Qatar Financial Services

With strong banking and financial services segments combined with an expanding insurance sector and global demand for Islamic bonds, sharia-compliant finance in Qatar is expected to see continued growth in 2012. During a year in which the sector underwent many regulatory changes to close Islamic windows in Qatar’s conventional banks in favour of...

While in the last few years many states in the region have debated moves to establish local secondary and junior markets, Qatar has taken several steps towards making these a reality. The state has begun issuing local currency treasury bills (T-bills) with an eye to developing a domestic market for fixed-income products. Likewise, the Qatar Exchange...

THE COMPANY: Qatar Gas Transport or Nakilat (QGTS on the Qatar Exchange) is the world’s largest owner of liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships. QGTS was incorporated in 2004 to address the needs for shipping the large quantities of LNG being produced by Qatar. With a total effective LNG shipping capacity of...

THE COMPANY: Masraf Al Rayan (MARK on the Qatar Exchange) is the country’s fourth-largest bank, with a 7.9% market share based on total assets in the overall domestic banking sector as of 2011. It is also the second-largest sharia-compliant bank in the country. Besides Qatar, the bank also has a presence...

With Qatar experiencing strong and protracted economic growth, built largely on the back of a globally significant hydrocarbons sector, banking in this Gulf state has long been a robust business. The sector weathered the international credit crunch well and has since achieved double-digit asset growth, despite more recent global financial woes, and...

Having had the best year on record in 2011, sharia-compliant bonds, known as sukuks, have come back in full force from a post-financial crisis lull. The year 2012 is also set to see some major issuances in Qatar, which has already established a role for itself as a key international player in the sukuk market.