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CEO of Barzan Holdings: We Aim to Localize, Attract Defense Industries in Qatar

Abdullah Al-Khater, CEO of Barzan Holdings, receives a visitor at the World Defense Show in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Abdullah Al-Khater, CEO of Barzan Holdings, receives a visitor at the World Defense Show in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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CEO of Barzan Holdings: We Aim to Localize, Attract Defense Industries in Qatar

Abdullah Al-Khater, CEO of Barzan Holdings, receives a visitor at the World Defense Show in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Abdullah Al-Khater, CEO of Barzan Holdings, receives a visitor at the World Defense Show in Riyadh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

CEO of Barzan Holdings Abdullah Al-Khater said the company aims to strengthen defense industries and attract defense technology to Qatar.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the World Defense Show, which concluded in Riyadh on Friday, Al-Khater said the company’s work is based on different axes, namely domestic and foreign investment in defense technology and supporting the Qatari Ministry of Defense in acquisitions and purchases and building local defense capabilities.

He noted that Barzan Holdings was implementing a strategy that is founded on long-term plans, pointing to the establishment of a large number of companies, which have begun manufacturing defense products, weapons and systems.

Barzan Holdings has also completed some projects on behalf of the Qatari Ministry of Defense in a number of various fields, he underlined.

Moreover, Al-Khater explained that the signing of the joint cooperation agreement with the Saudi Military Industries Company (SAMI) covers several areas, including joint projects, cooperation in production and joint investments in the fields of defense and security.

He stressed that a number of factors contributed to the achievements of Barzan Holdings, mainly the support provided by the Qatari leadership, investments in the human cadre by attracting local and foreign minds, and cooperation with international companies.

Al-Khater revealed that the company was seeking to enter the multiple fields in the defense industries, whether at the level of light or classic industries, or even the advanced manufacturing, such as the technological field, and the employment of artificial intelligence and drones.

Regarding export plans, he noted that while export was one of the priorities of Barzan Holdings, the main goal of building the defense field is to meet the local need.

He said in this regard: “The sustainability of these companies requires working on the concept of export, which represents one of our main goals... and we aspire to achieve it, whether at the regional or international level.”

Al-Khater stressed that the company was open to cooperation with regional companies, including SAMI and others.

On the company’s participation in the World Defense Show, he noted that Barzan Holdings showcased a number of its products and was looking forward to greater participation in future editions.

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FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
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ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde renewed her call for economic integration across Europe on Friday, arguing that intensifying global trade tensions and a growing technology gap with the United States create fresh urgency for action.
US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose tariffs on most if not all imports and said Europe would pay a heavy price for having run a large trade surplus with the US for decades.
"The geopolitical environment has also become less favorable, with growing threats to free trade from all corners of the world," Lagarde said in a speech, without directly referring to Trump.
"The urgency to integrate our capital markets has risen."
While Europe has made some progress, EU members tend to water down most proposals to protect vested national interests to the detriment of the bloc as a whole, Reuters quoted Lagarde as saying.
But this is taking hundreds of billions if not trillions of euros out of the economy as households are holding 11.5 trillion euros in cash and deposits, and much of this is not making its way to the firms that need the funding.
"If EU households were to align their deposit-to-financial assets ratio with that of US households, a stock of up to 8 trillion euros could be redirected into long-term, market-based investments – or a flow of around 350 billion euros annually," Lagarde said.
When the cash actually enters the capital market, it often stays within national borders or leaves for the US in hope of better returns, Lagarde added.
Europe therefore needs to reduce the cost of investing in capital markets and must make the regulatory regime easier for cash to flow to places where it is needed the most.
A solution might be to create an EU-wide regulatory regime on top of the 27 national rules and certain issuers could then opt into this framework.
"To bypass the cumbersome process of regulatory harmonization, we could envisage a 28th regime for issuers of securities," Lagarde said. "They would benefit from a unified corporate and securities law, facilitating cross-border placement, holding and settlement."
Still, that would not solve the problem that few innovative companies set up shop in Europe, partly due to the lack of funding. So Europe must make it easier for investment to flow into venture capital and for banks to fund startups, she said.