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His Excellency Governor of the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani met on Sunday with the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the State of Qatar Walid Elfiky. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral cooperation relations in banking and finance and the means of consolidating them.

Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has achieved significant milestone with the launch of the second phase of primary dealer (PD) framework, recording 29 deals with a total value exceeding QR2.8bn to date.About 16% of the primary dealers' share was redistributed to investors on the first day of issuance, the QCB said."This activity marks one of the strongest trading performances in the Qatari secondary market, demonstrating strong investor confidence and high demand for Qatari riyal-denominated financial instruments," QCB said.This was accomplished through the development of an advanced infrastructure for trading outside the stock market, significantly enhancing efficiency and transparency in the secondary market under the supervision and oversight of the QCB.As part of its ongoing commitment to developing the local debt market and promoting Islamic finance instruments, the QCB introduced ljarah sukuk as an alternative to Murabaha sukuk.This initiative aligns with international standards and enables these instruments to be traded, the QCB said.Ijarah sukuk have witnessed widespread demand from both Islamic and non-Islamic banks, and have been traded alongside conventional bonds, reflecting growing confidence in Islamic financial instruments and the effectiveness of the new regulatory framework.The PD frameworks seeks to strengthen the government securities issuance, enhance secondary market liquidity, and build investor confidence with further opportunities for participantion in future isduances.

The total assets of commercial banks in Qatar scaled up 6.5% to QR2.12tn in July this year compared to the same period in 2024, according to latest data issued by the Qatar Central Bank (QCB).Total domestic deposits with local banks rose 2.3% to QR852.3bn in July compared to the same period last year. Total credit disbursed by the local banks totalled QR1.34tn in July, up 5.5% on the same period in 2024. Broad money supply (M2) increased by 1.7% to QR739.5bn in July, compared to the same period in 2024, the QCB noted. M2 is an estimate of liquid assets, including cash on hand, money deposited in checking accounts, savings accounts, and other short-term saving vehicles such as money market funds and certificates of deposit.An increase in the country's bank assets, deposits, and credit indicates a growing banking sector, which clearly suggests an expansion of the money supply and increased economic activity. A healthy banking sector with growing assets and credit improve access to capital for businesses and households, facilitating their growth and development.