Qatar Chamber CEO sees ‘positive 2015’ for SMEs

By Peter Alagos

Business Reporter

Qatar Chamber CEO Remy Rowhani has provided an optimistic forecast for the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), saying 2015 would be a “positive year” for the private sector.

“I know I may sound too optimistic and too positive, but this is exactly what is happening on the factory floor. Their capabilities are growing higher and higher by the day because these companies now realise that they have no other choice but to move forward,” Rowhani told Gulf Times on the sidelines of a business meeting with South Korean embassy officials on Monday.

Rowhani described 2014 as a “jumpstart year” for many private sector organisations, whose morale, according to him, received a much needed boost particularly after HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani focused on “building the homeland” at the first Shura Council address in 2013.

“After last year’s Shura Council, the government has started to empower the private sector all the more, which is why we have no other choice but to work towards empowering ourselves and to build and develop our capabilities,” he noted.

In the past, Rowhani said, Qatar did not possess certain capabilities to develop the country, which required the services of foreign contractors and other “outside expertise.”

“Today, I believe we have the right expertise. The ground works were laid many years ago. And now, we are proud of ourselves because we can compete with anyone,” Rowhani said. While the country still has to “wait and see” until next year, the chamber official described 2015 as a “very fertile future.”

“I can see very that 2015 is going to be a year where people are going to proudly conclude 2014 with ‘positive green figures.’ The potential for the future is beyond limit,” he said.

Asked what SMEs will pick-up next year, he said almost all private sector companies have the potential to prosper: “Qatar is such a fertile land that there is so much growth for any sector of the economy.”

Rowhani said the chamber will soon announce its plans for 2015 although he did not elaborate whether the plans would address issues such as the much-awaited changes in Qatar’s labour laws.

“We are going to announce very soon our plan for 2015. You will see that the activities we would have next year clearly reflect the growth in this country, which is far better than what was achieved in 2014,” he stressed.

He added, “Right now we are busy working with different organisations like Ooredoo, Qatar Development Bank, QNB, Doha Bank, ExxonMobil, and Shell, among others, in establishing partnerships with these major organisations to look into various sectors of the business community.”