Doha: The volume of trade between Qatar and China during the period from 2008 to 2013 rose by 345 percent to reach $11.5bn in the past year, said the Minister of Economy and Trade, H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani.
The Minister was speaking on the sidelines of the 5th forum for business leaders in the emerging markets being organised by QIA and the Credit Suisse Bank in Beijing yesterday. He said that Qatar and China share a strong economic ties which constitute an incentive for Chinese companies to enter the Qatari market. He said 13 companies fully owned by China are currently operating in Qatar, in addition to the 181 joint venture companies with Qatari partners and a Chinese capital which reached up to 49 percent .
The Minister praised the role of Chinese companies in boosting the development in Qatar, which coincides with the State entry into large-scale projects in various areas.
He also touched on exports of Qatar’s natural gas to China, pointing out that Qatar is the main source of China with respect to liquefied natural gas, where Qatar gas exports to China was estimated at 60 percent of its needs in 2012, noting that the total value of the Qatari gas and oil, which had been exported to China reached $5.6bn. He noted that the gross domestic product of Qatar jumped dramatically during the period from 2008 until 2013 up to more than $200bn. QNA
