already borrowed US$5.5 billion through a bank loan concluded in January. 1.10 In Q1 2016, Qatar recorded a merchandise trade balance surplus (difference between total exports and imports) of QR 19.3 billion, down from QR 48.4 billion in Q1 2015. In Q1 2016, Qatar’s total exports (including exports of domestic goods and reexports) amounted to QR 50.5 billion, decreased by QR 27.3 billion (35.1%) compared to Q1 2015 total exports of QR 77.7 billion. Qatar’s imports in Q1 2016 was QR 31.1 billion; increased by QR 1.8 billion (6.1%) compared to Q1 2015 imports of QR 29.3 billion. During Q1 2016, Asia was the principal destination of Qatar’s exports and the first origin of Qatar’s imports, representing 73.1% and 33.0% respectively, followed by the European Union, accounting for 11.4% and 27.5% respectively, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, with 9.1% and 14.9% respectively. Among Asia, Japan was the major destination of the exports with QR 9.9 billion (a share of 19.7% of Qatar’s total exports), followed by South Korea with QR 8.0 billion (15.8%), and India with QR 7.1 billion (14.0%). On the other hand, China was the principal origin of the imports with QR 3.1 billion (10.1% of Qatar’s imports), followed by Japan with QR 2.4 billion (7.6%) and India with QR 1.1 billion (3.6%). Exports to Asia were dominated by liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, condensates, propane, butane, naphtha, polyethylene, aluminum alloys, urea whether or not in aqueous solution, unwrought aluminum (not alloyed), methanol, anhydrous ammonia, sulphur, and ammonium nitrate and imports comprised principally vehicles, telephones for cellular networks, semi-milled or wholly milled rice whether or not polished or glazed, portable digital automatic data processing machines, electric cables, machinery with a 360 degree revolving super structure, air conditioning machines, tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, and machinery for heat exchange units. 1.11 Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA) through the National Program of Conservation and Energy Efficiency (Tarsheed) and along with the coordination of Ministry of Municipality and Environment and other concerned entities, has enactment of a government regulation to prevent all types of import and sale of high glowing Incandescent Tungsten bulbs (75 and 100 Watts) in the State of Qatar from the first day of May 2016. 1.12 Qatar's infrastructure investment is anticipated to reach around US$150bn (QAR546bn) in the lead up to the 2022 FIFA World cup. According to Qatar Investment Fund (QIF), Qatar is projected to

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witness an above normal pace for the next 5 to7 years, which includes US$20bn investment in roads; US$40bn investment in railways; US$4bn investment in stadiums; US$8bn investment on a deep-water seaport; and about 10,000 hotel rooms to be built in the upcoming years. More than 700 individual projects of more than US$30bn are due to be implemented, to ready Qatar for hosting the Qatar 2022 and beyond. 1.13 Qatar's Barwa Real Estate has signed financing agreement with central bank in Qatar for 9 years with a value of US$1.13bn. It issued a data about its net profit in the first quarter of this year which reached to 651 million riyals compared to 3 million riyal in the last year. 1.14 Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Worldwide’s luxury hotel portfolio brand, has signed a management agreement with Assets Real Estate Development Company to open Conrad Doha. The property is expected to open in early 2019. Hilton Worldwide already operates Hilton Doha, as well as the recently opened DoubleTree by Hilton Doha – Old Town and expects to increase its Qatari portfolio with a further seven projects currently under development, including the region’s first Curio, a Collection by Hilton hotel expected to open later this year at the Mall of Qatar. Conrad Hotels & Resorts is present in several destinations around the world, including Dubai, Hong Kong, London, and New York. Eight new Conrad hotels will open in 2016 (including Conrad Makkah, slated to open in summer of 2016), and a further 23 hotels are currently under development. 1.15 The Qatar Investment Authority, the world’s ninth largest sovereign wealth fund, is in advanced negotiations to buy the St. Regis luxury hotels in New York and San Francisco from Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Starwood is looking to sell five U.S. hotels in advance of the deal’s closing, including properties in Maui, Atlanta and Chicago, while also seeking a leasehold sale of the W New York in Times Square. The hotels would represent QIA’s latest ambitious real estate play in New York, with the sovereign wealth fund detailing plans last year to invest US$35 billion in the U.S. over the next five years. QIA also acquired a 44 percent interest in Brookfield Property Partners’ US$8.6 billion Manhattan West mixed-use development on the Far West Side, and opened a New York office in September to improve its access with the U.S. market. 1.16 According to the Monthly Statistics bulletin released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS), Qatar’s total broad money supply, which is termed in economics as ‘M2’, was recorded at about QR506bn during March 2016, showing a marginal increase of 0.23% as compared to February 2015. M2 is defined as a measure of money supply that includes cash and checking deposits (called M1) as well as “near money”, which include assets that are highly liquid but not cash, for instance savings deposits, money market mutual funds and other time deposits, which are less liquid and not as suitable as exchange mediums but can be quickly converted into cash or checking deposits. 1.17 Qatar Ranked 2nd Internationally In Economic Performance and (13) out of (61) mostly high income countries in the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Yearbook 2016. This year’s assessment confirms Qatar’s strong performance across multiple fronts. Areas where Qatar ranked highly in the report included: economic performance (2), government efficiency (5) and business efficiency (20). Scope for improvement was identified in some areas, including infrastructure (41). 1.18 Qatari Cabinet endorsed draft Air Services Agreements between the Governments of Qatar and Djibouti, Mozambique, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago.

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1.19 According to Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) Qatar needs US$9bn investment in its power sector during 2016-20. Qatar will need to invest around US$9bn to add 5.2GW (Giga watt) to meet rising demand in the medium term: US$6bn in generation and US$3bn in T&D. Among the GCC countries, Saudi Arabia will require a total of US$71bn in the power sector (US$43bn for generation and US$28bn for T&D); the UAE US$34bn (US$20bn and US$14bn), Kuwait US$12bn (US$8bn and US$4bn), Oman US$8bn (US$6bn and US$2bn) and Bahrain US$3bn (US$2bn and US$1bn). 1.20 The General Directorate of Traffic opened five traffic investigation offices at insurance companies in order to to complete all accident-related procedures in one place for the motorists involved in traffic accidents. The new service is provided as part of the integrated link between Traffic Directorate and insurance companies. Now the parties involved in accidents, can directly go the insurance company of the party of who caused the accidents and approach the traffic investigation office there to register the accident. All phases of traffic investigation services are completed electronically starting from registering the accident till issuing the report without approaching traffic investigation sections as was the case before. 1.21 Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) announced that it has joined hands with the German cruise liner, TUI Cruises, through which around 17,500 visitors will come to Qatar during the 2017/18 season. The agreement between QTA and TUI Cruises comes as a result of discussions started at the Seatrade Europe Forum held in Hamburg in 2015 and puts Qatar on track to achieve its target of 250,000 visitors on board cruise ships in 2019. Qatar is set to receive between 35-40 ships in the upcoming 2016/2017 cruise season, bringing in an expected 55,000 passengers. This provides new and untapped investment opportunities for businesses to develop tourism products and services that cater to cruise visitors. 1.22 According to BMI’s forecasts for Qatar’s external account position, budget and growth outlook highlights that the country’s US$256bn sovereign wealth fund - as well as its continuing ability to tap international debt markets - provides the economy with significant bulwarks against these risks. 1.23 Minister of Economy and Commerce discussed ways to facilitate the flow of Qatari non-oil commodities to the global market with private sector representatives and several government departments aimed to develop and promote ways of taking advantage of the international economic and trade agreements signed by Qatar aimed at facilitating the flow of Qatari goods and products into global markets. The meeting also discussed the creation of new products and services in line with the needs of foreign markets and to diversify the Qatari export basket and increase the number of countries importing Qatari goods. 1.24 At the SAP Qatar Forum, Qatar’s energy, public sector, transport, healthcare, and construction leaders emphasized the role of real-time insights in the Internet of Things era and Digital Economy. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, digital transformation can double Qatar’s commercial output to over US$4 billion by 2019. With hyper-connectivity and e-commerce, Qatar’s business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets are set to grow from US$2.3 billion in 2014 to US$4.3 billion in 2019. 1.25 Qatar-based Barwa Real Estate Group plans to invest about US$4.12bn for the construction of 12,000 residential units within the next four years in line with its commitment to provide reasonable rents to the citizens. Elaborating on the proposed projects, residential projects would be completed by 2020. He said the largest project would be Barwa Al Doha that will consist of 1,970 residential units.

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2. Trade with India (Month-wise & annual) Average annual growth rate of exports and imports during the last three years (Qatar –India)

Values in USUS$ Million

Year

Qatar’s export to India

%age growth over last year

Qatar’s imports from India

%age growth over last year

Total trade with India

Growth %

2010 -2011 6819.87 -- 375.39 -- 7195.26 2011-2012 12916.35 89.39 807.95 115.23 13724.30 90.74

2012-2013 15693.08 21.50 687.18 -14.95 16380.26 19.35

2013-2014 15707.99 0.10 969.06 41.02 16677.05 1.81

2014- 2015 14604.71 -7.02 1054.98 8.87 15661.52 -6.10

2015-2016 9022.16 -38.22 902.94 -14.41 9925.10 -36.62 3. Trade Promotional Activities organized (month / year) in Qatar and activities planned in the next six months.

Scheduled Date -Year 2016 Name Of The Exhibition

October 4-8 Doha International Health & Fitness Exhibition (DIHFEX)

October 5-8 ARAB DIABETES MEDICAL CONGRESS

October 9 Gulf Expo Qatar

October 17 World Of Luxury

October 22 Doha Fair

October 24 International Education Middle East Expo Doha

October 25-29 Qatar International Boat Show (QIBS)

October 31 – November 2 Milipol Qatar

November 1-5 Doha International Gifts Exhibition (DIGEX)

November 7 Multimedia Qatar

November 08-10 HQ - Hospitality Qatar 2016

November 9-12 High-Tech Port 2016

November 22 - 25 ASPIRE4SPORT (To be confirmed): November 2016 WISE - WORLD INNOVATION SUMMIT FOR EDUCATION

December 6-9 The 10th International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) 2016

(To be confirmed): January 2017 - February 2017 QATAR MOTOR SHOW

4. Trade and Commercial delegation from India to Qatar, and Trade and Commercial delegation from Qatar to India.

-Nil-

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5. Important International Trade Fairs/Exhibitions in Qatar. Report on recent such fairs/exhibitions, including details of Indian participation & response.

Scheduled Date Name Of The Exhibition

May 2-3 LightingTech Qatar

May 2-5 International Construction Technology And Building Materials Exhibition (Project Qatar )

May 2-5 Qatar Stonetech - Structural Engineering

May 9-12 Heavy Max -Machine Construction

May 9-11 Cityscape Qatar

May 24-26 Qatar International Exhibition for Transport & Logistics (QIETL)

May 25 MEP Qatar Summit

May 25- 27 QITCOM 2016

6. Important Trade & Investment activities by other countries in Qatar and Analysis of export performance of competing countries. Qatar - Bangladesh Bangladesh’s State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid visited Doha to attend ‘16th Doha Forum’ scheduled for May 21-23. Bangladesh’s state-run Petrobangla has signed a deal with Qatar’s RasGas in Doha to facilitate import 500 mmscfd of LNG by 2018. The government has fixed a target to add LNG to the national grid by 2017 after establishing an LNG Terminal at Moheshkhali area of the Bay of Bengal. Qatar is ready to extend all cooperation to Bangladesh in energy cooperation, including LNG import from Qatar, knowledge sharing and technology transfer. Qatar Post (Q-Post) has reduced the transaction rate from QR13 to QR9 per transaction for international money transfer from Qatar to Bangladesh. Remittances service is offered to and from 2,500 post offices in Bangladesh. Qatar- Belgium At the Qatar- Belgium economic forum Belgian ambassador Christophe Payot highlighted that Qatar imports from Belgium recorded an increase of 56% in 2015 compared to 2015 to reach more than €218mn, while Belgium imports from Qatar reached €1.13bn, which is mainly from exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and products related to oil and gas sector. Trade volume between the two countries reached €1.3bn in 2015. there are 61 Belgian companies operating in Qatar. Qatar - China Chinese state-owned company China Railway Signal and Communication (CRSC) and the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) signed a MoU to set up a high-speed rail network covering six GCC countries. Once completed, the high-speed trains will run at a speed of 350km per hour. The trains will allow passengers to reach Bahrain in around 40 minutes and Kuwait in two hours in a non-stop journey from Qatar. CRSE is a Chinese government owned company with 70 percent share in high-speed railways worldwide and has around 5,000 people in research and development. Qatar - Croatia Qatari Cabinet endorsed draft co-operation agreement in the field of environmental and nature protection between the governments of Qatar and Croatia.

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Qatar -Denmark Milaha, a Qatar-based marine transport and logistics conglomerate, and DSV, a Denmark-based provider of global transport and logistics, have signed an agreement by virtue of which Milaha will become the exclusive agent for DSV in Qatar. The agreement will significantly expand Milaha’s presence on the global logistics scene and will provide access to +1,000 offices, terminals and warehouse facilities in more than 80 countries. Qatar - Germany Engineering company Siemens will supply six F-class gas turbines, four steam turbines and ten generators for a new combined-cycle power generating facility with an integrated seawater desalination plant in Qatar. The power generating facility, named Umm Al Houl, will have a total electricity output capacity of 2.5 gigawatts. It will provide up to 618 million liters of drinking water per day. Qatar-Italy Talking to Qatar Tribune Italian ambassador to Qatar HE Guido De Sanctis said that Bilateral trade between Qatar and Italy is expected to rise in 2016 as demand for Italian helicopters, ceramic products, machinery and leather in Qatar has grown substantially. Italy's exports to Qatar is likely to cross a€1bn in 2016. Italy currently buys LNG worth €1.2bn billion from Qatar. Citing the formation of a joint commission several trade agreements between the two countries are expected to be signed to facilitate the entry of more Italian companies into Qatar. More than 100 Italian companies are already working on some of the flagship projects of Qatar. Qatar - Japan Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas) has shipped its first spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo to Japan’s newly established energy company JERA. JERA is a joint venture between two of Japan’s largest power utility companies – Chubu Electric Power and TEPCO Fuel & Power. The cargo was delivered onboard the Q-Flex LNG Vessel, Al Ruwais, to the Futtsu LNG Terminal in Tokyo Bay on May 13, 2016. Qatargas will be supplying close to 7 mtpa of LNG on a long-term contract with Jera. In 2015, Qatargas shipped 14,6 million tons of LNG to Japan. The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) signed an agreement with Japan’s Mitsui Corporation to adopt a social development programme. The initiative aims at rehabilitation of agricultural research stations at Rawdat Al Faras and Al Uturiyah and transfer of technology to develop and advance the country’s agriculture sector and to adopt the best technological solutions in enhancing food security and encouraging co-operation with the country’s partners in development. Qatar - Korea Ineco, a division of Almana Trading Company, in association with Stell Logi, Korea, has launched a wide range of its construction products including UL certified pullers and wheel drive electric carts in Doha. Ineco Almana launched the UL certified pullers (EE) specially-designed for hazardous areas like oil and gas plants to pull 3 tonnes of load. On the other hand, the four-wheel drive electric cart are easy to operate, and uses an electromagnetic brake system (lift and dump). Qatar -Kyrgyzstan On 22 May, Qatar and Kyrgyzstan signed a letter of intent to enhance cooperation between the Interior Ministries of the two countries. Following the signing, leaders of both teh countries held a meeting and discussed aspects of cooperation in security areas and ways to enhance and develop them.

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Qatar - Kuwait Qatar approved a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) on tourism cooperation between Qatar and Kuwait. Qatar-Luxembourg On May 25, the Qatari delegation participating in the Qatar-Luxembourg Business Forum witnessed signing of bilateral agreements in various areas, especially in the economic, tourist, financial, scientific and cultural sectors. The forum explored options to establishing effective partnerships and new investments opportunities between Qatari businessmen and their Luxembourg counterparts especially economic, trade and investment, innovation and technology. Bilateral trade exchange between the two countries, amounted in 2015 to around US$25mn. Qatar - Morocco The Qatari Emiri Guard and the Royal Moroccan Guard signed an MoU in Rabat on 10 May. The agreement was signed for the Qatari side by HE the Emiri Guard Commander Major General Hazza bin Khalil Al Shahwani, and for the Moroccan side by the Royal Guard Commander HE Major General Mimoun Mansouri. Qatar - New Zealand New Zealand and Qatar sign an agreement to cooperate on road safety - to support the work of Qatar's National Traffic Safety Committee in this important area. Qatar - Philippines Philippines is keen on raising the awareness of potential tourists from Qatar to bolster its Halal tourism market. Initially, a total of 43 hotels, resorts, restaurants and other tourism –related establishments have been halal-certified under the project undertaken by the Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DOT) and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF). The list includes establishments located in a number of key tourist destinations including Manila, Cebu, Boracay, Davao, Bohol, Zamboanga City, General Santos City, Koronadal, Cotabato City, Surigao City, and Siargao Island. Through the initiative, the Philippines aims to partake in the vibrant global halal market which is worth US$200bn. The Philippines only placed 47th among 100 countries ranked in the 2015 Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) produced by Crescent Rating. Qatar - Saudi Arabia Doha-based Gulf Helicopters, owned by Gulf International Services (GIS), has signed a new order with Saudi Aramco to perform heavy maintenance on its fleet of AgustaWestland AW 139. The company has so far undertaken over fifteen 4-year inspections on AW 139s and amassed a wealth of know-how and capabilities to carry out heavy inspections on the type. GHC's maintenance capabilities also extend to the other types operated, like AW 189, S 92, Bell 412, Bell 212, Bell 206 L3 and MD 902.

Qatar First Bank announced its willingness to explore a presence in Saudi Arabia in light of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 vision, in order to provide innovative financial solutions and investment opportunities to shareholders and clients.

Qatar Flour Mills has announced it would increase capacity in July to allow it to increase its exports to Saudi Arabia. The mill, which has a capacity of about 250,000 tonnes a year, will raise its daily capacity to 820 tonnes from 670 tonnes. Qatar Flour Mills, a subsidiary of Zad Holding, imports its wheat, mostly of Canadian and Australian origin, through direct contracts with traders.

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Qatar - South Africa. Qatari Cabinet endorsed a draft co-operation agreement in the area of policing between the governments of Qatar and South Africa. Qatar - Serbia. Qatar approved a draft agreement on economic, trade and technical cooperation between Qatar and Serbia. Qatar-Turkey An agreement on the abolition of visa requirements to holders of Qatari passports signed between the Governments of the State of Qatar and the Turkish Republic on 02/12/2015 has entered into force on 28/5/2016. Qatar approved a draft agreement on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. Qatar -Tunisia President of the Tunisian Republic Beji Caid Essebsi visited Doha from 17-19 May. Tunisia has proposed to set up a US$2bn joint fund with Qatar in which both countries would contribute US$1bn each. The fund would be invested in automotive, agriculture, food production and other sectors in Tunisia. Tunisia offers opportunities for Qatar in agriculture, olive oil, dates, sugar, meat, other oils, milk, animal feeds, components of automotive sectors, and building materials, tourism, medicine and mineral processing industries sectors. The agreements signed by the two sides reached 15 conventions and protocols including all economic, financial, cultural, intellectual, educational and technological fields. Qatar is now the second Arab investor in the Tunisian market in banking, real estate, tourism, telecommunications, agriculture, food industries and various strategic areas with investments worth about US$80mn. The number Tunisian residents in Qatar has reached about 20,000. The Tunisian delegation also invited the Qatari businessmen to visit their country to get acquainted with the investment climate and opportunities available to boost business relations. Qatar - UAE Qatar and the UAE signed a number of agreements to enhance co-operation between the two countries following the sixth session of the joint higher committee. An MoU for cooperation was signed between the UAE’s General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare and Qatar’s Ministry of Culture and Youth, an MoU on tourism cooperation and organising exhibitions was signed between Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and Qatar Tourism Authority. An MoU was also signed on the executive education programme as part of the culture and education agreement between UAE and Qatar for 2016-2019. In addition, an MoU between Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises and Qatar Development Bank (QDB). The volume of bilateral trade between the two countries reached QR26bn or US$7bn in 2015. It is estimated that there are over 1,074 UAE companies operating in Qatar while the number of Qatari companies working in the UAE is 4,200. In the field of air transport, the number of flights by the two national carriers to Qatar and UAE currently stands at 175 flights a week. The number of Emirati visitors to Qatar is more than 117,000 while the number of Qatari visitors to the UAE is more than 231,000. Qatar Chamber and the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry announced a plan to form a committee that will explore investment opportunities in the areas of food security, tourism, services, information technology, housing and other sectors.

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Qatar -United Kingdom Qatar First Bank (QFB) has entered into an agreement with UK’s largest property adviser, JLL in view of the increasing demand for real estate investment in the UK and Europe from investors in Qatar and GCC investors. The agreement offers the clients the ability to source real estate opportunities based on their specific requirements and budget. JLL is the world’s second largest publicly traded commercial real estate brokerage firm and UK’s largest UK property adviser with more than 280 corporate offices and operations across 80 countries worldwide. 7. Trade Enquires from country India and Trade Enquires from Qatar. India - (70) Enquiries Qatar - (0) Enquiries 8. Status of trade and investment related issues taken up by the mission with the Government of Qatar and India.

-NIL- 9. Important policy changes by the Government of Qatar and India, especially with respect to trade, investment, aid / credit facilities etc. 9.1 Starting June 2016, merchants in Qatar will be required to adhere to a new unified return/refund policy put forth by the government. 1.When the supplier advertises that it is selling a product at the lowest market price and the consumer finds that the same product is being sold at a lower price at another shop. In this case, the shop should compensate the consumer for the price difference. 2.When the dealer commits a violation such as selling consumers expired food or counterfeit spare parts. In this case, the consumer is entitled to exchange the defective product or request a full refund. 3. If the consumer buys a product that doesn’t comply with the terms of his agreement with the dealer. In this case, the consumer is entitled to exchange the product. If the product cannot be exchanged, the dealer has to refund the consumer. 9.2 As per the Law No 3 of 2016 on regulating the registration of births and deaths in Qatar. New births in Qatar have to be reported to the competent authorities within 15 days while deaths and cases of stillbirth have to be notified within seven days. Failure to do report within the stipulated period will face a maximum jail term of six months and a fine of up to QR10,000, or either. 10. Details and Result of meetings & interactions of the Mission with Trade, Industry & Economic Ministries / Department / Agencies in Qatar and India.

02 May- Ambassador met with HE Khalid bin Ibrahim Abdulrahman Al Hamar, Director, Department of Asian Affairs at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They discussed issues of mutual interest in the context of India-Qatar cooperation. 03 May- Ambassador met with Dr. Thani Al Kuwari, Secretary General, Qatar Olympic Committee. They discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest in the context of India-Qatar cooperation. 06 May- Ambassador attended the concluding ceremony of the Workers’ Cup football tournament, at the invitation of the Secretary General of Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, which is

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responsible for preparations for FIFA 2022 in Qatar. Several Indian workers employed with different companies participated in this popular tournament. 08 May- Three senior officers of Qatar’s largest bank, Qatar National Bank (QNB), namely, Mr. M. Chidambaran, GM – Head of Asia, QNB, Singapore; Mr. Gaurav Gupta, GM, QNB, India; and Mr. Ajay Sharma, AGM, QNB, Doha, called on Ambassador and discussed economic and commercial cooperation between India and Qatar. 10 May- Ambassador called on HE Mr. Ali Sherif Al Emadi, Minister of Finance. Several issues concerning India-Qatar cooperation were discussed during the meeting. 10 May- Ambassador visited Project Qatar Exhibition taking place in Doha and met with the officials of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and representatives of the Indian companies in this important exhibition. 55 Indian companies, offering a wide range of products and technologies, participated in Project Qatar 2016 under the aegis of ASSOCHAM. From 2013 onwards, ASSOCHAM has coordinated, with the cooperation and support of Embassy of India, Doha, the participation of a large number of Indian companies at the annual Project Qatar Exhibition. 10 May- Ambassador inaugurated the Annual Mango Festival organized by Lulu Hypermarket Group (LHG), in the presence of a large number of Qatari dignitaries and businessmen; media representatives; other invitees and members of the public visiting LHG. Mango Festival 2016 exhibits more than 50 varieties of mango, mostly from India and a few from various other countries. LHG has been organizing this highly popular annual Festival for the last 15 years. The event received prominent coverage in local and community media. 19 May- Ambassador visited the Majlis of Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman of the Board of Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) and Chairman & CEO, Al Faisal Holding to greet him and his family on the occasion of the wedding of his nephew. Ambassador availed this occasion to follow up some important action points related to the visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister to Qatar, especially the roundtable meeting with top investors/businessmen to which a number of QBA members are being invited. 21 May- Ambassador attended the inaugural session of the 16th Doha Forum. The session was presided over by HH the Emir of Qatar in the presence of a large number of dignitaries from abroad and Qatar; Heads of Missions; senior officials of Qatar Government; representatives of academia, think tanks, media, etc. The inaugural session was addressed by the Presidents of Afghanistan, Mauritius and Niger; Foreign Minister of Qatar; President of the 70th UNGA; and Secretary General of the United Nations. On the sidelines of the Forum, Ambassador met a number of Qatari Ministers and other dignitaries and senior officials of Qatar Government, and followed up important action points related to Hon’ble Prime Minister’s visit to Qatar. 11. Indian investment in (company wise and sector wise), and performance of existing Indian Subsidiaries/ Joint Ventures / Collaborations, if any, in Qatar. Indian Companies continue to pursue various projects and investment opportunities for the mutual benefits for both countries.

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12. Status of ongoing major investments by Indian PSU’s/Pvt. Sector in Qatar and proposed Indian investments in Qatar. 12.1 Quality Group, a prominent business group in Qatar, has announced the opening of its second hypermarket in Bengaluru. The hypermarket is designed across two floors with more than 20,000 items, including fresh produce and groceries, a fresh bakery, home appliances, electronics and general merchandise. Quality Group is also preparing to open two outlets in Kerala in 2016. 12.2 On May 2, India signed a revised agreement with Qatar to reduce the cost of gas import to less than US$5 from US$12. Petronet LNG has signed an agreement for additional import of 1 million tonnes of LNG per year for about 12 years with effect from January 1, 2016 at the prevailing market prices. The new contract is effective from January 1, 2016 and ends in 2028 making LNG cheaper for the end consumers.

(K.Chinna Swamy) First Secretary (SPPS)

June 27, 2016