Qatari Central Bank Governor Abdullah Bin Saud Al-Thani said he expects inflation to range between 2 percent and 5 percent this year, the Qatar News Agency reported.
Inflation ended unchanged last year, according to the International Monetary Fund. Qatari bank loans to the private sector rose 12 percent in 2009 from a year ago, Al-Thani said, the state-run news service reported yesterday. He did not give a 2008 figure.
Qatar, the world’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas, expects economic growth to accelerate to 16 percent this year from 9 percent last year, due to increased liquefied-gas exports and rising world oil prices.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Jaber Al-Thani said Feb. 11 that the government budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year will be “much larger” than the last one as the country seeks to press forward with infrastructure projects.
The Persian Gulf country’s budget for fiscal 2009-10 was 94.5 billion riyals ($26 billion), which included a 1.5 percent cut in spending following a 14 percent decline in revenue.
The Gulf Arab state, which is a regular issuer of sovereign bonds, will set up a credit information center in May, he added according to QNA.
