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Regulatory shake-up for Qatar
QATAR
By Amjad Hussain
The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has
announced a streamlining of the process
by which banks and other companies in
the insurance, finance and investment
sectors obtain licenses to establish
and commence operations. There were
previously three supervisory authorities,
each with its own process, guidelines
and rules: the QCB, the Qatar Financial
Markets Authority (QMFA) and the
Qatar Financial Center Authority
(QFCA).
Under the new regime, the QCB will
be the exclusive grantor of licenses for
commercial, Islamic and investment
banks, and finance, insurance, reinsurance
and currency exchange companies. It is
currently unclear how this streamlining
will impact on financial institutions
and insurers in the Qatar Financial
Center. Meanwhile, the QFMA will be
responsible for providing stock trading
oversight, analysis of bourse operations
and oversight of financial brokerage
companies.
The QCB also announced that the banking
sector in Qatar will adopt the international
bank account number (IBAN) standard
from the beginning of 2014, as part of the
efforts by the QCB to adopt best global
practices and to improve the effectiveness
and performance of payment systems in
Qatar.
QInvest recently announced that it will
be streamlining its business to focus on
three core areas – investment banking,
asset management and investing its own
capital – whilst working more closely with
its main shareholder, Qatar Islamic Bank.
QInvest will withdraw from areas such
as wealth management and brokerage
services. Although QInvest was one of
the Islamic banks in the region which
weathered the financial crisis relatively
well, this realignment of priorities reflects
a wider trend in the region for Islamic
investment banks to focus more on midsized deals; an area in which they are
most familiar and competitive.
The political and economic instability
in the Middle East and North Africa
continues to present challenges for Qatari
conventional and Islamic banks investing
abroad. Qatar National Bank (QNB) has
denied recent speculation in the market
©
IFN Sector Correspondents
that it is considering the disposal of
National Société Générale Bank - Egypt
(NSGB), months after acquiring it. NSGB’s
deposits have decreased by around 25%
since its acquisition by QNB and the weak
performance of NSGB has been linked
with the recent downgrade by S&P of
QNB’s stand-alone credit profile from ‘a-‘
to ‘bbb+’.
ASSET MANAGEMENT
Sean Daykin, head of investment funds, Emirates NBD
Asset Management
Lending growth in Qatar has been a
key driver of bank profits in recent
quarters as the country invests billions
of dollars into infrastructure projects.
While growth in Qatar's total bank credit
dipped to a 27-month low in August,
credit still increased by 13.6% year-onyear, according to the QCB’s data. On
the back of this trend comes the recent
announcement of the agreement between
United Development Company (UDC),
a Qatar Exchange-listed company, and
Masraf Al Rayan for up to QAR854
million (US$234.4 million) in financing
for the construction of parts of UDC’s real
estate development in the Pearl Qatar.
LEASING:
Professor Dr Shahinaz Rashad, chairperson & CEO,
Egyptian Leasing Association
In market news, Qatar International
Islamic Bank recorded a net profit of
QAR568.4 million (US$156.05 million) at
the end of the third quarter of 2013, up
7.1% compared with the same period in
the previous year. The bank’s total assets
stood at QAR33.1 billion (US$9.08 billion)
at the end of the quarter compared with
QAR24.5 billion (US$6.7 billion) in the
corresponding period last year, reflecting
a growth rate of 34.8%. On the other hand,
Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Qatar’s fourthlargest lender by market value, reported
a 12.4% drop in third-quarter net profit,
missing analysts' average forecast.
REAL ESTATE (MIDDLE EAST):
Yahya Abdulla, head of capital markets — Middle East,
Cushman & Wakefield
With the anticipated increase in
government spending in the coming
months, we expect there to be a greater
number of deals reaching the market.
Amjad Hussain is a partner at law firm K&L
Gates’ corporate and finance practices. He
can be contacted at Amjad.Hussain@klgates.
com.
Are you a member
CROSS-BORDER FINANCING:
Fara Mohammad, senior lawyer and consultant in Islamic
finance
DEBT CAPITAL MARKETS:
Muhammad Shoaib Ibrahim, managing director & CEO,
First Habib Modaraba
LAW:
Bishr Shiblaq, head of Dubai office, Arendt & Medernach
MICROFINANCE (ASIA):
Dr Mahmood Ahmed, executive vice president and
director training, Islami Bank Training and Research
Academy
MICROFINANCE (AFRICA):
Mansour Ndiaye, director of microfinance, Assistance and
Consulting for Development
PRIVATE BANKING & WEALTH MANAGEMENT
Khadra Abdullahi, associate, investment banking, Faisal
Private Bank
PRIVATE EQUITY & VENTURE CAPITAL:
Arshad Ahmed, partner, Elixir Capital
REAL ESTATE (EUROPE)
Philip Churchill, founder partner, 90 North Real Estate
Partners
REGULATORY ISSUES (ASIA)
Intan Syah Ichsan , chief operating officer, Samuel Aset
Manajemen
REGULATORY ISSUES (MIDDLE EAST):
Mohammad Abdullah Malik Dewaya, head of Shariah
compliance and audit, Maisarah Islamic Banking Services
RETAIL BANKING:
Ris Rizqullah, lecturer, Trisakti University
RISK MANAGEMENT:
Abu Bakr Abdel Rahman, relationship manager, NBDADIB
SECURITIES & SECURITIZATION:
Nidhi Bothra, executive vice president, Vinod Kothari
Consultants
STOCK BROKING & TRADING:
Athif Shukri, research analyst, Adl Capital
SUKUK
Marco Mauri, senior director of asset management,
Alkhair Capital Saudi Arabia
TAKAFUL & RE-TAKAFUL:
Dr Sutan Emir Hidayat, senior lecturer, University College
of Bahrain
TREASURY PRODUCTS:
Nafith ALHersh Nazzal, certified financial & investment
advisor
TECHNOLOGY:
Syed Mohammad Ali, Islamic finance consultant,
Miraipod Inc
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IFN Correspondents are experts in their respective fields
and are selected by Islamic Finance news to contribute
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sasikala@redmoneygroup.com
7th November 2013