Message from The
Chairman Of the Board Of Directors

 

Dear Shareholders,

I am honored On behalf of the Board of Directors, to present you with our annual report for the 2007 fiscal year.

Over the past year, Qatar under the courageous and visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is witnessing a huge development in all aspects of life, democracy reforms, education reforms, regulatory reforms, industrial growth, infrastructure growth and economic growth.
Today Qatar is one of the fastest growing economies in the Arab world; significant opportunities continue to emerge as it enjoys one of the highest incomes per capital in the world. Qatar follows a policy of diversification and extending its industrial and commercial activities to reduce its current dependence on oil. Currently the government is investing extra attention in developing various sectors in Qatar such as education sector, financial sector, health care sector, real estate sector, tourism and hospitality.

With all of the above achievements, Alaqaria is reinforcing its leadership position in the real estate sector, capitalizing on our achievements in 2006 where we exceeded our expectations, we are redefining our vision and strategy to transform Alaqaria into a world class real estate company in Qatar. We must, foremost, sustain our existing growth, maintain, if not accelerate our growth momentum of the past years to the years to come. We are very confident that our management approach towards focusing on our client’s needs is the sole basis of our existence. Our new approach focuses on redefining the equilibrium that caters for the needs of various sectors of the society. To be able to continuously and consistently satisfy our clients, we must continue in enhancing and developing our value proposition by providing a one-stop shop of quality real estate options at first. Secondly , we must focus on the quality of our execution, driven by our passion for excellence, the management will be focusing its efforts on executing on time with the highest standards of quality that will cover all phases of our development, from the architects, designers, construction, contracting, maintenance and support.

In addition to our strategic focus on finance lease projects-characterized by low risk and stable returns, mainly with our prime client, Qatar Petroleum-we've adopted a new strategy of direct investment in the real estate sector. This strategy involves private development projects, alliances with strategic partners to establish real estate companies, and participation in mega real estate developments.

The result in fiscal 2007 show clearly the growth of our operations. The increase of our investment is about 50% from the year before, a total of QR 3.4 Billion. This growth impacted our property investment revenues to grow to QR 327 million. Alaqaria's support to the Qatari communities is a core element of the company’s formation and growth. We are delivering value to our community in every project we take on, we deliver value through giving people a better quality places to live, work, learn and play.

As a continuation of our growth in 2006, fiscal 2007 witnessed an impressive improvement in Alaqaria's financing policies. To secure its necessary funding, diversify its financing sources, and reduce its financing costs, Alaqaria has issued the first corporate Qatari Sukuk.

This issue reinforces the status of Alaqaria and of Qatar in the international capital markets. In 2007, Alaqaria was the first listed company to get credit rating.

In conclusion, on behalf of the management and employees, I express sincere gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir, and to his heir apparent, H.H. Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, for their leadership, guidance, and wisdom. They inspire the new dynamism of the Qatari economy and make possible the economic success of the country.


We are very proud and fortunate in serving our clients, and leading Alaqaria team to achieve our client’s objectives in life style and our team career inspirations.

Lastly, I would like to thank our client’s and our dedicated employees for the commitment they have given us over the past years and we look forward for being your trusted business partner in building and prospering Qatar economy.


Khalid Bin Khalifa Bin Jassim Al- Thani
Chairman and Managing Director