(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
DOHA: Dr R Seetharaman (pictured), CEO of Doha Bank participated at the SIBOS 2018 Conference held at Sydney, Australia last week. At the Conference he gave insight on developments in global and Qatari economy.
Speaking on Qatari economy, he said the country is expected to grow by 2.7 percent in 2018 and 2.8 percent in 2019 respectively. Qatar is planning to increase its LNG production capacity from 77million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 110 mtpa.
Citing IMF's latest report, Dr Seetharaman said Qatar's banking system needs no further support from the central bank and sovereign wealth fund as the decline in non-resident liabilities of lenders have subsided. A robust regulatory framework and effective supervision have helped ensure the resilience of the financial system.
The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is further strengthening its financial sector surveillance to detect in a timely fashion emerging pressures, including those related to liquidity, real estate sector, the impact of US monetary policy normalisation and the on-going Gulf crisis.Qatar's reserves are more than twice of its GDP and in terms of financial stability Qatar is strong, stable and functional.
In response to the economic blockade, Qatar has emerged strong and has brought various reforms to transform itself into a self-reliant economy. The 2018 budget assumes the same conservative oil price of $45/barrel as used for the 2017 budget. The monetary and fiscal policy was aligned.
In recent times, Qatar's long-term issuer ratings have been changed from negative to stable by Moody's Investors Service, which affirmed the long-term issuer and foreign-currency senior unsecured debt ratings at Aa3.
According to Moody's assessment, Qatar can withstand the economic, financial, and diplomatic boycott by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt in its current form, or with possible further restrictions, for an extended period of time without a material deterioration of the sovereign's credit profile.
Dr R Seetharaman gave insight on key areas from Qatar National development strategy 2018-2022.
He said 'The government will focus on securing the capital spending required for all major projects, including those related to hosting the FIFA 2022 World Cup, but within prudent budgets.
MENAFN2810201800630000ID1097629592
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.