Doha: As the third phase of coronavirus restrictions are set to be lifted next month, Qatar’s top bankers and business leaders are optimistic about reviving the local economy.
Participants of the live cohosted Euromoney and Commercial Bank webcast ‘Qatar: Navigating the New Normal’, which included United Development Company (UDC) President, CEO and Board Member Ibrahim Jassim Al Othman; Commercial Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Joseph Abraham; and Commercial Bank Executive General Manager for Wholesale Banking Raju Buddhiraju; stressed that Qatar is on the road to recovery, and though demand patterns will change, the strategic direction of the nation was unchanged.
“We were equipped with liquidity from financial institutions to get us through the first three months of the pandemic. We did not stop our construction business throughout the lockdown. In fact, we have just recently awarded major contracts for the Gewan Island development. In Qatar, you see the life is coming back at a very rapid pace at the moment. And it’s about time that we get over this fear and start to live our lives normally. "
"Maybe it won’t be exactly the same, and maybe this won’t be over completely very soon. But we need to get back on track and continue with our lives. You cannot just lock yourself down forever. Things have to move, and have already started to move. I’m sure by late this year or early next year, we will see quite a change. I’m sure everybody learned a lot from this, and I only look forward to positive things resulting from this pandemic,” said Al Othman.
The participants also highlighted how Qatar’s experience of the 2008 financial crisis and the 2017 blockade had prepared the country for the sudden shock of the pandemic and lockdown. The panel interview also highlighted the rapid and effective action by the Qatari government, in particular the Qatar Central Bank and the Ministry Of Finance, as well as the cooperation between the corporate and the financial sectors in managing the challenges during pandemic.
“As a leading Qatari bank we believe the future is digital and we have experienced a fundamental change in customer behaviour, with many more clients using digital banking channels for the first time. COVID-19 has therefore presented a window of opportunity for us to accelerate our client experience of digital banking and our digital agenda, both in terms of how we interact with our customers at the front-end but also embedding digital throughout our organization. The importance and role of technology is going to be much more prevalent in people’s thinking. And Qatar has a very high level of technology awareness,” added Abraham.
Buddhiraju went on to reiterate the importance of Qatari medium and long-term prospects in various sectors.
“While there are challenges in the short term arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must realize that five years from now, Qatar is very well placed with many investments, including but not limited to North Field Expansion projects increasing the gas production capacity by 65 percent, and the Hamad International Airport capacity of 60 million passengers. This presents a tremendous opportunity in Qatar, and companies that invest in technology will develop a distinct competitive advantage,” he added.
The event, which was streamed live to a global audience of over 500 attendees, drew a record audience of international business, analysts, and financial professionals. It also featured exclusive real-time footage of both The Pearl and Gewan developments, another first for a Euromoney webcast. “We were overwhelmed with the level of interest and interaction, more than anything we’ve seen since launching our digital stream in March,” said Richard Banks, Editor of Euromoney LiveStreams.
