DOHA: Qatar hopes to partly privatise some state-owned entities to ensure participation of its nationals via initial public offerings (IPOs).
To make sure that the private sector is not left behind, the country also has plans to launch mega businesses in which private players are to be offered partnerships.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Economy and Finance, H E Yousuf Hussein Kamal, here on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of Qatar National Bank’s shareholders, the minister said the government had plans to launch mega business ventures in which the private sector is to be offered active participation.
He, however, did not give details as to what kind of ventures the state was planning and in what sectors. The minister also hinted that some existing state-owned entities were to be privately privatised so that nationals could participate via primary issues.
Talking about mega development projects, he said tenders for many of them had already been launched, while studies were being conducted for some.
According to the minister, more allocations were likely to be made for development projects in the state budget for the next fiscal year (2013-14).
THE PENINSULA
