Source: www.ameinfo.com

Qatar, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, said that in the next fiscal year it forecasts a surplus of 7.4 billion riyals ($2.03 billion), from greater revenues driven by the sale of oil at higher prices. The projected surplus will be higher than the one achieved during the last fiscal year, which ended on March 31.

The Standard Chartered Bank says that Qatar Investment Authority, a government agency that invests the surpluses, is now in control of about $60 billion, including shares in the London Stock Exchange and Credit Suisse. Qatar also produces 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Qatar had planned its budget assuming an oil price of $55 a barrel compared with $40 a barrel in the previous fiscal year, Qatar News Agency said.

Like many regional countries Qatar was directing its windfall oil revenues to the real estate market, infrastructure and financial services to diversify its economy.

With the growth of its economy, Qatar, which pegs its currency to the dollar, has faced an accelerating rate of inflation of 13.7% in the last quarter of 2007, considered a record.

al-Quds al-Arabi, London, April 1, 2008