Qatar consistently among top 10 in Islamic finance globally

H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Thani

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, which included new electronic services to customers that has also led to Dukhan Bank’s recent achievements, including winning the Best Islamic Digital Bank in Qatar award in 2021.  

Director-General of the Department of Endowments at the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed bin Ghanem Al Thani also stressed the need to keep abreast with the developments in fintech in line with Shariah compliance. He pointed to the Department’s plans to launch a website and new applications for endowments, which will make various services available to the public automatically. 

Speaking about the day-long conference, Chairman of the Organising Committee and Vice-Chairman of Bait Al Mashura Dr. Khaled bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti stressed that the event which has also witnessed international participation, focused on discussing the reality of Islamic finance, its challenges, and opportunities, according to forward-looking, future visions for the sector.

In a closing statement, the Conference also recommended the establishment of an independent Shari’ah studies centre specialised in Islamic financial technology, to supplement the industry with the provisions of its developments; and to urge Islamic financial institutions to contribute to supporting and financing the centre. Similarly, the conference invites universities to include digital fintech specialisation as part of their educational curriculum.