The bilateral trade volume between Qatar and Singapore reached at $7.2bn (QR26.2bn) in 2018, witnessing a year-on-year growth of 10 percent. With this remarkable growth in trade volume, Qatar has become Singapore’s third largest trading partner within the GCC countries, said a senior official of Singapore Business Council Qatar (SBCQ) at a network event held on Wednesday.
The business and professional networking event organised by the council was well attended by professionals and dignitaries from different sectors. Over 100 Singaporean professionals working in Qatar and other members of the local business community with a close connection to Singapore and attended the third networking event organized by Singapore Business Council Qatar (SBCQ), which was registered with Qatar Financial Centre last year.
The event was also graced by senior diplomats and top executives from prominent companies, which included Singapore’s Ambassador to Qatar Jai S Sohan; SBCQ President and Commercial Bank Group CEO Joseph Abraham; Lim Meng Hui, CEO, Qatar Free Zones Authority, and others.
The SBCQ was established to promote trade between Singapore and Qatar. It is envisaged to be a socially active organization representing a broad membership base comprising of mainly Singaporean professionals and business people across all industry sectors. Its role is to assist both new and existing Singaporean businesses wanting to start up and expand on commercial opportunities in Qatar through regular meetings and events that facilitate a purposeful exchange of views, opinions and experiences.
SBCQ President and Commercial Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Joseph Abraham, said: “The bilateral trade volume between Qatar and Singapore has grown 10 percent year-on-year to hit $7.2bn in 2018 and Qatar is Singapore’s third largest trading partner within the GCC countries.
Over the years, Singapore Inc has increased its presence in Qatar, with the notable examples of Keppel Seghers Engineering in a design-build-operate project in the Doha North Sewage Treatment Works; a JV between Keppel Offshore & Marine with Nakilat to provide repairs and maintenance for vessels; SECC Group with the successful re-furbishing of The St Regis Hotel and Resorts Qatar and fit-out of a 5-star hotel in Lusail; and CrimsonLogic providing innovative and sustainable e-services for Qatari government agencies.”
Joseph Abraham also highlighted Singapore Inc’s achievements in the energy sector saying: “Pavilion Gas Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Pavilion Energy, received its inaugural LNG shipment from Qatar Gas at Singapore’s Jurong Island in April 2018 and ExxonMobil Trading Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (EXTAP), a division of ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd in Singapore, signed a 5-year contract with Qatar Petroleum to supply 6 million barrels of low sulphur condensate per year, starting in July 2019.”
Jai S Sohan, Ambassador of Singapore announced that “the formation of the Singapore Business Council in Qatar was announced during the State visit of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Singapore in October 2017. The SBCQ was subsequently inaugurated in Doha in March 2018 by the Singapore business community in Qatar, with the support of the Singapore Embassy.
One of SBCQ’s objectives is to increase the visibility of Singapore businesses and professionals in Qatar. We hope this will also facilitate greater awareness of local business practices and increase Singapore’s engagement of the Qatari market. In the longer term, we hope this bilateral cooperation can also be expanded to include cooperation with other countries, such as those in ASEAN.”
As recent as last month, Qatar Chamber hosted a Singapore delegation from Singapore specialising in security systems, tech solutions, and cyber security.
Source from: The Peninsula