Qatar, which has QR528bn of Islamic finance assets, has been consistently ranked among top 10 of the world’s leading Islamic financial markets over the past 10 years, Minister of Commerce and Industry H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Thani said yesterday after inaugurating the 8th Doha Islamic Finance Conference, which was held under the patronage of the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani.
In his speech, the Minister reiterated that Islamic banking was a key pillar in Qatar’s financial sector, with Qatari Islamic banks owning about 86 percent of the country’s Islamic finance assets and also ranked among the largest Islamic banks at regional and international levels.
The Qatari market offers great opportunities for international fintech companies, with ICT spending here expected to reach $9bn by 2024, the Minister said.
Also, Qatar’s Islamic fintech market which was estimated at $850m in 2020, is expected to grow to $2bn in 2025, he added.
Addressing the conference titled ‘Digital FinTech and Decentralisation’ organised by Bait Al Mashura Financial Consulting Company, the Minister of Commerce and Industry also stressed the progress achieved by various organisations in Qatar in securing the country’s position as a regional and global financial innovation hub. This includes the establishment of the National FinTech Strategy, in addition to the programmes at Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), as well as the launch of the Qatar FinTech Hub (QFTH) – which already ranked as the second largest fintech investor in the Mena region in the first quarter of 2021.
The Minister also highlighted the successful mergers between Barwa Bank and International Bank of Qatar (now Dukhan Bank), and Masraf Al Rayan and Khaleeji Commercial Bank, which resulted in the creation of new banking entities now considered among the largest Islamic banks in the world.
Minister of Commerce and Industry also reiterated the need to quickly adapt to changes and adopt various advanced technological solutions based on artificial intelligence and cloud computing, and other fintech solutions to continue developing the country’s Islamic finance sector.
Also speaking during the event, Dukhan Bank’s Group Chief Communications Officer Talal Al Khaja, reiterated the role of Islamic finance in the fast growing banking industry, and highlighted the Bank’s recent digital transformation activities, — The Peninsula
