Yousef Hussein Kamal examines Qatari Financial Sector in The Report: Qatar 2008

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He explained the reasons of making a move to consolidate and restructure the regulatory bodies within the financial sector in Qatar and said, 'Having a strong, independent and transparent financial regulatory regime is vital for a sound and well functioning financial service industry. Thus, a decision was taken to combine the supervision and regulatory aspects of all financial institutions under one regulatory body.'

He told The Report that most likely, during the first half of 2008, the Financial Regulatory Authority will be established. Meanwhile, a transition period of about two years is envisaged in order to facilitate a smooth transition to a single regulatory regime.

Focusing on foreign investors he said, 'The door was open to foreign investors to participate in all companies listed at the Doha Securities Market including the banking sector in April 2005, with an upper limit of 25%. In order to accommodate increased foreign investors' demand, a number of DSM listed companies including financial institutions are in the process of obtaining regulatory approval to increase the current limit of 25% to 49%.'

Kamal emphasized also the necessity of transparency policy developing in Qatar and asserted,

'Financial institutions have to comply with a number of requirements including the timely issuance of financial results whether they are audited or reviewed, having regular meeting with analysts, and advising the DSM of any news that may impact the stock performance. In addition, rules that govern the relationship with members of the board of directors and senior management are strictly enforced.'

He also revealed his thoughts and opinions to OBG on the increasing presence of Islamic Banking and said, 'The number of financial institutions that offer Islamic banking services and products have increased substantially in the past few years, with assets growing by about 15% annually reaching around $500bn. Growth prospects in the medium term are also very encouraging as more innovative products are being offered, with a growing acceptance and usage of Shari'a complaint products and services in several markets including developing countries.'

He concluded, 'We have managed to diversify successfully within the energy sector in the past decade by exploiting the country's large natural gas reserves for the production of LNG, whereby Qatar is now the leading world exporter of LNG. Apart from the energy sector, Qatar is taking steps towards further economic diversification that include the support of small and medium size industries, the establishment of Qatar Science and Technology Park and the establishment of Qatar Financial Centre. These measures, along with other initiatives being undertaken will contribute to further economic diversification.'

The interview will be carried in full in The Report: Qatar 2008 , an invaluable guide to the many facets of Qatar, including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, political landscape, banking and sectoral developments. The Report is produced by a team of six OBG analysts based in Doha for six months.Two hundred pages long, The Report has a distribution of 71,000, with 25% in Europe, 21% in GCC and the Middle East, 20% in North America, 15% in Asia, 13% in North Africa and 6% elsewhere.

OBG is working in collaboration with local partners to compile the research: Qatar National Bank for capital markets and Clyde and Co for legal affairs.

The publication features a series of exclusive interviews with key officials and business leaders in what is considered the most extensive, independent, unbiased and accurate intelligence available, and is part of the range of OBG's publications, which are renowned as leading sources of information on developing and emerging economies around the world.