작성일자: 2014.4.7

작성자: 도하 무역관 Ashwin Menon(Ashwin@kotra.or.kr), 김민경(Melissa@kotra.or.kr)

 

 

1. INTRODUCTION:

 

 ○ Ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and in line with the country's 2030 Vision development plan, Qatar's spending on infrastructure is expected to reach around USD 150 bn over the next decade. A series of infrastructure projects are in the pipeline, including a USD 20 bn investment in roads; USD 40 bn to be invested in railways; USD 4 bn to be invested in stadiums; USD 8 bn to be spent on a seaport; tens of thousands of hotel rooms to be built; and even a new city. Hence there is a definite case for construction related items to play a more active role.

 

 ○ Pipes and pipe fittings are an active component in the construction industry. Qatar has set aside QR. 87.5 bn or USD 24 bn for building its infrastructure for this financial year, an increase of 16 percent from the previous year. This would mean the demand for pipe and pipe fittings is bound to increase proportionally. But with manufacturing companies present in the region and a lot of trading companies already in operation the possibility of winning major order(s) is just as hard as it was.

 

 ○ A very basic SWOT analysis broadly details the current scenario;

  - Strengths:

   · Experience and advanced manufacturing facilities

   · Various certificates and approvals

   · Perception of Korean manufactured finished goods

  - Weaknesses:

   · Lack of UL and FM certificate

   · Not approved by any major authority in Qatar

   · Fire sprinkler system in Qatar almost completely made up of ductile iron

  - Opportunities:

   · Thriving infrastructure keeps the demand stable and growing

   · Influx of Korean companies into Qatar will help Korean brands get an opening into the shops of hardware retailers and trade houses.

  - Threats:

   · Entry of other Korean/Indian (low cost) brands

   · CPVC pipe manufacturing facility in Qatar

 

 

2. DEMAND:

 

 ○ The factors that fuel the demand for CPVC & PVC pipes are (based on Qatar market)

  - Residential and non-residential construction (hotels, commercial buildings and accommodation)

  - A pragmatic governing and authorising body

 

 ○ Progress at Qatar's new city, Lusail USD 45 bn project where a completely new city is being created from scratch, is under progress and this is perhaps the biggest potential for accelerating demand. Lusail City Real Estate Development Company (LREDC), a subsidiary of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, has announced that the first phase of the project is complete. LREDC also reiterated that the area will be the first of 19 planned districts within the city, suggesting work will now be staggered over the long run.

 

 ○ Lusail City will cater for Qatar's increasingly affluent worker (white collar) demographic and its part of Qatar's economic diversification plan aimed at attracting a major influx of skilled labour. Once completed, the city will cover an area of 35 sq. kilometres and will house over 200,000 residents, 80,000 visitors and 170,000 workers. It will also offer 36 schools, a state-of-the-art hospital and an underground metro link to new Doha rail network. It is expected, when completed, the multi-purpose build will be the largest of its kind in the region.

 

 ○ Another project, Barwa Al-Khor real estate development, which is worth approximately USD 9.9 bn, has begun after being shelved for some time. The project signals that there is good confidence in the market, considering the other major real estate developments taking place at the same time. The Al-Khor project will also be a completely new, including more than 17,000 housing units, a number of commercial businesses including shopping malls, leisure facilities, hotels and a golf course.

 

 ○ The announcement of the completion of phase one of Lusail City ties in with the start of construction on the second phase of Qatar's USD 1.6 bn Doha Festival City leisure and entertainment complex in 2013. This project is expected to be completed by 2016.

 

□ FIFA 2022

 

 ○ In relation to World Cup projects, Qatar is expected to ready 8 stadiums for the main event. This is slightly lower than what was promised initially.

 

 ○ Qatar has selected KEO International as the project managers and AECOM TECHNOLOGY CORP as the design consultants for the Al-Wakrah Stadium. The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee revealed the equivalent roles for the Al-Rayyan stadium, with AECOM appointed as project manager and RAMBOLL as design consultant for the stadium. The present Rayyan stadium is expected to be demolished soon after the domestic football season. Of the eight stadiums, five of them will be supervised by the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, two by Aspire and one by the Qatar Foundation. The Al-Wakrah stadium is expected to be completed by 2018-19. The Lusail Stadium will be the next to begin the development process. This stadium is expected to showcase the finals of the FIFA 2022 World cup and will be the largest with almost 87,000 seat capacity. The tendering process of most of the stadiums (construction) is expected to take place in the next 10-16 months.

 

□ HOTELS & OTHER POTENTIAL VENUES

 

 ○ Qatar is opening 21 new hotels in Doha, due for completion in the next five years. More than half will be five-star and nine will be four-star. Further 50 hotels are being planned before 2020, of which 80% to 85% will be either four- or five-star. Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) is planning to invest USD 17 bn on tourism-related infrastructure projects over the next five years. As part of its World Cup preparations, the state will expand the number of hotel rooms to 95,000 in 2022 from the current 15,000; the FIFA requirement for a world cup host is 65,000. In 2013, a USD 5.5 bn island project to be developed by Barwa Real Estate Group was announced. Oryx Island will play host to five temporary hotels for 25,000 tourists during the world cup.

 

 ○ Meanwhile, UAE construction company ARABTEC has announced that it has been awarded a QAR 2.3bn (USD 632 mn) contract to develop the commercial centre of Doha. ARABTEC will be responsible for the development of a 370,000 sq. meter area encompassing 10 buildings of between two and 19 floors. The Msheireb Downtown Doha Phase 2 development will constitute a total of 99 residential units, 3,102 parking spaces, as well as commercial and hotel facilities. The USD 820 mn Mall of Qatar, which will be the largest retail centre in the Gulf region, has begun construction of its 400 shops and has also been given an official opening date in 2015.

 

□ WATER

 

 ○ In 2013 Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) entered into a QAR 1.6bn (USD 450 mn) financing deal with four local banks to provide funds for the construction of the USD 500 mn third desalination plant in Ras Abu Fontas. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract has been awarded and the plant, which will desalinate 36mn imperial gallons of water a day, is expected to begin operations in 2015.

 

 ○ Public and private partnerships (PPPs) have been successful in rolling-out water and power capacity that Kahramaa believes will only need 40mn g/d of new desalination capacity by 2015. Ashghal unveiled the Inner Doha Re-sewerage Implementation Strategy (IDRIS) project on January 2013. The six sets of projects, worth USD 474 mn involve 15 contracts for upgrades to sanitation infrastructure throughout the city and construction of a major tunnel to collect all waste water and connect it with new treatment facilities. CH2M Hill International has been selected as the project management consultants. This project is expected to be completed by 2019.

 

 ○ In the table below, a major expert on global economic news and data, the Economist- predicts its outlook for Qatar in the next 4 years on a variety of indices to put forward a succinct interpretation of the outcome of all the above activities. According to them, the GDP will barely cross the stipulated 6% in the next four to five years and this has been the opinion of some think tanks, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) giving a much more confident picture of 6.5 % in 2018.

 

 ○ With a slightly better outlook than the previous year, Qatar is not expected to have any major shift in the trend as the petrochemical industry, its main source of income, is not expected to show any gain in the near future. It is the ‘IMPORT’ of goods which holds much promise, showing a strong and persistent growth for over best part of the next four years. This of course is reflected in the ‘INDUSTRY’, where all the imports will be materialised and this sector as expected is going to give a strong performance during the next four years. It would be logical to predict the ‘INDUSTRIES’ sector that would see most of the growth will be private and public enterprises in the infrastructure and service industry.

 

         Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit (http://www.eiu.com/)

 

 ○ The Qatar government is headed by Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani who took over in June 2013 from his father. Under his father Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatar shed its conservative image and became more open and enterprising. This led to record growth and pushed Qatar to the limelight. Though some recurring geo-political issues are yet to be cleared internationally, Qatar enjoys an enviable status within the region and provides good quality of life to all its citizens.

 

 ○ However the local authorities and the governing bodies are perhaps best known for their indecision and reactionary behaviour. Supply chain bottle necks are a very common scenario in Qatar. Many projects get delayed and some are forced to stop midway because of labour issues and delay of payment to suppliers. Paperwork within the government institutions are erratic and processing of documents can take indefinite time. It is expected that most issues will be sorted out sooner than later for the sake of staying true to its business friendly image and making FIFA 2022 a historic success.

 

 ○ The exponential growth in multi-purpose projects will drive the PVC, CPVC market as most of the requirement of PVC, CPVC pipes and fittings stems from hotels and residential buildings / complexes. According to the CPVC traders in the local market, CPVC pipes are mostly used in building for the delivery of potable water from the tanks and also to provide for hot water in bathrooms and kitchens, for all other commercial piping, PVC is used.

 

 ○ Apparently the fire sprinkler systems in Qatar are mostly made up of GI and mild steel (metallic). Due to the rigorous policies and tough stand on fire and safety issues, there is no possibility of CPVC pipes making a break into this market (fire sprinkler system) in the near future.

 

 

3. COMPETITION:

 

 ○ The pipe and pipe fitting market in Qatar is a very competitive and matured market. There are several players in this segment, most of whom are traders of various brands. The market has generally been open to new brands and cost effective solutions, consequently the margins are quite tight and so are the delivery periods.

 

 ○ Some of the major companies dealing with CPVC and PVC pipes are:

 

      Source: KBC Doha

 

 ○ It appears the pipes are generally imported from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and fittings are generally imported from the Western countries. Most of the local companies do not keep a lot of stock as it requires a lot of space and above all sustained demand from the construction industry. The rent for warehouses and open yards in Qatar is according to some estimates ten times more than that of Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. This and road connectivity with Saudi Arabia and close proximity to Bahrain and U.A.E discourages local businesses to keep stock within Qatar unless they have an ongoing order.

 

 ○ Also among the different sizes of CPVC pipes the fast moving sizes happens to be 4” dia to 8” dia. All the other sizes have very low demand if at all any. Another limitation is the accreditation. For the oil and gas sector the manufacturer should have FF01 standard.

 

 ○ Local companies mainly provide CPVC pipes to buildings for potable water, because of its excellent anti-bacterial qualities and for piping hot water. Hotels and hospitals are also drivers of demand.

 

 ○ Fire sprinkler applications are out of the question since only GI and Mild steel or ductile iron piping systems are implemented. This is a mandatory practice enforced by the Civil Defence Authority from whom the design consultant and the contractor need to seek approval before installation. One trader also reported that the CPVC pipes are suitable for “Light hazards”, for buildings that are not more than four storeys.

 

 ○ Lubrizol’s Blazemaster which is marketed for the same segment (fire sprinkler), has found no buyers.

 

 ○ PVC is also used for commercial and residential buildings. For infrastructure projects which are handled by the local authority ASHGHAL, GRP, HDPE and DI pipes are mostly used. There is also a rise in the popularity of low cost solutions such as PPR pipes, which are increasingly replacing CPVC pipes.

 

 ○ MANUFACTURING PLANTS:

 

 

 ○ Due to the considerable presence of manufacturing facilities in around Qatar, most of the procurement is from the same region.

 

 ○ The import trend below proves this fact. Over the last three years, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been the largest exporters of plastic pipes and fittings by a good margin. The South Korean export is included to show the disparity in sales (and volume).

 

 ○ The GCC countries have an advantage over other countries because of their obvious relation to petrochemical industry. Another important factor is that all pipe fittings manufactured in GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Sultanate of Oman) are exempted from customs duty while importing. More manufacturing facilities are expected to grow in various parts of Qatar and other GCC countries to check the demand for PVC, uPVC pipes as construction activities are expected to grow.

 

 ○ Germany, China and India are some of the other top importers to Qatar.

 

                       Note: Exchange Rate: 1 USD = 3.64 QR

                       Source: Qatar Statistics Authority

 

                  Note: Exchange Rate: 1 USD = 3.64 QR

                  Source: Qatar Statistics Authority

                    

□ Highlights:

 

 ○ The total market size for plastic pipes and fittings in the year 2011 for exporters was roughly around QR. 290 MN (USD 79 MN).

 

 ○ The export market size saw a slight dip in 2012 but increased by more than QR. 100 MN in 2013.

 

 ○ The top three exporters constitute nearly 40 percent of the total import in 2011 and 2012. This increased to 60 percent in 2013.

 

 

4. CONCLUSION:

 

 ○ Qatar is expected to get a complete makeover in the next ten years. The population of Qatar is expected to grow more than 10 percent per year during the same period. The outcome is going to be an expanding market for all businesses with more opportunities for the certified and qualified products. Golee pipes needs to re-evaluate its market strategy and position itself in the market as a reliable and economical product. It appears Golee Pipes must concentrate on pipe fittings rather than pipes in the Qatar market. It will also need to continue to adapt its strategy to the local market as there is always a risk of losing out to a more advanced and cheaper solution. Local partnerships will play a pivotal role not only to sell your products in the market but also to gauge the market capacity. An office and a warehouse in any of the Economic free zones / Free trade Zones in UAE would help Golee to get the goods into Qatar at the right time and increase visibility in the local markets. This will attract buyers who have a limited storage facility.

 

 ○ There is a good prospect for Golee in the market if they are able to take advantage of the economic indicators.