Qatar Central Bank has made many achievements that proves the strength of its performance, with regard to the stability of the Qatari Riyal exchange rate, the stability of goods and services’ prices and the banking and financial stability as a whole.
With that, Qatar Central bank has played a pivotal role in the advancement of Qatar’s economy, taking into account the balance between domestic and external considerations, which allowed avoiding imbalances and instability, and allowed the promotion of infrastructure related to central banking systems.
The activities carried out by the Central Bank during the year 2014, varied between chairing the monetary council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at its current session, representing the State of Qatar in the meetings of international and regional organizations, participating in the meetings of the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems and the committee of the GCC Customs Union.
Those activities included the provision of cash and financial statements, required statistics and questionnaires for international, regional and local authorities as well as the coordination with international organizations involved in the insurance industry, and the participate in its activities and functions, especially the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).
Qatar Central Bank prepared the payments balance of the State for the year 2013, and developed the comprehensive framework for crisis management and business continuity plan in addition to connecting the bank electronically with the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation, and completing of the first phase of the employees’ wages protection system.
Qatar Central Bank also issued government bonds valued at QAR 32 billion, in addition to QAR 48 billion worth of treasury permissions, with tenures of 3, 6 and 9 months, in favor of the Government of the State of Qatar worth 48 billion riyals. These were listed in the secondary market for trading in Qatar Exchange.
Moreover, the Bank applied the automated program of the obligatory reserve requirements for banks operating in the country, participated in the private state’s job fair, and hired a number of Qatari young cadres.
Qatar Central Bank undertook several actions and constructive initiatives at the local and foreign levels. These activities included the signing of a number of agreements, memoranda of understanding (MoU)s and swap agreements.
In this context, Qatar Central Bank signed an MoU and swap Agreement, with the People Bank of China, setting the framework for the establishment of a specialized center for the clearing and settlement of the Chinese Yuan in Doha, which will facilitates the business of trade and investment in Yuan as well as the provision of liquidity and support necessary for financial stability.
The bank also signed an MoU with the Chinese banking sector control commission, aiming at facilitating the transition of Qatari banks’ representation offices in China to full fledge branches.
The central bank signed an MoU with the Bank of Korea in the field of developing and strengthening bilateral cooperation, which includes exchange of information related to the stability and development of the financial system, financial markets and payment and settlements systems, in addition to organizing seminars and training workshops in the fields of scientific research.
The Agreements and MoUs were signed in the Chinese and Korean Capitals during HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani’s official visits to China and Korea in November 2014.
The Bank prepared and issued economic and statistical publications, including the thirty-seventh annual report of Qatar Central Bank for the year 2013, the fifth report on financial stability for the year 2013, the booklet of bank instructions until September 2013, and the quarterly statistical bulletin (four issues) and the monthly cash bulletin (eight issues).
In addition, the Central Bank has prepared studies on the area of the exchange companies in the State and submitted them to the Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment.
It also coordinated with the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance on a number of financial sector legislation in the State, as well as with the Faculty of Law at the University of Qatar.
In the fields of information security and the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, the Bank organized a number of important conferences, in addition to the annual Euromoney Conference.
Source : Qatar News Agency
