Qatar: a high-energy transformation

With less than 4,500 square miles of territory to its name, the state of Qatar is only about the same size as the English county of Yorkshire. But despite its tiny size, the emirate has enormous ambition. In June, the country's capital, Doha, only narrowly failed to make the shortlist of the four cities vying to host the 2016 Olympic Games. That Doha was able to mount such a credible attempt to compete alongside Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo speaks volumes about Qatar's audacious vision of its future, and increasingly, its ability to realise that vision. It is not only in the sporting arena that Qatar has aspirations on a global scale. The state has a robust plan to transform itself into one of the world's leading international financial and business centres. While obviously a huge task, Qatar's ambition is backed up by its enormous national wealth, rapidly advancing knowhow, and the development of first-rate infrastructure and institutions. Driving the emirate's desire to become a champion in financial services is its recognition of the importance of diversifying its economy. Beneath its limited territory lie vast reserves of natural resources. Within two years, the nation is set to become the world's largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Around a quarter of the UK's entire LNG supply will soon come from Qatar. But while oil and gas will remain central to national prosperity for decades, the authorities have astutely decided to exploit this wealth to develop interests beyond energy. The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) is a central pillar of the strategy to transform the nation's economy. Established in 2005, the QFC is responsible for attracting top blue-chip firms to the country, and is also charged with acting as watchdog so far for the firms licensed by the QFC. Its remit will be widened to cover the entire financial sector in the coming 2 years. It has already enjoyed early successes in both of its primary tasks, with business licences granted to a number of household-name players and establishing a regulatory system modelled on tried and tested models from elsewhere.