Despite a relatively small population of around 2.7m, Qatar accounts for around 5% of insurance premiums in MENA. Nevertheless, relative to the size of its economy, insurance activity remains at a modest level. Annual premiums of around $3bn account for 1.5% of GDP, compared to a global average of more than 6%. The insurance penetration rate, meanwhile, stands at less than 2%, significantly...
Qatar Financial Services
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Chapter | Islamic Financial Services from The Report: Qatar 2019
Qatar is home to some of the region’s most prominent sharia-compliant institutions. Despite operating in a crowded and competitive arena, over recent decades the country has claimed a significant share of the banking, insurance and investment segments. More recently, Qatar faced the challenges of a sustained dip in oil prices and a regional economic blockade. However, due to a prudent...
Chapter | Capital Markets from The Report: Qatar 2019
The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) has faced considerable challenges in recent years, including a dip in oil prices and the effects of an economic blockade. However, after an initial decline in late 2017, the main index’s performance during 2018 established it as one of the fastest growing in MENA. The QSE has also succeeded in attracting an increasing number of foreign investors – an important...
Over the course of 2018 Qatar’s banking industry demonstrated its resilience in the face of an economic blockade placed upon the country by a number of governments. Credit ratings agencies Moody’s and Fitch both upgraded Qatar’s sovereign credit ratings outlook to stable in the summer of 2018, recognising the improving macroeconomic scenario and the largely successful resolution of the...
Its relatively small population and status as the world’s biggest gas exporter have helped Qatar become the richest country globally in terms of GDP per capita, which stood at $72,700 at current prices in 2019, according to IMF estimates. In recent years, however, the nation has faced strong economic headwinds from a drop in global energy prices to a diplomatic blockade.
With liquidity levels strong and earnings solid, international ratings agencies and the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) have expressed confidence in the financial stability of the country’s banks, though external pressures remain.