Managing Director and Member of the Qatar Financial CentreQatar Financial CentreLoading… Board of Directors Abdul Rahman Al Sheibi has underlined Qatar’s ability to achieve exceptional performance during the global financial crisis, which in turn contributed to strengthening its role within the GCC states after the crisis.
Al Sheibi was speaking during his participation in the “Qatar Forum 2010” at its fourth meeting, currently in session, organized by the Qatar Financial CentreQatar Financial CentreLoading… in collaboration with the “Global Reinsurance Magazine, which highlights the lessons learned and changes in the insurance sector following the global financial crisis.
Sheibi stressed ability the GCC states” ability to bear the consequences of the global financial crisis in fairly good way, although the crisis has had a mixed impact on the countries of the Council. He said that Qatar’s outstanding economic power has contributed to reinforcing the importance of this role, where GDP was doubled in Qatar between 2003 and 2009, while the total fixed investment in the state reached $28bn in 2009, representing a rate of over one third of the gross local levels.
The Qatari government registered an increase in the budget tables by 8.4 percent of GDP last year, unlike the vast majority of governments around the world, faced a deficit in their budgets, he added, pointing out to the expectations of the Qatari government to achieve the highest rise up to 12.1pc in GDP during this year.
Sheibi further said that Qatar began to reap the benefits of its long-term approach investment in the field of liquefied natural gas (LNG), to promote the economic diversification, which it seeks to achieve.
Sheibi added that the financial, insurance and real estate sectors are the largest non-oil contributors to GDP, a matter which indicates the success of economic diversification strategy that Qatar pursues, outlining the role of the financial sector in the economy.
He stressed the strength and durability of the Qatari economy, which clearly revealed in the access to the classification (Aa2) by the firm “Moody”, and (AA) of the “Standard & Poor”s,” that besides Qatar”s the financial budget tables. He also stressed the banking durability being enjoyed by the Qatari banking system and the measures and actions taken by the Government of Qatar over the past year in order to increase liquidity and its support for the banking sector during the global financial crisis, pointing out to the acquisition of “the Qatar Investment AuthorityQatar Investment AuthorityLoading…,” that reached as much as 20 percent of the shares of banks and acquisition of $ 1.8bn of investment portfolios in local banks, in addition to the acquisition of portfolios and real estate investments in these banks.
Sheibi stressed that the banking system in Qatar has the strength and flexibility, with an efficiency rate of the first tranche of capital in the banking sector to 16.9 percent last December, a rate much higher than the minimum 10 percent required by the “Qatar Central BankQatar Central Bank,” while non-performing loans stood at 1.7 percent only, noting that the ratio of investment from abroad is currently about 17 percent of GDP.
