DOHA: QNB Group Acting Chief Executive Officer Abdulla Mubarak Al Khalifa (pictured) said yesterday that despite the Group’s global expansion, the Qatari banking market is the cornerstone of the bank’s operations, as it seeks continuously to grow in the local market and support various economic initiatives to ensure that it maintains its leadership position in Qatar.
Addressing the ‘Euromoney Qatar Conference’ here yesterday, Al Khalifa stressed that the Qatari market will continue to be a top priority for the bank, in line with continuing global expansion in selected markets, to achieve its strategic objectives of becoming one of the leading financial institutions in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia by 2020 and one of the major international banks in 2030.
The QNB Acting CEO pointed out that despite the encouraging signs of further progress in the Qatari banking sector, there are challenges and risks facing the business and affecting future growth prospects, including slowing growth in the global economy, fluctuations in money and currency markets, and crises in trade relations as well as the threats of information security and cybercrime.
With the increasing global expansion of banks and the dependence on electronic channels and digital banking, electronic crime has become one of the biggest risks facing the financial sector because of its ability to penetrate borders and target banking institutions in remote countries and regions. The issue of securing information security and protecting banking transactions through the development of technological and human capabilities will remain within the QNB Group’s top priorities at this stage. Al Khalifa pointed out that the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2018-2022 provide a comprehensive framework for the future directions of the State, which focus on enhancing the role of the private sector and expanding the contribution of non-oil sectors in economic activity.
He said the banking sector plays a central role, either by expanding its activity and increasing its contribution to GDP or by providing credit facilities and financing to other economic sectors, thereby enhancing its ability to increase growth rates and achieve economic diversification in the country.
He stressed the QNB Group’s commitment to support Qatar’s efforts to achieve sustainable development by expanding the participation of the private sector in economic activity, as supporting private sector projects and small and medium-sized enterprises remains a priority for the Bank.
