QNB Financial Services announced that the total assets of the banking sector in Qatar increased by 0.9% month-on-month in 2022, reaching QAR1.85 trillion (US$507.94 billion) in November 2022. In addition, according to a press release, Islamic banks reported faster credit growth than conventional banks. Credit extended by Islamic banks rose by 9.77%, reaching QAR358.81 billion (US$98.51 billion) in November 2022, whereas credit extended by conventional banks decreased by 2.18% compared with the same period last year. The majority of the credit extended by Islamic banks was toward the real estate and public sectors.
Qatar Central Bank issued treasury bills and Sukuk on the 27th December 2022 worth QAR6 billion (US$1.65 billion) through an auction conducted under the enhanced auction procedures introduced by the central bank on the 21st September 2022. The auction attracted record-setting bids amounting to QAR11.46 billion (US$3.15 billion). Through the enhanced auction procedures, Qatar Central Bank increased the number of instruments, including Islamic instruments, and their tenor which ranges from one week to nine months.
Damaan Islamic Insurance Company (Beema) will begin trading on the Qatar Stock Exchange on the 16th January 2023. The extraordinary general assembly of Beema approved the listing in December 2021 in response to directives from Qatar Central Bank to convert Beema into a public shareholding company.
Beema was established as an Islamic insurance company in 2009 and is licensed by Qatar Central Bank to carry out Takaful and re-Takaful activities. The five founders of Beema are Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar Insurance Company, Masraf Al Rayan, Barwa Real Estate and QInvest. Following the listing of Beema, the number of listed companies on the Qatar Stock Exchange’s main market will increase to 49.
Qatar Islamic Bank and QIIB announced that they will disclose their financial statements for the year ending December 2022 on the 16th January 2023 and 25th January 2023 respectively. It is hoped that the results of these banks and other banks in Qatar for 2022 will drive the banking sector to continue to grow.
Amjad Hussain is a partner at K&L Gates. He can be contacted at [email protected].