third richest country-Qatar

[qatarbg]

Qatar third richest country in the world: GIH
Web posted at: 12/4/2005 2:53:45
Source ::: The Peninsula
Doha: Qatar’s per capita income was $38,241 by 2004-end, making it the third richest country in the world, according to Kuwait-based Global Investment House (GIH), a regional financial research centre.

The two countries that have more per capita income than Qatar are outside the Middle East and they are Luxembourg and Norway,GIH said, . The fast pace of economic growth in Qatar is set to continue over the medium-term, with gas exports planned to multiply four times over the next six to eight years. Political reforms are also in progress to support the country’s impressive economic performance.

In June 2004, Qatar’s first permanent Constitution was signed into a law following its overwhelming endorsement in a national referendum in April 2003. In a move to attract international interest in Qatar, the government issued a decree in June 2004 that allows non-Qataris to own real estate properties in select housing projects. The law permits Qataris and non-Qataris to buy and own real estate of any description in any of the three proposed projects, namely, Pearl Island, West Bay Lagoon and Al Khor resort.

Non-Qatari buyers could own real estate in the three projects for 99 years and that would be extendable for another 99 years. Qatar has begun issuing permanent residence visas to foreigners who buy freehold property in select housing projects. The move is aimed at projecting the country as an open and cosmopolitan society and to compete with a similar legislation already in force in Dubai.

The opening of the Qatari bourse to foreigners is also one of the bold steps, which shows proactive policy initiatives of the Qatari government.

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) leaped to QR103.56bn ($28.45bn) in 2004, from QR86.27bn ($23.7bn) in 2003. The sharp growth in the GDP actually led to a considerable increase in the per capita income.

There has also been a sharp rise in oil and gas exports, which enabled Qatar to record another year of large balance of payment surplus of nearly QR14.3bn ($3.93bn) in 2004. The current account balance also witnessed a heavy surplus of about QR27.5bn ($7.6bn) last year. The surplus in trade of goods and services rose to one of the highest levels of around QR48.3bn ($13.3bn) last year.

Recently, Moody’s Investor Service has upgraded the country’s ceilings for long-term foreign currency bonds and bank deposits to A1 from A3. The government’s long-term foreign currency bond rating and long-term local currency issuer rating were also raised to A1 from A3 and the rating agency said the outlook of Qatar’s ratings remained stable.


Getting better and better day by day !! :)

[cleric]

awesome awesome...makes me proud be a qatari...cant wait to go back home..

[smussuw]

:shocked:

am really jealous, mashalla.

[qatarbg]

awesome awesome...makes me proud be a qatari...cant wait to go back home..
you are a qatari then?

[B-Patriot]

Too bad the Qatar forum isn't experiencing the same sort of rapid growth the Qatari economy is..

[meena]

Way to go, Qatar!!!!!!

[omarmakki]

I think this should make all arab very proud...
And... Way to go Qatar...

[conquest]

the main source of icome for qatar is crazy arabs drifting in expensive cars throught the desert:D

[prsn41ife]

gusy, qatars economy is almost 100% natural gas and oil, its nothing to be proud of, now the UAE is something to be proud of.

i hear that qatar is going to be the richest country in the world in like 10 years. luxembourg is the richest right now, and they really do deserve it because they are really small and have no natural resources and have still managed to become the richest country in the world.

[meena]

gusy, qatars economy is almost 100% natural gas and oil, its nothing to be proud of, now the UAE is something to be proud of.


Whatever the economy, I think where credit is due, it's due!

[cleric]

we need to diversify our economy..and the sooner the better..UAE cant be to proud especially from all the dirty money they make...you know what im talking about..

[cleric]

you are a qatari then?

u thought i was american...

[smussuw]

we need to diversify our economy..and the sooner the better..UAE cant be to proud especially from all the dirty money they make...you know what im talking about..
no I dont know what ur talking about :|

[qatarbg]

u thought i was american...
sort of

[BinALAin]

Go Qatar (plz take UAE with u lol)

[prsn41ife]

Whatever the economy, I think where credit is due, it's due!
ok, if russia had a small population like qatar, it would also be one of the richest countries like qatar because it also has lots of oil.

its nothing special when a country just pumps oil and happens to have a small population.

when qatar becomes like switzerland, luxemberg, or singapore, then you will have credit, but not now.

[*UofT*]

ok, if russia had a small population like qatar, it would also be one of the richest countries like qatar because it also has lots of oil.

its nothing special when a country just pumps oil and happens to have a small population.

when qatar becomes like switzerland, luxemberg, or singapore, then you will have credit, but not now.


I really don't see anything special with Switzerland and Luxembourg, I admire their economic clout and prowess however those two nations have been pumped with liquid cash flows because of their unique banking services. Swiss bank and a number of banks in Luxembourg as well are as wealthy today because of money coming from outside the country.

Singpore however is something to be in awe of, that nation is built entirely on Financial markets, good going.

I would Rank Qatar/Switzerland/Luxembourg in the same category, Qatar however mark my words is going to sky rocket soon enough. What kind of nation recieves 100 billion worth of investment over a weekend with only 200,000 citizens?? Lolz wow go Qatar.

[Gilgamesh]

u thought i was american...

I also thought you were American. :shocked: Who's that in your avatar?

Anyway, Well done Qatar... :cheers:

[*UofT*]

I also thought you were American. :shocked: Who's that in your avatar?

Anyway, Well done Qatar... :cheers:


Sylvester Stallone from "Rocky" :|

[meena]

when qatar becomes like switzerland, luxemberg, or singapore, then you will have credit, but not now.

I'm not asking for your credit! Thanks anyhow!

[Gilgamesh]

Sylvester Stallone from "Rocky" :|


LOL!

[*UofT*]

LOL!


:lol: didn't notice him that young did you?

[Gilgamesh]

:lol: didn't notice him that young did you?

No...:rofl:

[prsn41ife]

I would Rank Qatar/Switzerland/Luxembourg in the same category, Qatar however mark my words is going to sky rocket soon enough. What kind of nation recieves 100 billion worth of investment over a weekend with only 200,000 citizens?? Lolz wow go Qatar.
your going to put a nation solely rich in oil, with no diversified economy, nothing at all with a small population with luxembourg and switzerland?!!!

those nations built themselves out of nothing. they never had oil or natural gas, the actually worked and developed a strong economically system that now other countries are using!

and all that investment is in the oil industry. dont you get it. what happens when it runs out, and it will run out.

bahrain and the UAE are the two most developed countries in the middle east in terms of economy, now they should be proud. qatar, im sorry but when the oil is gone, your gonna want to join the UAE.

[prsn41ife]

I'm not asking for your credit! Thanks anyhow!
o ok, so when the credit is bad you dont want it, but when the credit is a joke then you do?

im sorry but his is my opinion and i know that many of the qataris dont like it but its the truth, tell me, would qatar be this rich with out its LNG and oil, i dont think so and we all know qatar doesnt have anything else, no strong banking, no strong businesses. so what is the credit for, having lots of oil? well then, iran should get that also, kuwait should get that also, iraq should get that also, venezuela should get that also, angola should get that also......

[Pearl of the Gulf]

Maybe they should be proud that the money is being spread throughout country and all the citizens and feeling the effect. Maybe they should be proud of the fact that corruption in the government has gone way down. Maybe they should be proud of representing an Arab country as a top nation.

http://smilies_4_ipb.tripod.com/flags_m_r/3dflagsdotcom_qatar_2faws.gif All credit to them may they reach #1 soon, and lift all our heads high.http://www.starbucksq8.net/vb/galaxy/smilies/qatar.gif

[prsn41ife]

Maybe they should be proud that the money is being spread throughout country and all the citizens and feeling the effect. Maybe they should be proud of the fact that corruption in the government has gone way down. Maybe they should be proud of representing an Arab country as a top nation.

All credit to them may they reach #1 soon, and lift all our heads high.
what? did i say anything about being proud or not. ofcourse they should be proud, that is not what im saying. im saying that its not such a big deal that qatar has become the third richest, they dont deserve credit for that.

and the wealth isnt spread out all over the nation.

and qatar will be #1 in ten years.
\
and are you saying that bahrain, kuwait and UAE have let arabs down? excuse me, but it was those countries that gave arabs a goo dname in the world, not qatar or KSA, or iraq or egypt. so are you saying that the UAE and bahrain let all arabs down?

[MillenniaL]

I'm sorry man if we become the third richest country in the world.:crazy2:
U made your point and u got the right to say what u believe in. yeah you are right, we should not depends just in oil and gas, but in the same time we can't diverse our income resource in just few years, don't forget that Qatar is very new country and it get it independence on 1973.another thing, Qatar is trying to develop so many different sectors for instant, the tourist sector, and then use it as an another income resource.
Which I think is good to make every thing in steps :)

[prsn41ife]

I'm sorry man if we become the third richest country in the world.:crazy2:
U made your point and u got the right to say what u believe in. yeah you are right, we should not depends just in oil and gas, but in the same time we can't diverse our income resource in just few years, don't forget that Qatar is very new country and it get it independence on 1973.another thing, Qatar is trying to develop so many different sectors for instant, the tourist sector, and then use it as an another income resource.
Which I think is good to make every thing in steps :)
so, bahrain is just as new as qatar, and it has very little oil money yet it has managed to be more developed than qatar and has managed to diversify its economy quicker.

what i dont understand is how qatar can have so much oil wealth yet still not manage to develope itself.

why isnt qatar looking like the UAE, why is qatar still not known world wide, why, with all this oil money, has it taken so long for the government to start development?

[*UofT*]

your going to put a nation solely rich in oil, with no diversified economy, nothing at all with a small population with luxembourg and switzerland?!!!



Yes :hahano:

Small nations rich because of the Banking sector like Swiss and Luxembourg are not "diversified", like you seem to believe.

Lets see how the Swiss bank does without all that liquid of cash being pumped in by Arab Sheikhs?

[prsn41ife]

Yes :hahano:

Small nations rich because of the Banking sector like Swiss and Luxembourg are not "diversified", like you seem to believe.

Lets see how the Swiss bank does without all that liquid of cash being pumped in by Arab Sheikhs?
countries that small with out natural resources are built on businesses, yes, switzerland has a huge banking sector but now it has a lot of business investment and it is not solely banking anymore. and luxembourg is definetly not just banking, a lot of it is business too.

[*UofT*]

countries that small with out natural resources are built on businesses, yes, switzerland has a huge banking sector but now it has a lot of business investment and it is not solely banking anymore. and luxembourg is definetly not just banking, a lot of it is business too.


Are u really unaware of the Investments Qatar has been recieving?,

100 billion in OVER A SINGLE WEEKEND makes what Swiss gets look like peanuts.

Regardless in a decades time Qatar's wealth and prestige will be equivalent to those nations in economic clout as well, corporations are after markets and expenditure and Qatar will surpass both nations in question.

You can Twirl your thumb around all day and reminsce over the economic Boom of Swiss and Lux in the 70's as Qatar moves ahead.

Don't give me the "What happens when the oil runs out" b.s. because I really don't feel the need to go over this with a person who should know what the objective of exploiting fossil fuels is for.

[Skoulikimou]

two years ago there was an article on national geo, saying that the natural gas reserve in qatar can power all the USA for 250 years continuously, MASHALAH

[qatarbg]

Qatars oil and natural gas contributed 62% of GDP at QR64.4 bn.
and if any country has much oil and gas,it isnt that every1 will come and invest in it.for that,u hav to hav a good economy.
And dont ever say that qatar isnt known all over the world,even if qatar is not known all over the world,look at al jazeera ,it was the 5th most influential brand in THE WHOLE WORLD.qatar airways is one of the worlds leading airlines too.They both belong to the qatar government.(even dubai or any othr middle eastern cntry cant get there ,can it,thats somthin to b proud of)
In a recent article in the statesman HH the Emir was voted as one of the 10 people who can change the world.qatar has the worlds third largest gas reserves while uae has the 4th largest gas reserves
And every country in the middle east cant b a Dubai, only centering on
tourism,what wud happen if uae din get any tourists or if all of the expatriates got out of the country,??so dont ask wat wud happen if qatar lost all its gas and oil,its goin to last for 200 years.

[smussuw]

And dont ever say that qatar isnt known all over the world,even if qatar is not known all over the world,look at al jazeera ,it was the 5th most influential brand in THE WHOLE WORLD.qatar airways is one of the worlds leading airlines too.They both belong to the qatar government.(even dubai or any othr middle eastern cntry cant get there ,can it,thats somthin to b proud of)
The UAE isnt interested in competing middle easter countries simply because we have a bigger ambition. You forgot that we have Emirates Airline, Emaar the biggest construction company in the world in the market shares rank, DP World the 3rd biggest ports operator in the world, Jumeirah the new leading hotel brand, Etisalat which owns telecom companies in more than 15 countries, Dubai Airpot which was elected as the best airport in the world and the biggest airport in the middle east, Dubai Holding which is the biggest company in the middle east in the assest rank out of the oil sector, Dubai the 2nd best managed city in the world and the list goes.

You have the right to be proud of Al Jazeera though ;)

Qatar has the worlds third largest gas reserves while uae has the 4th largest. Every country in the middle east cant be Dubai, only centering on
tourism.

What would happen if UAE didnt get any tourists or if all of the expatriates got out of the country? so dont ask wat wud happen if qatar lost all its gas and oil,its goin to last for 200 years.

Tourism isnt even 10% of the UAE's GDP so, I dont know what ur talking about. Every one knows too that Dubai isnt based on it anyway. There are far many other things beside tourism in Dubai.

The UAE is already the center of services, trade, media, technology, entertainment, education and soon in sports, finance,health care and industry in the arab world.

The question uve asked can exactly apply to Qatar too in expats and gas.

[qatarbg]

The UAE isnt interested in competing middle easter countries simply because we have a bigger ambition. You forgot that we have Emirates Airline, Emaar the biggest construction company in the world in the market shares rank, DP World the 3rd biggest ports operator in the world, Jumeirah the new leading hotel brand, Etisalat which owns telecom companies in more than 15 countries, Dubai Airpot which was elected as the best airport in the world and the biggest airport in the middle east, Dubai Holding which is the biggest company in the middle east in the assest rank out of the oil sector, Dubai the 2nd best managed city in the world and the list goes.

You have the right to be proud of Al Jazeera though ;)

.

.(even dubai or any othr middle eastern cntry cant get there ,can it,thats somthin to b proud of).
by that i mean dubai or any othr middle eastern cntry cant get here in this list,
1.apple.2.google.3.ikea.4.starbucks5.aljazeera.i mean they cant be any one of the first 5 influentail brands
PS:i havnt got anything against uae :) :sleepy:

[Halawala]

But currently Qatar is diversitfying its economy at a rapid pace. Ten years ago, when HH the Amir took over power, there was literally nothing in Qatar which is worth mentioning. Now, Qatar is not only on the world map, but it is amongst the leading nations when it comes to GDP, energy reserves, buisiness potential, and tourism potential. All this ACTION, if you will, happened in a small span of 10 years! In terms of business potentials, we are still in A to B, but we are evolving quickly. 10 years ago there were only 3 five star hotels. In 2007 there will be more than 30! That is just an example. The demand for office is also skyrocketing. My own cousin, as a small example, was looking for a suitable office, but could not find one unoccupied. The UAE, expecially Dubai, had plans beforehand and worked extremely hard to achieve their current status. I applaude them for that; but in our case, our period of modern prosperity happened just 10 years ago in 1995. I am not going to say, "wait ten years and see qatar then. It will be better than Dubai." No, the current leadership and the Qatari people are working at a very rapid pace at modernising the government sector and education; which is the keystone to progress in the country-- AT THE SAME TIME, takign into account tourism and business. It takes time, much more than five to ten years to achieve a semi-perfect state.

I hope I did not bore you to death, but just my 2 cents!

[qatarbg]

good going halawala

[smussuw]

.
by that i mean dubai or any othr middle eastern cntry cant get here in this list,
1.apple.2.google.3.ikea.4.starbucks5.aljazeera.i mean they cant be any one of the first 5 influentail brands
PS:i havnt got anything against uae :) :sleepy:
You included Qatar airways that's why I replyed.

I have nothing against Qatar too infact, for me, Qatars success is UAEs success.

[smussuw]

But currently Qatar is diversitfying its economy at a rapid pace. Ten years ago, when HH the Amir took over power, there was literally nothing in Qatar which is worth mentioning. Now, Qatar is not only on the world map, but it is amongst the leading nations when it comes to GDP, energy reserves, buisiness potential, and tourism potential. All this ACTION, if you will, happened in a small span of 10 years! In terms of business potentials, we are still in A to B, but we are evolving quickly. 10 years ago there were only 3 five star hotels. In 2007 there will be more than 30! That is just an example. The demand for office is also skyrocketing. My own cousin, as a small example, was looking for a suitable office, but could not find one unoccupied. The UAE, expecially Dubai, had plans beforehand and worked extremely hard to achieve their current status. I applaude them for that; but in our case, our period of modern prosperity happened just 10 years ago in 1995. I am not going to say, "wait ten years and see qatar then. It will be better than Dubai." No, the current leadership and the Qatari people are working at a very rapid pace at modernising the government sector and education; which is the keystone to progress in the country-- AT THE SAME TIME, takign into account tourism and business. It takes time, much more than five to ten years to achieve a semi-perfect state.

I hope I did not bore you to death, but just my 2 cents!
Well said.

My reply to prsn4life is that even the UAE built itself from oil. I mean we must have something to start with and oil was the case in our country. The UAE worked hard 30 years to diverse its economy and now is time for Qatar to do so.

[Halawala]

thanks smussuw and qatarbg for ur answers, but no one can underestimate the benifits of oil to both of our countries. My grandmother and grandfather once told me that before oil was discovered Gulf people were dying of starvation and all kinds of diseases. People then migrated to other countries, more prosperous ones, such as Iran, India, at some level Bahrain. Also, the population before 50 or 60 years was nearly a tenth of what it is now--if not less in the UAE and Qatar. Oil, I believe, is something God blessed our region with..

Why is it a shame to some that most of our income comes from oil?!!! If you look at other countries such as USA, European countries, Asian countries, why are some of their economies prospering before ours? Because for one thing, their weather allowed for millions of acres of farmland and agriculture to sustain the world's hungry. Their diverse population allowed for many minds to think and invent technological advancements. They also benifited from colonizing poor nations and stealing their benifits and adding more weath to their pockets.

But, WE built our own wealth and money our of OUR own resources and hard work. If we didnt have oil, would our countries be the same in terms of foreign relations and investments? NO!! So, we should thank God for that. But, since oil is depleting fast we must at least build a strong foundation so that our decendants in the future will have a base to grow on.

[qatarbg]

You included Qatar airways that's why I replyed.

I have nothing against Qatar too infact, for me, Qatars success is UAEs success.
Emirates became big bcoz dubai is well-known.
malaysian airlines bcame good bcoz malaysia is well known too.
british airways bcoz of britain and so on,b it 4 entertainment,education,sports.
But Qatar is not well known but qatar airways bcame one of the 3 best in the world.thats why i included qatar airways.
I am not saying that if a cntry is well known that they wud b havin a good airline.

[dave550]

That is so true HAWALA, but we are already building a good infrastructure that will last for generations to come. Other than the good relations that we have with neighboring countries. And for the people who think that we are nothing and that it's only gas and oil that made us be what we are. Plz, they must be jealous. People in Qatar starved to death for centuries, nobody said anything or even helped them get on their foot. That is because we did not have any economic resources, but these countries that you guys are comparing us with, they already had resources as agriculture and minerals, plus they weren't an isolated peninsula.
Qatar started from absolutely zero, and now it is among the modern nations and leading the Arabs and the Muslim world in the Security Council, and please don't say that all this came from oil. Oil did the first contribution, but soon we caught up with the others by educating our generations and even educating the past 2 generations in Emirates, that is true, we used to send them and Oman our own curriculum.

[cleric]

i just watched syriana....a very mediocre movie about politics, oil, and what not in the middle east. the movie makes arabs look very bad..the movie sorrounds saudi and its decline especially when it comes to reform and economy. overall, the movie bored me and made me realize how little hollywood knows about the middle east.

[BinALAin]

lol .. i saw the movie 2 .. i was shock .. they show desert only nothing else :(

one guys yelled ( FUCK YOU ) in the movie .. when Amir said i will give u another 35million for you second kid... i was scared lol only non-white in the cinema lol

[smussuw]

People in Qatar starved to death for centuries, nobody said anything or even helped them get on their foot.
I agree on everything uve said. However; saying that people starved to death is exaggeration. People were really poor but there was always food to eat.

[shayan]

I hope that qatar will become the first nation in the world i think that in the future it will be like this
1. Qatar
2. Kuweit
3. UAE
4. Bahrein
5. Iran
6. KSA
7. Iraq

[prsn41ife]

I hope that qatar will become the first nation in the world i think that in the future it will be like this
1. Qatar
2. Kuweit
3. UAE
4. Bahrein
5. Iran
6. KSA
7. Iraq
nope, it will never be like that.

[prsn41ife]

i just watched syriana....a very mediocre movie about politics, oil, and what not in the middle east. the movie makes arabs look very bad..the movie sorrounds saudi and its decline especially when it comes to reform and economy. overall, the movie bored me and made me realize how little hollywood knows about the middle east.
it was a GREAT movie!!!

but i am amazed that this movie was allowed to even be shown in the USA. I LOVE DEMOCRACY! ITS A GREAT THING...

[shayan]

nope, it will never be like that.

Why not we are the richest region in the world... I mean all the persian gulf nation together have around the 120 million people living in it, The whole region also has between the 30 and 50 trillion dollars in natural resources! That means that one person living in the persian gulf region should have about 6 times as much $ than a person in the usa and 7 times as much $ than a person in europe!!!

[prsn41ife]

Why not we are the richest region in the world... I mean all the persian gulf nation together have around the 120 million people living in it, The whole region also has between the 30 and 50 trillion dollars in natural resources! That means that one person living in the persian gulf region should have about 6 times as much $ than a person in the usa and 7 times as much $ than a person in europe!!!
let me tell you why it cant happen. the only country in the region with natural resources other than oil is iran, so it has a chance but the rest are oil nations.

and right now, bahrain, kuwait, and the UAE are all trying to be economic investment hot spots but it is impossible for all these countries, including qatar, to all try and compete and attract investment. they are all trying to be the singapores of the middle east, economies based on business, but when they are that close to each other, all competing for the same thing, only one can truly succeed.

therefore, once the oil runs out, some of these countries arent going to be fortunate as others. my guess is that bahrain and the UAE will survive this but saudi, qatar, and kuwait wont. saudi arabia hasnt even started diversifying, neither has qatar, and kuwait i think has started too late because bahrain and UAE have already attracted all the attention.

but one problem for the UAE is that foreigners out number them. if they are going to be a truly developed and modern country, other countries will demand of them to give equality and rights to all the workers and foreigners. i have a feeling the arab emiratis will not like this (maybe because if they do they will eventually lose the UAE to foreigners that outnumber them). so therefore, there are a lot of problems in the middle east for you to say that middle eastern countries will be the top ten richest, its not realistic.

[shayan]

well UAE and Iraq have other resources to.... And i was talking about the next 50 years.. I think that the persian gulf states will become influential as long as the oil is around if the oil goes.... (i dont want to see that day) A lot of persian gulf nations will be doomed but I personally think that everything will work out because the nations will deversivy a bit and hopefully it will be enough to keep a economy that makes the standards of living around the 30.000$.

My personal vision are knowledge economies and hopefully this will happen after the oil runs out, but till that day i think the persian gulf nations will be the richest in the world!

[prsn41ife]

well UAE and Iraq have other resources to.... And i was talking about the next 50 years.. I think that the persian gulf states will become influential as long as the oil is around if the oil goes.... (i dont want to see that day) A lot of persian gulf nations will be doomed but I personally think that everything will work out because the nations will deversivy a bit and hopefully it will be enough to keep a economy that makes the standards of living around the 30.000$.

My personal vision are knowledge economies and hopefully this will happen after the oil runs out, but till that day i think the persian gulf nations will be the richest in the world!
what other resources do the UAE and Iraq have??? UAE only has oil, just checked it, and iraq only has oil and phosphates and sulfur.

their only natural resources are oil.

and iran will survive when oil runs out so i dont really care and bahrain will also survive because they have been doing it for years now with limited oil. but i am not so sure of kuwait, qatar is doomed if it doesnt work fast (it has started waaaaaaay to late!), and saudi arabia is definetly doomed because they dont even care!

but for the skeptics out there, here is why i know iran will survive after oil:

1)petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur, gold, uranium, and i am sure i am forgetting a lot of them!
2)because of the sanctions, there are now hundred of companies, both western and iranian companies, waiting to invest in iran (a country with a 70 million population that is literally untapped, with potential for a strong banking and tourism sector)(once the sanctions are gone ofcourse, which i believe will be gone with the next 5 years, USA really needs the oil and the companies really want the business, just like with what happened to sanctions on india.)
3)iran has already developed several other industries (agriculture, cars, etc...).

[shayan]

well your right PRSN41IFE and iran doesnt have anything to be worried about but i think that eventually the other oil nations dont have anything to be worried about to because at one point they will make so much oil money that they will start there own industries, The only real problem they will face is the "dutch efect" that means that living standards will get so high that people wont want to do the dirty jobs....

Qatar has a bright future if they start building hotels and start building banks, if they wont start in the next 10 years than you are right they are doomed but i hope they are smart enough to start now. I mean gulf nations never will become industrialised nations because there population is just to low but i think that if they start to build a knowledge economy and a lot of high knowledge industries like high tech and stuff they can survive... But one thing is for sure the persian gulf states need to act fast to keep the wealth they are getting from oil.

ow and prsn41ife you forgot Carbonium, Alumineum

[prsn41ife]

yes maybe, but i feel bad for saudi arabia, they are doomed because their government doesnt care and is too busy spending millions elsewhere.

[shayan]

It not to us to say anything about it... They should think for them selves... I wanted to know from the saudies why they dont send back the foreign workers because they need the jobs for the saudies (i've heard that one out of 4 doesnt have a job over there).

[Gilgamesh]

i just watched syriana....a very mediocre movie about politics, oil, and what not in the middle east. the movie makes arabs look very bad..the movie sorrounds saudi and its decline especially when it comes to reform and economy. overall, the movie bored me and made me realize how little hollywood knows about the middle east.

LOL, this is literally all over the place. :D

[prsn41ife]

it is because it is a fantastic movie!!!!!!!

[Gilgamesh]

I must download it right away. :D

[shayan]

where can i download it please freedom help me (snik snik) :D

[prsn41ife]

i dont know how it is in europe but here in the USA they have laws against downloading illegaly. this kid in my town got sued for $50000 for having pirated music on his computer.

[Gilgamesh]

I think it's time to go to Chai Khoneh. :P :D

[shayan]

yeah
see ya people we are of to have some tea and talk about stuff :D

[*UofT*]

let me tell you why it cant happen. the only country in the region with natural resources other than oil is iran, so it has a chance but the rest are oil nations.


Iraq was and will always have much more agricultural potential than Iran. Iraq also has more fossil fuels than Iran.

Your a little off there, but apart from Iraq, Iran is a nation that has the most potential.

[prsn41ife]

Iraq was and will always have much more agricultural potential than Iran. Iraq also has more fossil fuels than Iran.

Your a little off there, but apart from Iraq, Iran is a nation that has the most potential.
um, iraq's only natural resources are oil, phophorous and sulfur. and iraq has fallen 20 years behind with the two gulf wars. and iraq is probably going to be split up in the next few years and on top of that iran is totally self sufficient in agriculture where as iraq's agriculture is not commercial and is not even strong anymore.

therefore, iraq and iran were the giants of the middle east in the 70's but iraq drew the short straw and saddam messed everything up for iraqi's.

[Gilgamesh]

Iraq was and will always have much more agricultural potential than Iran. Iraq also has more fossil fuels than Iran.

Your a little off there, but apart from Iraq, Iran is a nation that has the most potential.

This is off topic, but you couldn't be more wrong.

[shayan]

freedom is right (agriculture are one of the easiest to develop industries in the world if you have the right resources). I wanted to know... Does qatar import all its food or does it produces some itself??

[Halawala]

freedom is right (agriculture are one of the easiest to develop industries in the world if you have the right resources). I wanted to know... Does qatar import all its food or does it produces some itself??


I have a tomato cucumber and eggplant garden in my back yard which I eat from. Does that count? :hahaha:

[prsn41ife]

that actually helped the US win WWII, all the food went to the army so people made their own litte gardens.

[cleric]

it is because it is a fantastic movie!!!!!!!


i dont see anything fantastic about it...lots of BS as well as truth but coming hollywood is ignorant when it comes down to the middle east. Lebanon doesn't look that bad except for the refugee camps and plus the Beirut scene was shot somewhere in morocco. For god sakes, the main character wasnt even speaking arabic, it was even stupid when he was trying to speak arabic. The ending was terrible too. Not to mention how they potrayed saudi cops as nazis in the movie too. I know saudi cops are pretty bad but can not be that bad. The movie is almost like Propaganda.

[prsn41ife]

i dont see anything fantastic about it...lots of BS as well as truth but coming hollywood is ignorant when it comes down to the middle east. Lebanon doesn't look that bad except for the refugee camps and plus the Beirut scene was shot somewhere in morocco. For god sakes, the main character wasnt even speaking arabic, it was even stupid when he was trying to speak arabic. The ending was terrible too. Not to mention how they potrayed saudi cops as nazis in the movie too. I know saudi cops are pretty bad but can not be that bad. The movie is almost like Propaganda.
that movie wasnt even in saudi arabia, it was supposed to be dubai.

and it was a suburb of beirut that they went to. the beirut they showed in the movie looked nice. and yes, the movie was filmed in morroco and UAE.

and again, that was not saudi arabia, that was dubai, and the workers in dubai really are treated badly.

[Qatar4Ever]

Dunno what all u guys been talking about. im not in the mood. later i will comment.

[Skoulikimou]

i have to see this movie

[cleric]

Dunno what all u guys been talking about. im not in the mood. later i will comment.

hey man..where in texas r u in...SA?

[shayan]

i wanted to know what kind of languages are theached in qatar.

[Qatar_Blue]

We are taught Arabic and English. English is very widely used in my country especially in the industrial and business sectors. :)

[shayan]

What kind of industries are settleing in qatar (next to the oil industry??)

[Qatar_Blue]

I don’t have the answer for that but we are seeing a shift from an oil lead enconmy into multi sector economy "trade and finance" as our Minster of commerce stated a few months ago "The oil and gas revenues will account only 50% of Qatars GDP by 2020" now they acount for 70-80%. So they are doing something to diversify the country’s portfolio. However they are using the Gas and Oil as an acceleration factor.

[shayan]

I hope they will deversify there economy because the CIA factbook says that qatar has oil only for the next 23 years...

[smussuw]

^ but they have gas for 200 or more ;)

[Qatar4Ever]

thanks smussuw and qatarbg for ur answers, but no one can underestimate the benifits of oil to both of our countries. My grandmother and grandfather once told me that before oil was discovered Gulf people were dying of starvation and all kinds of diseases. People then migrated to other countries, more prosperous ones, such as Iran, India, at some level Bahrain. Also, the population before 50 or 60 years was nearly a tenth of what it is now--if not less in the UAE and Qatar. Oil, I believe, is something God blessed our region with..

Why is it a shame to some that most of our income comes from oil?!!! If you look at other countries such as USA, European countries, Asian countries, why are some of their economies prospering before ours? Because for one thing, their weather allowed for millions of acres of farmland and agriculture to sustain the world's hungry. Their diverse population allowed for many minds to think and invent technological advancements. They also benifited from colonizing poor nations and stealing their benifits and adding more weath to their pockets.

But, WE built our own wealth and money our of OUR own resources and hard work. If we didnt have oil, would our countries be the same in terms of foreign relations and investments? NO!! So, we should thank God for that. But, since oil is depleting fast we must at least build a strong foundation so that our decendants in the future will have a base to grow on.

Bravo 3alik ya Halawala. Well said !

And smu, yes, ppl did die from starvation. A lot of ppl. My great-grandfather lost 5 of his brothers to disease before deciding to pack up and leave qatar. thank god my grandfather decided to return 50 years later :)

[smussuw]

^ not according to my father

[shayan]

yeah qatar has oil (edit i ment gas) for the next 100 years but that doesnt mean that they should depend on it, i hope they will deversify knowledge economies rock!! Thats the way the sweden finland and denmark became on of the richest countries in the world.

[dave550]

Qatar4Ever, what happened to your great grandpa really happened to most Qataris, and even the situation in neighboring countries like Emirates was even a lot worse. My dad told me that my grandfather left the UAE and came to Qatar when he really thought they will starve to death,and by that time arabs from the gulf couldn't go to Persia like before cause the Shah's government had already taken over the south, which made it impossible to survive there with all the discrimination against arabs and which affected the lives of most arabs living there already and forced them to creep out of persia day after day, till most of them settled in different parts of the gulf by the middle of the last century.

[smussuw]

^ I know that many of my family members, Al Suwaidi family, are in Qatar right now :D

[dave550]

That is true, cause most of them live in Freej Al-Sudan:-)

[Halawala]

Bravo 3alik ya Halawala. Well said !

And smu, yes, ppl did die from starvation. A lot of ppl. My great-grandfather lost 5 of his brothers to disease before deciding to pack up and leave qatar. thank god my grandfather decided to return 50 years later :)


Thanks Q4E.. That is exactly true, but one thing i know which is a TABOO or well-known NO-DISCUSSION topic, is that because some people traveled to Faris during the hard times, and then came back to Qatar, they are being discriminated against because they are "not pure arabs" which is certainly not the case. But people dont realize that these very people were discriminated also in Faris because they were pure ARABS. God, there are still many people today that still judge people by which country they TEMPORARILY lived in!!!

[cleric]

Thanks Q4E.. That is exactly true, but one thing i know which is a TABOO or well-known NO-DISCUSSION topic, is that because some people traveled to Faris during the hard times, and then came back to Qatar, they are being discriminated against because they are "not pure arabs" which is certainly not the case. But people dont realize that these very people were discriminated also in Faris because they were pure ARABS. God, there are still many people today that still judge people by which country they TEMPORARILY lived in!!!

pure arabs..that is funny...the terms pure arabs does intrigue since the gulf countries are obsessed with it even though back in the day many people in the gulf intermarried with many other people be, it indian, iranian, belouch and so on...the word is pure doesnt hold true for most people in the gulf. and now people are blind about the past since money is a divider not a uniter is some cases. correct me if im wrong...

[Halawala]

Yes I think your right cleric, nowadays it is people's origins count just as much as their wealth, but it is changing. It is not a society crisis, but i think it is a big problem and a big error in our society..

[dave550]

Oh my God. This is a very sensitive topic. It is so true Halawala. These people that are so called arab-persians are now being dicriminated against by Arabs and their only sin was that they went to persia for a few years seeking a better stable life. It is really a shame when you hear people talking about others behind their backs and not trusting them just for this fact.

[prsn41ife]

Oh my God. This is a very sensitive topic. It is so true Halawala. These people that are so called arab-persians are now being dicriminated against by Arabs and their only sin was that they went to persia for a few years seeking a better stable life. It is really a shame when you hear people talking about others behind their backs and not trusting them just for this fact.
what, arab persians are discriminated against? in what way.

[dave550]

They are being discriminated against in Arab countries, because even though they don't speak Persian but they once had a life somewhere else "which really weren't them but their grandpas." And this alone gave a lot of people the chance to differentiate them from others because they are not considered pure Arabs. Usually people who are not educated and with an ill mentality would only do something like that, but we see it all the time even though it is a taboo and they only talk about them behind their backs. Cause it's a real shame.

[Halawala]

Dave550, youre right, but also in other areas such as marriage. Some families of "more Arab origins" cannot marry into other families with "more Persians origins", otherwise it is considered to be against the culture. Personally, I beleive this is bullcrap, since a person has a right to marry who ever she or he wishes to.

[smussuw]

Do people even care about those stuff? I mean it is true that it isnt popular to see Arabs having marriage with Ajamist but it is getting normal.

I dont think that there is discrimination against Ajamis from the countrys side at all or even the arabs side. People think about the race only in marriage and it comes from both side Ajamis or Arabs. I think it happens even between the arabs themselves where big familes dont marry small familes and that sort of stuff.

That is the case in the UAE :)

[Halawala]

Do people even care about those stuff? I mean it is true that it isnt popular to see Arabs having marriage with Ajamist but it is getting normal.

I dont think that there is discrimination against Ajamis from the countrys side at all or even the arabs side. People think about the race only in marriage and it comes from both side Ajamis or Arabs. I think it happens even between the arabs themselves where big familes dont marry small familes and that sort of stuff.

That is the case in the UAE :)

Well, personally I dont care. But there are alot of people who care. But in the UAE, where I currently study, there are just 2 "types" of "asil" or origins: the Ajami and the Arab. But, in Qatar there are 3, the pure Arabs, the "hweela" or people of arab origins who temprarily lived in Faris, and the Ajamis, people who completely moved from Iran or Elsewhere and settled in the country. We should all be one big Qatari, or Khaleeji family of one origin, the Arabian Gulf :grouphug: :grouphug:

[smussuw]

^ well, we do have Arabs who used to live in Persia but they arent that many like al marzouki, Al hammadi, Al Housani famielies ... etc.



It seems that it is like an "issue there isnt it? We dont have the term "hweela". Anyway, it wouldnt make any difference anyway.

[Halawala]

Yes, after all, does 100 kilometers across the sea make any difference?? No!!!

:)

[smussuw]

^ It will only make a difference if they were as nationalist as prsn4life or shayan :D

Calling it the "Arabian Gulf" is a sin for them. Funny, even Ajamis call it the "Arabian Gulf" and they dont believe in the persian nationalism.

[Halawala]

ya, what do THEY know??? :jk:

[Gilgamesh]

Funny, even Ajamis call it the "Arabian Gulf"

Tell it to Bulldozergirl.

[smussuw]

^ even bulldozerGirl call it the "Arabian Gulf" when she say that in Arabic. Beside, almost all of the them dont even know that it is called the Persian Gulf. Who cares about a name anyway :cheers:

[shayan]

I agree with the fact that ethnicities shouldnt marry with one a nother... A simit should marry a simit and a Aryan should marry a Aryan.

[Dor. IL]

jejeje nice to hear... congratulations to Qatar

[smussuw]

I agree with the fact that ethnicities shouldnt marry with one a nother... A simit should marry a simit and a Aryan should marry a Aryan.
welcome to the 21st century. People dont believe in this shit now.

[frank_pensador]

congratulations, it seems to me, that this forum is beautiful.

[prsn41ife]

welcome to the 21st century. People dont believe in this shit now.
smussuw, you said even ajami's call it the arabian gulf, THAT IS BECAUSE IT IS ILLEGAL TO USE THE TERM PERSIAN GULF IN THE UAE!! you dont understand that do you. your country forces them too.

[dave550]

Not because the Gov. in the UAE forces them to do so. It would be rediculous if they do, but arabs in general in all parts of the 23 arab countries of the Arab World call it the Arabian Gulf, because it is attached to the Arab Sea and also for the fact that 7 arab countries are located on the Arabian Gulf. It is only in English that we sometimes call it the Persian Gulf.

[smussuw]

the UAE government force them? :rofl:

The reason is that those Ajamis gave away their nationalist shit and believed in Emirati Arabic Islamic citizenship where stupid names Arabian/Persian arent worth shit.

[shayan]

Is there a fair distrubution of wealth in Qatar?? (i mean is there no uber sheik elite like in KSA who have all the money will the rest bearly can come around??)

[*UofT*]

Is there a fair distrubution of wealth in Qatar?? (i mean is there no uber sheik elite like in KSA who have all the money will the rest bearly can come around??)


bearly can come around??
I bet you my cousins in Saudi Drive Cars the richest of rich in Amsterdam can't afford.

[shayan]

Uoft maybe your cousins are one of the lucky few. And i didnt ask you to react to the saudi part i wished for a answer to my Qatar question considering that i didnt want to know anything about KSA because i dont care about what happens over there i only know that it happens over there.

So can you anwer my first question? "is the wealth wel distrubuted in qatar"?

[Dhakar Odhibashi]

good luck to qataris.

it's actually good for the muslim world as a whole, because no muslim countries are the richest.

at least with qatar getting richer, there will be one muslim country at the top.

[*UofT*]

Uoft maybe your cousins are one of the lucky few. And i didnt ask you to react to the saudi part i wished for a answer to my Qatar question considering that i didnt want to know anything about KSA because i dont care about what happens over there i only know that it happens over there.

So can you anwer my first question? "is the wealth wel distrubuted in qatar"?


Well before you make a blanketed statement about a country and nation you don't know much about or "care" for be ready for a response.

My cousins are Middle Class in Saudi, they live in Middle Class Local suburbs of Hayal-Fawaz and Taif.

[shayan]

And still you havent answered my question.... Humm...

[prsn41ife]

the answer is no. kuwait is pretty well distributed, the government gives every kuwaiti citizen $40000 for free every year.

[smussuw]

:rofl:

[omarmakki]

the answer is no. kuwait is pretty well distributed, the government gives every kuwaiti citizen $40000 for free every year.
Wow! $40000 for free a year! That's alot!

[smussuw]

^ that isnt true

[Halawala]

i dont think its true. $40,000 X 800 000 ppl = $32 000 000 000 per year on citizens!! It seems too high!!

[smussuw]

I already said it isnt true.

[Skoulikimou]

where is my 40,000$

[Gilgamesh]

where is my 40,000$


I stole it. :D

[prsn41ife]

where is my 40,000$
so its not true???

that is what our world cultures teacher here in the USA told us.

he told us the stupidest things (world cultures teachers are the stupidest teachers you will ever meet, they are very bad and dont know anything about different cultures, most of the time, they are the assistant football coach or the math teacher that the school board gets to teach these classes). somtimes, i felt like punching them becuase they were so stupid.

anyway, he told us that in kuwait, poeple use servants like slaves, that the arab guy drives in his mercedes air conditioned car and makes the servants run outside along with the car instead of inside. he told us some crazy bullshit.

and they also confuse al zarqawi with al sadr all the time. when it comes to islam, they dont know shit. this is why most americans are ignorant, they dont get the right education in school.

[shayan]

Well how does it work people. How do they give the oil money to the average qatari?

[smussuw]

^ Salaries? free housing? Health Care? Education? better infrastructure?

[Skoulikimou]

most important every thing is TAX FREE

[shayan]

merci:)

[Pearl of the Gulf]

so its not true???

that is what our world cultures teacher here in the USA told us.

he told us the stupidest things

is he the same teacher that told you about the persian gulf? :D :jk:

[Skoulikimou]

merci:)
bon appetit :cheers:

[Halawala]

is he the same teacher that told you about the persian gulf? :D :jk:



I was going to say the same thing! loool!

[shayan]

^^^ hahaha (not funny)

[prsn41ife]

is he the same teacher that told you about the persian gulf? :D :jk:
no, the maps, the books, every teacher, everyone i've talked to, historians, and governments tell me its the Persian Gulf.

i've known that people in arab countries called it the arabian gulf, but till i came into these forums, i thought they were all just being stupid and actually knew it was the Persian Gulf but i found out that some poeple really actually believe and get educated so badly.....LOL

[shayan]

PRSN41ife dont go further on it this is about qatar and about the fact they are getting the richest country in the world.

[prsn41ife]

i know, besides, tell that to the person who started it. anyway, hwat else is there to discuss on this subject, qatar is the 3rd right now, and in a few years it will be the 1st.

[shayan]

well there still isnt a clear anwers to my question about wealth distrubution but i think that thats a taboe issue so i wont ask more about it...

[Halawala]

well there still isnt a clear anwers to my question about wealth distrubution but i think that thats a taboe issue so i wont ask more about it...


Well, the wealth is disttributed in many forms as smussuw said: the government provides free, world-class hospitals, creates state of the art infrastructure, create energy resources (gas and petrol) so that the citizens can work there, free electricity and water for citizens, free education (elementry, middle, high schools + university), free scholarships both in the country and out of it for academics. All men who are recently married, are given a free plot of land, and something like 600,000 riyals or something to build a house for him and his family. All citizens are given a free CLS 55 AMG (j/k), anyway, LETS SEEEEE.... what else. Government creates new stock-market companies that can triple or double in value--benifiting the average Qatari. There are tons more, but I cant think of it. I hope that answers your question. Oh, yes there is the retirement pensions, marriage funds, ect.

[prsn41ife]

so what happens when the oil runs out and the government cant do this anymore?

this is what happened in yemen, the government subsidised oil for too long, then when they couldnt do it anymore, and had to raise prices immensly, the people rioted in the streets for weeks! they had to bring the army in!

i dont think its a good idea to get people dependent on the government because it wont be able to this for ever.

[shayan]

well the free education is really good! i wished we had it over here in holland (here you just get free education till your 17 years old)

[smussuw]

^ they treat the Emirati the same and I still see the government able to do it.

They might introduce tax later but not for now.

[prsn41ife]

^^i know they can do it for now, im talking about the future. if the peopel become too dependent and then suddenly the government has to stop subsidising oil, has to stop with all this free stuff, the people will be angry and they wont be able to afford the stuff themselves because their incomes have been spent unproportionally on luxuries.

[Halawala]

^ yes, I heard that in the UAE its the same, but slowly the govt is making us pay for minor things slowly until they can collect more. I mean, today people have to pay money for every government service they want done. I mean for example, if I want a maid or a driver, it used to be 500 riyals for a visa or something like it. But today, they made it more like 2000 riyals per visa (maybe more). So, they increased the prises for basic services. They might introduce fees to electricity and water. But, since Qatar's population is less than 250,000 citizens, I dont see why the government should stop providing us financially... I think that by the time our oil and gas will run out in 200 years or something, we would be dependent on business, just like Singapore is now. Singapore doesnt have any natural resources, but they have one of SE Asia's largest economies... Dubai, Doha, Manama, Kuwait to some extent are diversfying their economies...

[prsn41ife]

have you ever thought about why 4 different cities cannot all become the financial capitol?!!!!

kuwait city, doha, manama, and dubai cannot all compete and be successful! singapore is the only city of its type in the region. Hong kong is a port city, and all the other major cities are in countries that have natural resources or have invested in technology like japan (cars, systems, radios, tv's, computers, etc...)

but when you have 4 cities, all relying on the business sector to compete, there is always going to be one that is more attractive to businesses than the other. sure, teh economies of all wont be bad, but none of them will be able the have as much excess money as they have now.

[smussuw]

^^i know they can do it for now, im talking about the future. if the peopel become too dependent and then suddenly the government has to stop subsidising oil, has to stop with all this free stuff, the people will be angry and they wont be able to afford the stuff themselves because their incomes have been spent unproportionally on luxuries.
Or we can deal with it in a smart way.

We have something called Marriage fund where they pay 70,000 dirhams for each couple. Recently, because many people get married they were having financial problems.

What do u think the government did?

They started investing money dedicated for it. They use advertisement to urge rich people to pay for the fund. They even want to give the fund a percentage of each company for this purpose.

have you ever thought about why 4 different cities cannot all become the financial capitol?!!!!

kuwait city, doha, manama, and dubai cannot all compete and be successful! singapore is the only city of its type in the region. Hong kong is a port city, and all the other major cities are in countries that have natural resources or have invested in technology like japan (cars, systems, radios, tv's, computers, etc...)

but when you have 4 cities, all relying on the business sector to compete, there is always going to be one that is more attractive to businesses than the other. sure, teh economies of all wont be bad, but none of them will be able the have as much excess money as they have now.
They arent competing to be the financial capital. Every city and country is unique. Beside competing is good sometimes ;)

[Halawala]

^^ I never said they ALL become financial capitals. Im just saying that they are diversifing their economies. Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Johor Bahru, Hong Kong, and other cities are all financial strongholds in SE Asia.

DOHA, BAHRAIN, DUBAI, and KUWAIT can all become successful. They already are attracting billions of dollars in businesses, today...

[prsn41ife]

^^ I never said they ALL become financial capitals. Im just saying that they are diversifing their economies. Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Johor Bahru, Hong Kong, and other cities are all financial strongholds in SE Asia.
kuala lumpur, jakarta, bankok, are all in countries with natural resources. the true business cities are the ones that dont rely on natural resources like singapore, and hong kong.

and doha, kuwait city, dubai, etc...they all provide the same type of everything, since their terrain is all the same, they only can provide the same type of tourist attractions (hotels, pools, etc...), and since they all have small markets (population size), when countries like iraq, iran, syria and jordan get on their feet, they will quickly absorb business, because they all have large potentially successful markets. the competition in the ME is very very tight and it will be even more so when iraq and iran get back on their feet again. its not a piece of cake.

and also, dubai, manama, doha, kuwait city...etc....are all going to have to have the same policies towards business if they want to compete (like less taxes.) therefore, since the similarites are very equal, business will only have to choose one for major investing and the other ones for branching. i personally think that business wills stick to dubai.

[Pearl of the Gulf]

^^ you seem to think that all the business the middle east attracts is made up of ten companies. Abu Dhabi just recently announced its going to manufacture small private planes, Bahrain is going to build cars by 2009; and tons of business are sprouting all over the region on a daily basis.

[Pearl of the Gulf]

if businesses were only choosing one location we would not be seeing the shortage of office space across the entire GCC that’s currently taking place.

[Halawala]

One thing I think people fail to notice, Doha does not have to be as big as Hong Kong in order to survive. It has to have the right combination of business/tourism or non-oil sector to surve without oil or gas. Our population is the size of one square kilometer in Manhattan, or less. Our investments world-wide also helps. If we invest in countries where tourism or business is bound to survive such as the States, or Europe, we are in turn benifiting ourselves.

[smussuw]

Our population is the size of one square kilometer in Manhattan, or less.
:hahaha: nice one.

[prsn41ife]

^^ you seem to think that all the business the middle east attracts is made up of ten companies. Abu Dhabi just recently announced its going to manufacture small private planes, Bahrain is going to build cars by 2009; and tons of business are sprouting all over the region on a daily basis.
you seem to think that it is easy to develop industries. so, tell me, has bahrain had any experience building cars. do they have the technology, etc....

and do you know how hard it is to manufacture planes let alone sell them? you dont seem to realise the difficulty in all of this, you think it can happen in a few years.

[Pearl of the Gulf]

^^ well you say your judgement is driven by facts. FACT: we are building car factories for two different companies not one; Ruf Porsche and DADI cars, Ruf is an exotic sports car maker and Dadi is a low budget company.

Whether you think Bahrain and the entire GCC has the ability to carry out such industry or not is irrelevant. These companies and others have preformed studies and decided to invest millions if not billions into our economies. If you don’t like it please find the hardest wall you can find and bang your head really hard. :)

[Halawala]

^^^ exactly, prsn41life, you seem to think that we as gulf countries cannot achieve a long-term successful future with heavy industries; well you are wrong. For example, look at Qatar Airways, started in 1997 with just 4 aircraft. Today, it is the fasteset growing carrier in the world. Who would have thought that this desert we call Qatar, could attract millions of travels per year. Today it has over 44 planes. That is just one example.

We dont have to have experience in order to sign a business. Bahrian is not going to reinvent the automobile. It has experience from other companies who come to Bahrain and share their expertise with them for a cost.

[prsn41ife]

^^ o, i thought you said bahrain was going to make its own cars. LOL, so what, companies build cars in turkey, eastern europe, etc....its just brings in jobs, nothign else.

[qatarbg]

i know, besides, tell that to the person who started it.
do u mean me?? :bash:

[shayan]

ok people the thing is for heavy industry you have to have some stuff.

Good laws
Cheap labor
Resources
A market
High educated (young) poppulation

The only thing that the persian gulf countries have at this momment are the good laws. I mean resources arent available (i´m not talking about oil but about steel,aluminium and more of that kind of stuff) The markets are to small to be interesting for big companies (i mean thats the resson why all the companies want to go inside pakistan india china indonesia)
And something else that was also a problem in holland is the cheap labor issue. People will get a high lifestyle because of the oil and than they feel to good to work in factories.
And there isnt really a high educated poppulation (i really mean like extreemly high just like in singapore)

If your countries would worke on these issues they can come far in the heavy industry otherwise they will fail really hard.

There is still a nother option and that is high tech industry. I think that should be the aim of your countries to become countries who make all kind of stuff (like tv´s and stuff) for the rest of the world.

[prsn41ife]

do u mean me?? :bash:
no, i dont mean you.

[prsn41ife]

There is still a nother option and that is high tech industry. I think that should be the aim of your countries to become countries who make all kind of stuff (like tv´s and stuff) for the rest of the world.
i dont think they have the technology for making cell phones, computers, etc.....

[shayan]

well they can bring in companies like phillips and stuff. But for such industries there is still something missing and that is high educated labour forces. If they would work on that they can stay something in the future.

[Halawala]

well they can bring in companies like phillips and stuff. But for such industries there is still something missing and that is high educated labour forces. If they would work on that they can stay something in the future.


Not only do we have good laws here, but contries generally in the arabian gulf area import cheap labor from South Asia, where this is the standard quo. As for resources, there aren't any, but we can import. As for education, we (the arabian gulf countries) have a very high literacy rates and extremely good education. That is the initiative taken by our first lady HH Sheika Moza Al-Misned. We as qataris are getting more and more educated. For a country where 6 years ago, there was only one state university, now there are close to 10 educational institutions--all of them all renouned. Do you think Singapore have resources? Not one. It became the financial hub due to some very smart people.

Why are you guys so pessamistic about our economy, since it is clearly that our ecnomies in the gulf are skyrocketing like never before?

[qatarbg]

no, i dont mean you.
thanks

[shayan]

we are not pessimistic be are realistic i also see the oppertunities but i dont think that there is enough being done at this momment to constructive deversify the economies in the persian gulf nations. There are a lot of steps that have to be taken to fulfill needs of multi nationals and by realistic means all of these nations cant be succesfull because they are all fighting for the same thing. Thats what i and i think prsn41ife tried to say. I think that there will be a really big concurrential batle in the future for the same companies.
I´m not saying that the persian gulf states will become poor but i dont think that they can all keep the wealth that they have today by just doing nothing they need to make there economies less monocultural.
Dont take it personal its just some advise :D