– This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on June 26, Monday.
Welcome to CNBC Business Daily, I'm Qian Chen.
Among countries that cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, which imposed a boycott on Qatar, issued an ultimatum to Doha to close Al Jazeera, curb ties with Iran, shut a Turkish military base and pay reparations among other demands.
While we are waiting for Qatar's final answer to such an ultimatum after reviewing the 13-point list, markets are debating what a "no" answer would mean to Qatar's economy, especially to the industry of natural gas and oil.
With the highest GDP per capita in the world, Qatar's Al-Thani family knows that the pressure from its neighboring countries against its economy will not affect the population's support of the monarchy. The risk of revolution or regime change by internal or external agencies is totally ruled out, which explains the lack of violent reaction or panic by the authorities.
Moreover, the main resource of the country is gas and the exports of this resource is mainly by sea.
While Qatar can still export through international waters, via Iran's and Oman's coast, it has to face the challenge of finding new ports. Therefore, Qatar might have to book new refueling stops in Gibraltar, Singapore and other shipping fuels hubs.
However, as long as the Suez Canal is not closed to ships from Qatar, the perturbation will be minor. Currently, many attribute the non-banning of Qatari ships from the Suez Canal to Egypt's willingness to preserve the canal as a free and reliable area for navigation.
For the oil market, investors are watching closely any new development of this diplomatic crisis, as Saudi-led confrontation with Qatar could create the most serious split since Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. The split might endanger OPEC's efforts on oil production cut among the cartel's members, and thus, bring further pressure to oil prices.
Now, the main challenge for Qatar is to sustain its imports to maintain supplies of various essential items.
Qatar is largely dependent on food imports. About 40 percent of these imports come from its border with Saudi Arabia. As a result, Qatar has to reply on Iran and Turkey to secure food and water supplies - but apparently, that's not sustainable.
Therefore, the real question is - which direction will Qatar move forward, with the deadline of ultimatum approaching.
CNBC's Qian Chen, reporting from Singapore.