An increasingly competitive banking environment has encouraged lenders to seek out revenues in previously underserved sectors. Personal lending, for example, has become more important to the sector: in 2010 it accounted for 19.3% of aggregate bank lending, but by 2013 the segment’s share had grown to 23.6% of the credit mix. Meanwhile, lenders have begun to adopt SME-friendly measures such as...
Qatar Financial Services
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Hydrocarbons revenues, specifically from liquefied natural gas, still form the bulk of Qatar’s national income. However, as the country moves forward with Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030), the government is increasingly seeking to diversify the economy away from hydrocarbons while investing in renewable solutions to meet the energy demands of the future.
2013 saw the transition of power from the former Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, his fourth son and second son with Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, a move unprecedented elsewhere in the Gulf but not unexpected in Qatar.
Chapter | Islamic Financial Services from The Report: Qatar 2014
The Islamic finance services (IFS) sector in Qatar is one of the most vibrant in the region and incorporates a rapidly expanding sharia-compliant banking segment, an array of financing companies, an insurance market that is well positioned to capitalise on the potential of an underserved market, and an increasingly deep Islamic investment component. Recent regulatory changes suggest that the...
Qatar’s insurance sector has become the third largest in the GCC region in terms of written premiums. The sector is home to a range of domestic giants and international players that enjoy a choice of regulatory frameworks, and insurers are now gearing up to capitalise on the raft of infrastructure projects expected to arise from the national development strategy and Qatar’s hosting of the FIFA...
Chapter | Capital Markets from The Report: Qatar 2014
Regional political turbulence since 2011 has resulted in a challenging environment for exchanges across the GCC, but Doha’s relatively young bourse has shown its resilience over 2013. The Qatari bourse grew by 24.2% over 2013, led by a 38.7% expansion in the transportation sector. Even the year’s slowest-growing sectors – insurance and real estate – posted double-digit expansion. It has also...