In light of the changes taking place in major world economies and the many challenges facing emerging economies, we aspired to discuss the most important opportunities and challenges facing the finance and investment sector and the prospects of Qatari market benefiting from these opportunities. To discuss this, we interviewed Mr. Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Suwaidi, Chairman and Managing Director of Investment House.
Given the many economic changes taking place around the world, has your investment strategy changed? The investment environment in global economy has encountered many challenges and influential factors on countries’ economies; forcing several investment companies to adjust their investment strategies in line with the global variables, such as waves of monetary tightening policies, growing interest rates, geopolitical factors, rising energy prices, and basic commodities expenses.These variables have led Investment House to continue its conservative investment policy and target sectors that are expected to benefit from these factors. The Company has continued to focus its investments for the benefit of its clients in the maritime sector, which has benefited greatly during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. Recently, there has been a witnessed change in China’s approach to the pandemic, as it has abandoned its zero-COVID policy, this is expected to support the maritime transport sector worldwide and increase demand for basic commodities and materials. Investment House has also continued to strengthen its partnerships with major real-estate firms to seize advantage of low valuations of some properties in the United States and across Europe. Additionally, the Company has conducted an early review of its investments to avoid significant impact emanating from financial market factors, which have recently witnessed a decline at both local and global levels.
Has the rise of bank deposits affected your core activity in investing for clients? Certainly, the increase in interest rates on bank deposits and the fact that customers compare investment opportunities with deposits in banks has put pressure on most global markets such as stock markets, bonds, and Islamic bonds, and not solely the work of investment companies and structured investments. Nevertheless, what helped us absorb the shock of tightening in monetary policies by international central banks and gave the Company adequate maneuvering margin compared to the investment opportunities available in the market, is that our investment product pricing policy is transparent and fair, and we continue to cooperate effectively with our strategic partners for the benefit of our clients. In addition, Investment House has given its clients attractive investment ratios compared to the sectors in which the company operates in accordance with its investment policies, even prior to the monetary policies tightening waves and the rising interest rates.
In light of the rise in energy prices and Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, how do you see the reflection of this on the local economy and investment prospects in the State of Qatar? The year 2022 has been an exceptional year for the Qatari economy due to a large number of factors that contributed to accomplishing significant positive figures. Wherein, the Qatari economy has achieved excellent growth rates in both the oil and non-oil sectors, great levels of the State’s public finance and recorded historical surplus, amounting to 89 billion Qatari riyals during the year 2022. This was reflected in the confirmation of the strong Qatari credit rating by international rating agencies, which relies on robust macroeconomic pillars that benefited greatly from the rise in energy prices and the hosting of the World Cup. We at Investment House seek to take advantage of the investment opportunities and attractive investment environment, particularly with Qatar ranking as one of the world’s leading FDI destinations. In fact, the foreign cash flows to the Qatari Stock Exchange reached a record level in 2022 at 15.9 billion Qatari riyals. This is a sign of the attractiveness of the Qatari investment environment, which was boosted by many attractive investment laws, as well as the presence of multiple promising sectors such as fintech, software, and cybersecurity.
What sectors are you targeting in the near future? Considering what we have mentioned, there are many promising sectors in which investment can be directed in the future in line with Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy in all fields. One of the most important sectors is tourism and hospitality, which the State of Qatar seeks to make up 12% of its GDP by the year 2030. Therefore, we at Investment House seek to develop our investment strategy parallel with the State’s directions and targeted sectors to develop and diversify the Qatari economy, including fintech and cybersecurity, which have both witnessed significant advancement during the past period and are expected to reach a growth rate of 12% during 2026. This shall contribute to strengthening the financial sector, one of the most important pillars of strength of the Qatari economy. Hereafter, the State of Qatar, early enacted legislative laws to protect information and data, which resulted in establishing the National Cybersecurity Agency in Qatar under the declaration of Decision No. 1 for the year 2021.
You mentioned that financial technology sector, is one of the sectors targeted by the company, especially the advancement it has been going through in Qatar recently. In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing the Fintech sector in Qatar? Cybersecurity, data protection and electronic fraud are among the biggest challenges facing the Fintech sector in Qatar. Commenting on this subject, the Company has recently received inquiries from individuals about suspicious calls aimed for electronic fraud through marketing investment services in investment portfolios using telephone. From this stance, we confirm that Investment House Company does not market any investment services or products via the telephone or internet and does not offer trading platforms through social media networks. We therefore reaffirm once again that Investment House provides its services only through clientele visits to the Company’s offices.
What are your most important tips for those interested in investing? I advise clients and anyone interested in investing to deal with local investment companies and banks licensed by local regulatory agencies which regulate the work of investment within the State of Qatar. I also emphasize the importance to verify the necessary licenses and to personally visit investment companies and banks on-site. In addition, investors should take the necessary due diligence measures to ensure the reliability of those entities with which they aim to invest their money, and whether those entities have the required licenses to manage assets and invest for the benefit of others. It is also crucial to read the terms and conditions of each investment, and understand the level of potential risk and the nature of investment opportunities offered.
