Weaker than expected sector demand and continued uncertainty around Fifa 2022 World Cup contracts makes Qatar National Cement Company an investment to wait on for the moment.
The company is considering its options. According to analysts it is looking at two potential plans to expand on the expectation that it will benefit from a rise in demand for buildings ahead of the World Cup.
Plan A is to increase its capacity from 4.4 million tonnes a year to 6 million. Plan B is a more modest increase between 10 and 20 per cent.
Both plans reflect a healthy expectation of growth. The problem is the figures from the quarry face do not yet justify this image of optimism.
GCC countries' cement sectors turned a corner last year, after a difficult two years struggling against a fall in available credit following the global financial crisis.
But Qatar's cement sector disappointed with worse than expected growth figures last year. Consolidated revenues for the sector declined by 5.2 per cent to US$325.3 million during last year, compared with $343.1m in 2010.
The fall was due in no small part to the UAE having a surplus of cement that it is offloading to Qatar at prices that undercut Qatari operators. The UAE surplus looks set to continue, as the Emirates runs an excess of up to 24 million tonnes a year.
This is why Qatar National Cement has so much riding on the anticipated World Cup contracts.
Hettish Kumar, an analyst at Global Investment House, said the Qatari governmentwould award many of these contracts to local firms.
"[Qatar National Cement] would benefit largely from the World Cup-related contracts. The hope is that they will drive demand by another 2 million to 3 million tonnes annually. But it will take time to award these," Mr Kumar said.
Regardless, cement-sector margins across the region remain tight. Investors may not see returns for some time.
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Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
TICKETS
Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.
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The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.
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The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
