BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB
DOHA: QNB Capital (QNBC) and Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) yesterday singed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese brokerage firm ‘Southwest Securities’ (SWSC) to establish a joint venture company for handling Shari’ah compliant financial services in China.
The SWSC is the only national securities corporation registered in China’s Chongqing province, and the region’s first listed financial institution.
The Qatari financial institutions are looking forward to introduce interest-free financial activities, including retail banking services in China to exploit the country’s untapped potential. China with over 20 million Muslim population has very little Islamic financial products.
“The MoU will pave way for further cooperation among QIIB, QNBC and SWSC to establish Islamic financial instruments and direct Islamic investments in China,” said Abdulbasit Ahmad Al Shaibei, CEO of QIIB, adding, “this will also help us to explore Shari’ah compliant investment opportunities in the world’s second largest economy.”
Al Shaibei, speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the launching ceremony of Middle East’s first Renminbi (RMB) clearing centre, said: “We are looking forward to signing agreements with them to start the framework to introduce the instruments of Islamic finance and banking in China.”
Asked about the scope of retail banking and other areas of cooperation, he said that in China there are huge investment opportunities, both for direct investment or issuing sukuk (Islamic bond) and other financial activities.
“Yes, we have intention to start Shari;ah compliant retail banking in China. It’s a very huge country with a lot of untapped market potential. But we want to be selective in areas to serve so that we can add value,” he added.
“This is just the kick-off, and in a month’s time we hope to sign agreements. As the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is encouraging a kind of understanding with the Chinese side for Qatari banks to have presence in the Asia’s largest economy.”
The joint venture also aims to develop Islamic finance in China and support SWSC in accessing markets in Qatar and the Middle East region. However, Al Shaibei did not provide further details of the size of the company and the expected date of opening.
The MoU was singed by Cui Jian, Chairman of the Board of SWSC, and Secretary of the Party Committee; Dr Asim Qureshi, Managing Director at QNBC; and AI Shaibei of QIIB.
The Minister of Finance,
H E Ali Sherif Al Emadi and the Governor of QCB, H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Saoud AI Thani, witnessed the signing ceremony held during the inauguration of the Renminbi clearing centre.
The Peninsula
DOHA: Qatar National Bank (QNB) is looking forward to explore potential opportunities arising from the establishment of the first Middle East “Clearing Hub” for Chinese currency launched here yesterday, said a statement.
The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) initiative was celebrated at an official opening ceremony attended by dignitaries from Qatar’s banking sector. QNB was a Platinum Sponsor of the occasion.
The regional clearing hub concept was one of the key provisions of the financial agreements signed between Qatar and the People’s Republic of China following discussions held between the two countries last year.
With the clearing centre now opened, QNB Group hopes to play a significant future role in assisting Middle Eastern and African clients with respect to their Renminbi requirements. This is derived from its strong South East Asian presence and its ability to conduct specialist business transactions across the areas of currency clearing, trade finance, asset and wealth management and treasury services.
Noor Al Noaimi, Acting GM Treasury, said: “As the biggest bank in Qatar, QNB is fully aligned and supportive of this QCB led initiative. The creation of the first official clearing hub for Renminbi will serve client needs and place Doha at the heart of Middle East-China trade. It will provide a significant “East-West” corridor for those clients and businesses who wish to transact in RMB currency and do business in one of the largest economies in the world.”
Al Noaimi added: “As the only Qatari Bank based in China, we believe that QNB is well placed to commercially benefit from this direct clearing infrastructure and provide future value and benefit for a growing number of clients who have an international perspective.”
The Peninsula
