That would push inflation up. Dr Fawzi Al-Khatib, QNB chief economist, believes the economy has already turned the corner. Liability management was the main problem last year. This year, the main focus is on how to deal with the huge amount of liquidity. Now, the bottleneck is over for Qatar.
Most observers agree that Qatar is likely to weather the current storm.
And when it does, the hydrocarbon floodgates are set to open. Liquefied natural gas exports are set to top eight million tonnes per year, mainly to Asia, but with occasional spot sales to Western markets. Petrochemical revenues will improve the situation still further. There is a huge amount of economic potential in this country. The prospects are very, very good.