Cabinet Approves Non-Qatari Ownership at Four Major Banks to Regulate Investment of Non-Qatari Capital

At the Cabinet’s regular meeting held on the 18th of August 2021, at the Amiri Diwan, a draft law proposing the increment of the percentage of non-Qatari ownership of Qatar National Bank (QNB), Qatar Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank and Masraf Al Rayan to reach 100%, was approved.

Why it Matters?

This approval was made in accordance with Article 7 of Law No 1 of 2019 with the objective of regulating the investment of non-Qatari capital in economic activity. This is the latest amongst Qatar’s pro-market policies aimed at attracting higher investment flows and improving the business sector within the Gulf state. The impact of the boycott and COVID-19 had resulted in divestiture during 2018-21, thus making the attraction of foreign investment a k...