From left: Matthew Martin, Banking and Finance Editor at Meed; Yusuf Saeed, Acting AGM for Global Structured Finance, Group Corporate & Institution Banking at Qatar National Bank, and Bhupendra Jain, Head of Corporate Banking at International Bank of Qatar during a panel session of Qatar Banking Summit at Marriott Courtyard Hotel yesterday. (Shaival Dalal)
DOHA: On Qatar’s huge project finance prospects, local banks will be actively partnering with international banks. Given the huge size of the value, there will be strong participation of international banks, two top local bankers said.
Local banks are in an enviable position to take risks in the country’s multi-billion infrastructure projects in the pipeline. But the slice of the cake is too big, that is why more and more foreign banks are coming in, Yusuf Saeed, Acting AGM, Global Structured Finance, Group Corporate & Institution Banking at QNB, and Bhupendra Jain, Head of Corporate Banking, International Bank of Qatar (IBQ), said in a panel discussion at the two-day Meed Qatar Banking Summit 2013, which concluded here yesterday.
IBQ is seeing a lot of collaboration with other banks. We will be working with both local and international banks, Bhupendra said.
On the soon-to-be coming $20bn project financing, QNB wants to take the top level. “We can underwrite big cheques and will be joining hands with both local and international banks. QNB has to look at the overall story,” said Yusuf
“If you look at long term project financing there is huge appetite for local banks. There will be bond options. Local banks are also keen in participating.”
Yousef stated public private partnership (PPP)model is not relevant in Qatar considering the nature of the projects on the anvil. “We have much talked about the PPP. Now it is time to move ahead. At this point of time PPP is out of place,” he said.
On the question of the profitability of the lending, the bankers noted most of the banks are looking for risk adjustments. Pricing may be different from project to project. “Our evaluation is not restricted to the value of a single project. We will be considering the right customer, right project and over a period of time deals,” said Bhupendra.
Addressing another session Charles Carlson, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank, Qatar, said it is not the international banks but regional banks are the next story. QNB is a classic example of this growth story.
On the international lending he said seven years down the line of the financial crisis, the corporate lending landscape has changed drastically. Before the meltdown, almost 70 percent of cross-border lending came from Europe. That is not the case anymore. Qatar needs to find its growth and look for alternative available sources like domestic capital market.
If you go by the behavioral pattern, people tend to deposit for shorter term and not for long term. Infrastructure needs a long term funding. How to bridge this gap is a challenge.
The Peninsula
