Doha
04 April 2017
(QDB)

In its drive to promote Qatari products across local, regional and global markets, Qatar Development Bank (QDB), through the support of its export program, Tasdeer, participated along with 29 leading Qatari companies at Big 5 Saudi, an exhibition for operators in the construction industry.

The expo was held at Jeddah Center for Forum and Events from 27 – 30 March 2017.

The latest participation of Tasdeer comes against the backdrop of a series of initiatives the development agency has undertaken to support the entry of Qatari small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across regional and global markets. Through its involvement in Big 5 Saudi, QDB aims to facilitate the entry of local companies specializing in the construction industry – including manufacturers of construction equipment, technology, machinery, materials as well as product suppliers – in the largest market in the region.

QDB’s pavilion in Big 5 included the following shortlisted 29 Qatari companies: Advanced Pipes & Casts Company, Al Farraj Trading & Manufacturing Company, Al Jattal Industry, Al-Sada Factory for Plastic Pipes, Albayan for Electronics and LED Technologies, Doha Plastic, National Paints Factories, Qatar Aluminium Extrusion Co., Qatar German Pipes Company W.L.L., Qatar International Cables Company, Qatar Paving Stones, Qatar Plastic Products Company, Qatar Wire Products, Qatari Canadian for Energy and Electrical Industries, Qatari Saudi Gypsum Co., Sarplast Qatar, Seashore Steel, Uniplast Factory, Bumatar German Factory for Plastic Products, Doha Factory for Paints & Chemicals, Al Muftah Fiber glass Products, Khaled Manufacturing Co., Jersey Glass, Al Bateel Interior, Qatar National Aluminum Panel, G-walls, Elan Signage, Qatar UPVC for Windows and Doors, and Qatar Wooden Products Co.

Commenting on the latest exhibition, Executive Director for Tasdeer, Hassan Khalifa Al-Mansoori said “At QDB, we are delighted to partake in the regional Big 5 exhibition series for the third time. This expo holds particular importance for our local companies as it is considered to be amongst the most important construction sector exhibitions.’

‘In the past, Qatari companies have achieved significant success in this diverse sector within Qatar, and we believe that the time is ripe to launch and expand their success story into foreign markets.”

He said “The Saudi market is the premier destination for Qatari products as it is the most important regional market. Furthermore, the culture of both countries and architectural styles are similar, which allows Qatari companies a natural advantage in acquiring important deals in the Saudi Arabian construction sector.”

The Big 5 exhibition series, held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) this year, is amongst the most important events in the construction and building materials sector in the region. It brings together five separate product-focused events under one roof, and the Big 5 network today includes more than 300,000 suppliers and buyers from 120 countries around the world.

The expo hosts national pavilions representing all major exporting countries of the world, and draws the attention of major developers, contractors, suppliers and distributors from both the eastern and western hemispheres of the globe. The exhibition’s success has given rise to various national chapters of the same series, making the Big 5 a global name with editions in Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.

Furthermore, the scope of the event has broadened to now include the following exhibition portfolios: concrete, PMV, stone, HCAV, solar, glass and facilities management sectors.

The development agency’s participation in Big 5 Saudi comes as the latest in a series of activities undertaken to consolidate Qatar-KSA economic partnership. To this end, last year in September, QDB held an ‘Exporting to Saudi Arabia’ workshop, and in August, welcomed a delegation of officials from the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) at its headquarters to promote cross-trade opportunities, exchange experiences and broaden existing cooperation.

Upcoming Tasdeer events include the PlastExpo, one of the leading international exhibitions in the plastics and packaging industry, scheduled to be held in Casablanca, Morocco, from April 5 to 8, 2017.

The scope and breadth of Tasdeer was recently recognized on the international stage when International Trade Center (ITC), a joint agency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), recently nominated QDB for the 2016 Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Award, under the category of the best development agency in a developing country.

Incidentally, QDB was the sole development agency shortlisted from amongst the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Other nominated development agencies, under the same category, included Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica and South Korea.