Spectres of deflation, virus haunt ECB meeting page 11

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

28,133.31 9,725.28 38,417.23 1,929.65 −159.42 pts +1.87 pts +60.05 pts Gold -0.22% Pound hit as UK PM resurrects Dow QE sensex spectre of no-deal Brexit page 10 Price percentage Price percentage 27.01 Brent 42.01 -1.52% WTI 39.07 -1.76% Silver +1.12% MoCI, QC sign MoU to issue adds 988 hotel keys in H1 Arab e-certificate of origin 2020: ValuStrat Qatar Chamber now authorised to facilitate electronic issuance of Arab certificate of origin Satyendra Pathak ments in the pipeline are Abraj QNA Bay Towers in Abraj Quartier Doha in The Pearl, Al Mutahida Tow- As many as 988 hotel keys ers and Tower 24 in Viva Bah- The Ministry of Commerce were added during the first riya The Pearl, Al Darwish and and Industry (MoCI) on Mon- half of 2020 with the opening Arwa Tower in and day signed a Memorandum of of Pullman Hotel in West Bay, Amwaj Tower in Waterfront Understanding (MoU) with Imperium Residences in Na- district, Lusail. the Qatar Chamber for coop- jma, Dusit D2 Salwa Doha in A significant amount of ex- eration to facilitate procedures Muraikh and Al Liwan Suites isting supply is being delivered for the electronic issuance of in and Diyafa in the form of medium to large the Arab certificate of origin. Hotel Suites in , Middle size projects targeting upper- The agreement is part East’s leading consulting and middle to high-income fami- of joint national efforts to advisory group ValuStrat has lies, it said. support local industries and said in its latest report. develop the business envi- As per ValuStrat research, ronment in the country by 10,000 keys are in pipeline achieving integration between till 2021. There were reported the various electronic systems delays in the launch of hotels of government agencies. in 2020 due to uncertainty The MoU was signed by caused by the advent of COV- MoCI Assistant Undersecre- ID-19, it said. tary for Commerce and In- As per Qatar National dustry Affairs Saleh Majed Al Tourism Council (QNTC), the Khulaifi and Qatar Chamber total stock was 27,261 keys in 2,250 units Director General Saleh Ham- MoCI Assistant Undersecretary for Commerce and Industry Affairs Saleh Majed Al Khulaifi and Qatar Chamber Director General Saleh Hamad 130 hotels and hotel apart- ● The first six months of ad Al Sharqi. Al Sharqi after signing the memorandum of understanding in Doha on Monday. ments by the end of 2019. The Under the MoU, the Qatar five-star segment is the larg- 2020 saw the completion Chamber is authorised as the ments are presented. electronic issuance of the Arab put forward by the delegation framework of implementing est in size and encompassed of 2,250 apartments issuing and certifying body to Speaking to the press, certificate of origin plays an of the State of Qatar during the recommendations of the 12,900 rooms across 49 prop- mainly concentrated in put MoCI’s seals and signa- Saleh Al Khulaifi said that the important role in reducing a meeting on certificates of first meeting of the permanent erties at the close of 2019. Lusail, The Pearl and tures on the electronically is- MoU with the chamber rep- costs and contributes to short- origin at the Arab League five technical committee for the A total of 21,500 rooms West Bay sued Arab certificate of origin. resents an important step in ening the procedures related years ago. rules of Arab origin in this re- across 107 projects are under The chamber also undertakes consolidating Arab economic to the registration processes, He added that the move- gard held last January. construction at various stages “Demand is being gener- the development of a mecha- integration and supporting the application for obtaining ment of Arab goods in gen- It is also within the frame- of development, it said. ated by lower-middle-income nism for issuing the certificate intra-regional trade with the the certificate, the delivery of eral will exceed the issue of work of the recommendations According to ValuStrat, segments,” ValuStrat said in which it provides to the MoCI countries of the region. It aims certificates and the verifica- floors in the ports, thanks to of the implementation and the gap between demand and its first-half review of Qatar’s to implement it through the to enhance the competitive- tion of goods of origin, in ad- this step, which will have an follow-up committee at its supply at the end of 2019 was real estate market. electronic link between the ness of national products and dition to contributing to the important role in enhancing 48th meeting regarding the estimated at 9,000 keys. This As of the first half of 2020, two parties. support exports through ex- reduction of many customs intra-Arab trade, as well as transition to the exchange of is projected to increase by the the supply of office space was The provisions of this MoU pansion into regional markets restrictions that would impede facing urgent problems and certificates of origin issued end of 2020 depending on the 5,060,000 sq m gross leas- apply to the Arab certificate of and allowing national com- the movement of intra-Arab solving them electronically, electronically, which was ap- recovery of tourist arrivals and able area. As per ValuStrat re- origin only, provided that it is panies to take advantage of trade. which saves effort and time for proved by the Economic and the influx of new properties. search, 60 percent of existing verified that the products are the commercial opportunities For his part, Sharqi said everyone. Social Council of the Arab About the residential sec- office space is of Grade-A. of Arab origin, and not other available in the Arab coun- that the application of the elec- The application of the elec- League in its regular session tor, the report said that the There was an addition of foreign products, after making tries. tronically issued Arab certifi- tronically issued certificates that was held in February overall residential supply to- seven office buildings and sure that all required docu- He pointed out that the cates of origin was a proposal of origin comes within the this year. talled 300,550 units at the end four mixed-use buildings dur- of the first half this year. ing the first half of 2020 in Lu- The first six months of sail (Marina and Energy City), 2020 saw the completion of , , 2,250 apartments and 700 vil- , Al Wakrah, Al las are scheduled to be handed Wukair and Umm Salal com- QNBFS gets 2 awards from International Finance over this year, it said. prising 220,000 sq m gross An estimated 2,000 units leasable area. Tribune News Network International Finance awards were concentrated in Lusail, Upcoming projects in Doha recognize industry talent, leadership The Pearl and West Bay. Al 2020, currently under de- skills, industry net worth and capabil- Bandary Real Estate launched velopment totalled 580,000 QNB Financial Services (QNBFS), a ity on an international platform. After Al Shahed Tower with individ- gross leasable area, 48 percent fully owned subsidiary company of careful consideration of nominations ual units for sale. of which are located in Lusail QNB Group, has received the ‘Best by a qualified research team, winners “Tower 13 and 15 of Viva (Fox Hills, Energy District and Brokerage House in Qatar’ and ‘Most are declared on the strength of their Bahriya, The Pearl started leas- Marina District) and Innovative Mobile Trading Applica- investment opportunities and solu- The company launched QNBFS application and accomplishments. ing. Phase 1B in Musheireb and the remaining projects tion in Qatar’ awards from Interna- tions across diverse products and mar- Trading Mobile Application for bet- Established in the last quarter of Downtown also completed are located in , , tional Finance, a London-based global kets. ter client trading experience using the 2010 as part of QNB Group, QNBFS construction comprising 157 Al Hitmi, Al Sadd, Umm Ghu- financial publication. QNBFS has unmatched trading latest technology. The app comes with is the first independently regulated, apartments,” the report said. wailina and Al Muntazah. The Best Brokerage House award and execution capabilities and highly numerous other features, allowing cli- licensed brokerage company launched Approximately, 7,250 units “During the first half of recognition reflects the strength of the experienced investment professionals. ents to trade anytime and anywhere, by a bank in Qatar. It offers a range are projected to be added dur- 2020, we observed an increase QNBFS brokerage products and ser- It provides on-the-ground research which entitled it to receive the Most of financial services to domestic and ing the remaining quarters of in launches of companies work- vices and the quality of its offering, as and analyses, thus helping customers Innovative Mobile Trading Applica- foreign institutional investors, mutual 2020, the report said adding ing in e-commerce, finance and well as its commitment to providing make sound investment decisions. tion in Qatar. funds, and retail and corporate clients. that some notable develop- technology,” the report said.

Mastercard, QDB partner to accelerate fintech innovations in Qatar

Tribune News Network and partners will also gain access knowledge-sharing, and ultimately tor Programs developed by Qatar Doha to Mastercard’s technology, exper- advance the payments infrastruc- FinTech Hub provides the key tise, products, and services, equip- ture in the country.” building blocks to build a success- As part of its efforts to drive innova- ping them with the tools they need Commenting on the partner- ful local fintech ecosystem. tion, technology leader Mastercard to navigate their growth. ship, QDB Advisory and Incuba- This includes access to several has partnered with Qatar Develop- The partnership will also iden- tion Executive Director Ibrahim global FinTech hubs, financial in- ment Bank (QDB) to support the tify relevant companies for Mas- Al Mannai said, “We are thrilled to stitutions, universities, technol- development of the fintech indus- tercard’s start-up engagement welcome Mastercard to our com- ogy partners, and industry ex- try through the Qatar FinTech Hub programme, Start Path, opening munity of fintech entrepreneurs, perts that offer the best in global (QFTH), a tech ecosystem that sup- market access for QFTH’s start- investors, and enablers. We aspire opportunities. ports the growth of local and inter- ups and Start Path companies – for to offer the ideal launch pad for Mastercard’s decades of tech- national fintech companies in Qatar. mutual benefit. Start Path is Mas- early-stage and matured FinTechs nology investment and expertise Mastercard will work closely tercard’s award-winning startup to scale up, revolutionise financial in forging transformative partner- with the fintech community in Qatar engagement program that brings services and make a global impact. ships makes it a secure, resilient, through QFTH to accelerate innova- together a network of innovators We hope that Mastercard’s exten- and reliable network for small busi- tion and drive the adoption of digital from across the globe to shape the program investment, in addition to system. We are constantly seeking sive network of existing start-ups, nesses to lean on. payments in the country. future of commerce together. Start- partnering with some of the world’s new ways to leverage our network, experience in enabling digitization, Mastercard is at the forefront The Qatar FinTech Hub brings ups benefit from the knowledge of largest banks, merchants and well- technology, insights, and partner- and deep market knowledge will al- of innovation and FinTech enable- together a vibrant community of a global network of Mastercard ex- known organizations. ships to help inform and enable low us to shape the future of fintech ment, working closely with banks fintech entrepreneurs, industry perts, technologies, and channels. Mastercard Qatar Country small businesses to boost prosper- in Qatar and create further oppor- and governments to unlock eco- experts, regulators, and investors Since its beginning, more than Business Development Director ity. Together with our partners tunities to grow and develop digital nomic opportunities for small to to develop disruptive technolo- 200 later – stage start-ups and Nadia Ghissassi said, “At Master- in the private and public sector, payments.” medium enterprises by ensur- gies and accelerate the growth of fintechs have participated in the card, we are committed to drive in- we are committed to accelerating To further accelerate the devel- ing inclusivity, driving education, the fintech ecosystem. Through program. These entities have col- novation and bolster the growth of digitization and drive economic opment of FinTechs in the country, and forging partnerships across this partnership, QTFH start-ups lectively raised $2.6 billion in post the local and regional fintech eco- growth, creating opportunities for the QFTH Incubator and Accelera- the region.