(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Currency rates at foreign exchange houses in Qatar remain unaffected by the "No" vote resulting from Greece's snap referendum on Sunday.
Foreign exchange manager Adarsh Shenava of Alzaman Exchange said "there is no cause for alarm" even as Greek voters in a sudden referendum rejected the terms of an international bailout.
"European currencies felt slight downward movements but overall, there were no major differences with other major currencies," Shenava told Gulf Times.
Rather than the result of the Greek referendum, Shenava explained that currency rates are usually down when markets open on Monday.
"On a normal day, when the market opens on a Monday, currency movements can be down but these changes are not considered as major exchange rate movements," he said.
This was echoed by Doha Bank head of treasury & investments, KV Samuel, who said, "Before the Asian market opened on midnight (Monday, Qatar time), the market moved slightly downward."
"But the market is keenly looking forward to Tuesday's high-level Eurozone meeting," Samuel emphasised.
He was referring to the emergency summit to be held today after leading creditors Germany and France called on Eurozone nations to discuss the result of the Greek referendum.
Asked about the impact of the "No" result on Qatar and GCC markets, he said, "While the Greek referendum result may cause a global chain reaction, this has a minor effect on the Qatar and GCC markets. Basically, we are not worried at all."
He added, "Globally, almost all the stock markets could go down but locally I think the impact is really minimal."
According to Greece's Ministry of Interior, 38.7% voted "Yes" while 61.3% voted "No" to the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB), and International Monetary Fund's (IMF) terms of an international bailout.
Shenava noted that "The 'No' vote from Greece's referendum on Monday will only affect the euro and other European currencies."
"Non-European currencies are more dependent on the dollar rather than on the euro, which is why there is less chance that the result of Sunday's referendum in Greece will affect a non-European currency.
"If there would be a major movement in the euro then obviously there is a cause for alarm but since there is none, then there's no need to worry," Shenava stressed.
On Sunday evening, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras assured a large crowd of supporters in Athens that Greece's debt "will be back on the negotiating table."
Following the referendum, Greece's Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis bowed down to pressure from critics and resigned on Monday. He was replaced by Euclid Tsakalotos.
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