Qatar One of the Largest Markets for Islamic Finance: Minister of Commerce and Industry

On the 1st of April 2021, Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, His Excellency Ali bin Ahmed Al-Kuwari, inaugurated the 7th Doha Islamic Finance Conference virtually. The Minister lauded the “remarkable growth” that Islamic finance in the country has seen. He attributed this to Qatar’s “pioneering” legal and regulatory framework.

Why it Matters?

In a global context, Qatar is one of the biggest Islamic finance markets, with the assets of local Islamic banks having reached QAR 415.8 billion in 2019 from QAR 350 billion in 2018. Revenues of Qatari Islamic banks reached QAR 18.6 billion in 2019, reflecting a 15.4% increase from 2018. The country’s private sector has benefited well from the credit provided by...