Yahoo! Finance
10-10-2006, 06:40 PM
Yahoo Finance Investing Strategies
Motley Fool
Investing in Qatar
Tuesday October 10, 2:51 pm ET
By Motley Fool Staff
Qatar, a tiny country situated on a small, thumb-shaped neck of land off the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula, looks on the surface like a country with great economic promise. The nation is rich with cash and natural resources, and it's been making small but sure strides toward economic and social reform. But is that enough to make it a place for your investing dollars?
The good news
The economic data surrounding Qatar appears to indicate the potential for good investing opportunities. Profits from the petroleum industry have made it one of the highest per-capita-income countries in the world and have fueled one of the fastest GDP growth rates anywhere in the past few years. Qatar also sits near the planet's largest natural gas field and will likely become the top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in the near future. No wonder several U.S. companies, among them Chevron (NYSE: CVX), ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), and Conoco Phillips (NYSE: COP ), have joint development projects going on in the country.
What's more, political signs likewise point toward apparent stability in Qatar. Although it remains a conservative Muslim country, it does not, unlike its neighbor Saudi Arabia, allow religious fanatics to enforce adherence to dress codes or prayer attendance. In fact, Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, has pursued a path of cautious social and economic liberalization that has thus far met with success. He subsidizes the first truly free media in the Middle East, Al Jazeera, whose popularity has ignited a revolution in Middle Eastern journalism. And he is thinking about opening the Qatari stock market to outside investors, after having already allowed limited foreign investment in Qtel, the country's telecommunications monopoly.
complete article here... (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/story/*http://biz.yahoo.com/fool/061010/116050630617.html?.v=1)
Motley Fool
Investing in Qatar
Tuesday October 10, 2:51 pm ET
By Motley Fool Staff
Qatar, a tiny country situated on a small, thumb-shaped neck of land off the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula, looks on the surface like a country with great economic promise. The nation is rich with cash and natural resources, and it's been making small but sure strides toward economic and social reform. But is that enough to make it a place for your investing dollars?
The good news
The economic data surrounding Qatar appears to indicate the potential for good investing opportunities. Profits from the petroleum industry have made it one of the highest per-capita-income countries in the world and have fueled one of the fastest GDP growth rates anywhere in the past few years. Qatar also sits near the planet's largest natural gas field and will likely become the top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in the near future. No wonder several U.S. companies, among them Chevron (NYSE: CVX), ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), and Conoco Phillips (NYSE: COP ), have joint development projects going on in the country.
What's more, political signs likewise point toward apparent stability in Qatar. Although it remains a conservative Muslim country, it does not, unlike its neighbor Saudi Arabia, allow religious fanatics to enforce adherence to dress codes or prayer attendance. In fact, Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, has pursued a path of cautious social and economic liberalization that has thus far met with success. He subsidizes the first truly free media in the Middle East, Al Jazeera, whose popularity has ignited a revolution in Middle Eastern journalism. And he is thinking about opening the Qatari stock market to outside investors, after having already allowed limited foreign investment in Qtel, the country's telecommunications monopoly.
complete article here... (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/story/*http://biz.yahoo.com/fool/061010/116050630617.html?.v=1)