Qatar’s extensive investments in physical infrastructure have built substantial industrial capacity, but converting national logistics foundations into direct commercial access requires the private sector to bridge the operational gap for international trade.
WareOne for Logistics Solutions co-founder and CEO Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Thani made the statement in the wake of the 11th Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong, where he signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oscar Hui, CEO of NEXX Global Limited, establishing a partnership to help Chinese companies enter and operate across the Gulf using Qatar as their base.
Sheikh Khalifa pointed out that Qatar’s state-of-the-art facilities require private enterprise solutions to become fully accessible operational entry points for foreign businesses.
“Qatar has built remarkable foundations — the port, the airport, the free zones. Our work in the private sector is turning that infrastructure into something a company can actually use,” Sheikh Khalifa said.
Sheikh Khalifa said Qatar’s scale and connectivity make it an effective entry point for companies expanding into the wider Gulf. “Qatar is compact enough to prove a model quickly, sophisticated enough to prove it seriously, and connected enough to scale it across the GCC.”
He noted that international companies expanding into the Middle East are shifting from shipping goods from origin to establishing local inventory and operating within the region.
“Chinese companies have expanded significantly across the Middle East in recent years, with major e-commerce platforms growing alongside electric vehicle, technology and consumer businesses. The pattern is shifting from export to establishment: companies that previously shipped goods from China are increasingly holding inventory in the region and selling locally.
“That shift changes what they need. Freight capacity is no longer the constraint. Operating capability is ... warehousing close to the customer, compliant customs clearance, local delivery to Gulf service standards, returns handling, and the regulatory knowledge that differs across the six GCC markets,” Sheikh Khalifa explained.
The logistics sector represents a priority cluster under Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy (NDS3) 2024–2030, which aims to diversify the economy and build regional supply chain capabilities.
Sheikh Khalifa stressed that optimising these supply chains yields immediate economic benefits for local businesses and Qatari consumers.
“The coverage of Gulf–China trade tends to focus on Chinese companies entering the region. The domestic benefit is less discussed and arguably more immediate. Qatari importers, distributors and retailers source extensively from China.
“Every inefficiency in that chain — a container held at origin, a shipment split across three providers, a customs delay, a return that cannot be processed locally — is a cost that is eventually carried by the Qatari business and, ultimately, by the Qatari consumer,” he said, adding that consolidating those movements, holding stock in-country, and clearing goods through a single accountable operator removes cost and time from the chain in both directions.
Sheikh Khalifa noted that the MoU is not only about helping Chinese companies reach Gulf consumers, but about giving Qatari businesses easier, faster, and cheaper access to Chinese manufacturing and Chinese products, as well as giving Qatari consumers more choice delivered more quickly.
The MoU signing ceremony was witnessed by Sheikha Noora Khalifa al-Thani, consul general of Qatar in Hong Kong; Si Junjie, China director of Invest Qatar; Nicholas Ho, commissioner for Belt and Road of the Hong Kong SAR Government; and Houston Guobin Huang, founder and chairman of NEXX Global Limited.
Under the terms of the agreement, the two logistics firms will integrate NEXX’s procurement and brand network in China with WareOne’s regional warehousing, customs clearance, fulfilment, and last-mile delivery services.
