Minister of Commerce Opens 8th Doha Islamic Finance Conference

Doha March 15 (QNA) - Under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani, HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al-Thani opened today the 8th Doha Islamic Finance Conference entitled "Digital and Decentralized Financial Technology", which is organized by Bait Al Mashura Finance Consultations Company. In an opening speech, HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry said that the Islamic banking sector today is an important pillar of the financial sector in the State of Qatar, and that Qatari Islamic banks are ranked among the largest Islamic banks at the regional and international levels. HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry explained that according to the International Monetary Fund's definition of major Islamic financial markets, the State of Qatar has been one of the top ten countries in the world in the Islamic finance index, over the past ten years, noting in this regard that the assets of Islamic finance in the country amounted to about 528 billion riyals in which the assets of Islamic banks accounted for about 86 percent. He praised the success of the merger between Barwa Bank and International Bank of Qatar, which resulted in Dukhan Bank during the last period, and between Masraf Al Rayan and Al Khaleeji Commercial Bank recently; He pointed out that these operations resulted in the establishment of new banking entities that are considered one of the largest Islamic banks in the world. Sheikh Mohammed explained that the pace of digital transformation in all countries of the world accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, in light of governments' tendency to accelerate the adoption of technological solutions to address its consequences, and achieve business continuity in various vital sectors in a way that supports the balance and stability of their financial and economic systems. In this regard, he stressed the importance of the conference as an important opportunity to shed light on the approach adopted by the State of Qatar in order to quickly adapt to changes and adopt various advanced technological solutions based on artificial intelligence and cloud computing, especially financial technology, according to the best technical standards and regulatory controls. HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry said the Qatari market offers great opportunities for international companies specialized in financial technology, especially in light of expectations regarding expenditures directed at information and communications technology in the country, which could reach $9 billion by 2024. The size of the Islamic financial technology market in the State of Qatar was estimated at about $850 million in 2020, and that it is expected to grow to $2 billion in the year 2025, as part of the countrys direction towards developing an innovation environment through the establishment of the national strategy for financial technology, in addition to Qatar Financial Center's programs, especially the "Tech Talk" series, the Qatar Financial Center Department for Technology Companies, in addition to the launch of the Qatar FinTech Center in 2020, which was ranked in the first quarter of last year as the second largest investor in the financial technology sector in the Middle East and North Africa region, consolidating Qatar's position as a regional and global hub in the field of financial innovation. Concluding his speech, HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry stressed that the growing process of Islamic finance in the State of Qatar, and the continuous efforts to develop it, today require urgent and innovative steps to preserve its achievements in light of global changes, noting that this meeting provides for a search for ways to achieve compatibility between Islamic banks, laws and requirements of supervisory authorities related to decentralized digital financial technology, in addition to exploring future visions for this sector in light of the general provisions of Islamic Sharia. For his part, HE Director-General of General Administration of Endowments at the Ministry of Endowment and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf) Dr. Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed bin Ghanem Al-Thani affirmed that the title of the conference , which is specialized in digital finance and decentralization and the inclusion of endowment topics within its topics, reflects the critical importance of digital transformation in the endowment field to develop its mechanisms and products, pointing out that this trend accompanied the future vision of the General Administration of Endowments. In the same context, he added that the General Administration of Endowments was in the process of launching a new website and application for endowments to provide a unique digital experience by making all endowment administration projects and its various services available to the public easily and automatically. At the end of his speech, he expressed his aspirations that the conference outputs would contribute to strengthening the endowment industry in Qatar and the world. Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Conference and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bait Al Mashura Finance Consultations Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, affirmed that the 8th Doha Islamic Finance Conference was an extension of previous conferences focusing on discussing the reality of Islamic finance, its challenges and opportunities, according to the forward-looking and future visions of this important sector. For his part, Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee and CEO of Bait Al Mashura Finance Consultations Dr Osama Qais Al Duraei said that the topics of the Doha Islamic Finance Conference were carefully selected according to a forward-looking vision for the future of Islamic finance in an accelerated and shifting time in all its economic directions. He added that the organizing committee was keen to attract senior experts. and specialists in the topics and components of the conference in an effort to present distinguished outputs that enhance the role of Islamic finance and its institutions. During the 8th edition of the Doha Islamic Finance Conference, four main components were discussed, during which a group of scholars and experts in the field of Islamic economics and finance spoke. The first axis discussed the role of supervisory institutions in dealing with decentralized digital financial technology, and the second axis addressed the provisions the provisions of Islamic Shari'ah in decentralized digital financial technology, while the third axis touched on the nature and mechanisms of decentralized digital financial products, and the fourth axis reviewed the experiences of decentralized digital financial technology through financial institutions and local and global financial technology companies. (QNA)