QIMD Has Total Investments Of QR 1.2 Billion, CEO Says

Doha , June 01 (QNA) - Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Co. (QIMD) Abdul Rahman Al Ansari said Saturday that the company's investments were worth QR1.2 billion, in the State of Qatar and a number of Arab countries. Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Al Ansari said the company has been making strong growth in recent year. Last year for example, the company made profits of QR 208 million, compared to QR 7 million in 1992 when the company was first starting out. He added that the company was planning to expand its investment and was already considering nine new projects. He praised the State's role in establishing new industrial areas that had a good infra-structure, he maintained however that medium industrial enterprises needed more industrial areas with good infra-structure. On the company's activities, Al Ansari said that chemical industries represented 49% of QIMD's investments. It was followed by construction at 36%, and other industries such as energy and plastic were worth 15% of the company's investment. On why food industry occupied very little of QIMD's investments, about 1%, Al Ansari said that the board's position was food industries must be taken on by specialists in that field. He maintained however that food industries were of vital importance and added that the country should at least look to achieve the bare minimum in it. On why profits in the first quarter of 2013 were lower year-on-year, the Chief Executive said that the decrease was almost unnoticeable. He added that the first quarter usually includes expenses that covers the whole year. The Chief Executive said that QIMD's investment strategy focuses mainly on petrochemicals and construction. He said that QIMD's factories, which usually provide industries that complement the main industries such as packaging, were either the first of their kind or the only of their kind in the State of Qatar. He praised cooperation between the public and private sector that co-own the corporation. The public sector has a 20% share in QIMD while the private sector has the rest. Al Ansari said that QIMD approaches economic development with a vision to increase the advantages investment could have on Qatar's national economy. He said that the company plays an important role in the State of Qatar's efforts to bolster investment in the industrial field. He added that the focus of Qatar's economy on oil and gas created an opportunity to establish supporting industries, which is the role QIMD is playing. QIMD was set up in 1990 with QR 200 million capital to invest and establish industrial projects inside and outside the State of Qatar. (QNA)