Qatar Economic Outlook Issue Number 13

Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) 
Net Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Qatar 
during the period (2017-2020) witnessed a 
remarkable increase in outflows by investors 
residing in Qatar to obtain foreign investment 
assets abroad; as these were significantly 
greater than the inflows from non-resident 
investors abroad wishing to acquire domestic 
assets in national companies in Qatar, 
therefore the net FDI account attained a 
deficit during this same period. Here, it 
should be noted that Q2 of 2019 and Q4 of 
2020 achieved cash inflows of QR 1.4 billion 
and QR 1.95 billion, respectively, probably in 
favor of investments within the Qatar Free 
Zones. 
Figure 2-48: Performance of the Financial Account 
-4.12
5.71
1.24
-4.28
-15.51
-2.61
-12.60
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
2017
2018
2019
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
2020
Q1
Q2
Q3
Annual
2020
2021
As
%
o
f GD
P
As
%
o
f GD
P
Net FDI
Net Portfolio
Net Other
Financial Account (R-Axis)
Source: QCB and prepared by PSA 

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Qatar Economic Outlook 2021 - 2023 
98 
Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPI) 
The balance of foreign investment portfolios 
records transactions in the international stock 
markets related to the equities market or to 
the debt securities market. Figure (2-49) 
shows that the net account witnessed semi-
regular fluctuations during the period (2018-
2020), resulting from the effects of the 
economic and financial policies measures 
taken by the government to contend with 
geopolitical events and their repercussions, 
most notably supporting domestic liquidity, 
financing the public budget deficit, and 
repaying the domestic public debt. Moreover, 
these fluctuations can of course also be 
attributed to the decline in public revenues 
due to the repercussions of Covid-19 on the 
value of exports. 
It is clear that the net government actions 
targeting economic sectors in securities 
operations; including the purchase of foreign 
bonds for the purpose of investment, led to a 
drop in Qatari assets by QR 52 billion, QR 
36.4 billion, and QR 25.8 billion, respectively, 
during each year of the (2018-2020) period.
On the other hand, the increase in investment 
by foreign investors in the Qatar Stock 
Exchange (QSE) during the same period led 
to an increase in Qatar’s foreign liabilities by 
about QR 8.3 billion and QR 5 billion in 2018 
and 2019, respectively, before a reverse 
process took place in 2020, when foreign 
investors in QSE were more inclined to sell 
rather than buy shares, which made the net 
liabilities account of securities reach a 
negative QR 1.8 billion. 
In terms of the development of the net bond 
market, the purchase of foreign debt 
securities for the purpose of investment by 
the government and other sectors has led to 
a decline in Qatari assets by QR 15.3 billion, 
QR 2 billion, and QR 28 billion during the 
period (2018-2020). In contrast, the issuance 
of bonds for sale, for the purpose of 
borrowing from the United States market, has 
led to an increase in liabilities by about QR 
40 billion, QR 41 billion, and QR 10 billion 
during this same period. 
As for the first three quarters of 2021, the 
assets decreased by about QR 27 billion, the 
possibility of foreign bonds purchase, but the 
Qatari liabilities increased by about QR 4 
billion, the possibility of increasing foreign 
investors’ investment in the Qatar Stock 
Exchange. As for 
debt securities, 
the 
assets 
increased 
by 
about QR 4 
billion, perhaps 
to repay part of 
the indebtedness 
of foreign debt 
securities, which 
led to a reduction 
of liabilities by 
about QR 18 
billion.