Qatar Daily News

Qatar may launch its planned single financial regulator this year, the head of the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) said on Monday.

The Gulf country first unveiled the plan for a joint market watchdog in 2007 to cope with its growing financial and banking sectors, and to attract foreign investment as it competes with regional rivals such as Dubai.

The International Monetary Fund has revised downwards its economic projections for the United Arab Emirates, forecasting flat growth this year as Dubai’s moribund real estate market and debt restructuring drag on continuing growth in the oil-rich capital of Abu Dhabi.
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Commercial Bank of Qatar reported a 33 percent rise in fourth quarter net profit, despite taking a 170 million riyal hit related to a corporate default, which the lender intends to recover.

Qatar’s third-largest bank by market value posted a net profit of 186 million riyals in the fourth quarter from 140 million riyals in the same period in 2008.

Qatar’s Barwa Bank will purchase The First Investor, a Doha-based investment firm, in an all-stock deal.

Barwa Bank said the deal, which already has the approval of Qatar’s central bank, would see the lender acquire the share capital of The First Investor in exchange for Barwa stock.

Qatar Airways plans to sell shares in an initial public offering in five years’ time, Al Arabiya Television reports Monday, citing the carrier’s Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker.

Qatar Airways is waiting for the right time to sell shares and “that would be possible after three consecutive years of profit gains,” Al Baker told Al Arabiya.

Qatar National Bank has denied signing a deal to finance the development of Iran’s Esfandiar oilfield, Reuters has reported. Iran said on Saturday QNB would invest 400 million euros ($581.4m) to finance the development of the field, Oil Ministry website SHANA reported, quoting a senior official. ‘The bank is not aware of such a development, nor it is considering such an investment,’ the bank said in a statement.

Gulf banks are expected to ease a tight lending noose they formed in late 2008 and through 2009 as they appear to be treading into a better year in terms of economic growth and domestic demand, according to analysts.
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Qatar Islamic Bank SAQ, the country’s biggest Islamic lender, sold a five percent stake to Qatar Investment Authority, the Persian Gulf country’s sovereign wealth, as part of a plan to boost bank capital.

Qatar Investment Authority paid 956 million riyals ($263 million) for the stake, Qatar Islamic Bank said in a statement posted on the Doha bourse Web site today.

Qatar has released the second tranche of funds – worth about QR2bn ($549m) – into the banking sector in the latest effort to help banks recover from the impact of the global financial crisis.

The funds will appear in the balance sheets of the listed banks for the current year.

The announcement was made by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Yousef Hussein Kamal on Wednesday, The Peninsula reported on Thursday, citing Qatar News Agency.

He said that the state sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), will pick a further five percent stake in all the listed banks in return for the investment.
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Bahrain’s Gulf Finance House (GFH) said on Wednesday it had taken a provision of $300 million over its exposure to a Dubai development project.

“Gulf Finance House … will take a $ 300 million (non-cash) charge against its proprietary Dubailand position and correspondingly reduce the liabilities on its balance sheet by $290 million,” the company said in a statement.

“GFH has no remaining material exposure to Dubai.”
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