Resilient #Qatar Maintains Stable Outlook

Resilient Qatar Maintains Stable Outlook

The Gulf State of Qatar has received a thumbs-up from Fitch Ratings, which in June reaffirmed the country’s AA- default risk rating. Fitch repeated the assessment it made in February and said that Qatar has maintained a stable economic outlook. This matters to foreign investors, as it means Qatar is likely to have low budget deficits in the coming years, and not need to raise taxes in the wake of the pandemic.

Qatar offers inward investors a buoyant economy fueled by huge oil and gas exports, world-class infrastructure, proximity to growth markets and an increasingly business-friendly environment. With the world’s attention on Qatar as it prepares to host the 2022 World Cup, the country is vying to build on its rising profile and attract greater foreign investment to its shores.

Fitch’s AA- rating for Qatar means the country has little risk of debt default. Fitch stated that the rating reflects Qatar’s strong foreign asset ownership; the country’s $320 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, has invested heavily in buying up assets overseas. Fitch also pointed to Qatar’s strong GDP per capita, one of the highest in the world, and the “flexible public finance structure” that has allowed the government to manage its debts and create a “robust response to limit the fiscal impact of the coronavirus crisis.”