DUBAI: Qatar launched new measures to support its banking sector yesterday with a government plan to buy banks’ investment portfolios in a bid to revive lending and support the economy, sending financial shares soaring.
“The government is studying a system to take these shares from banks, which will help increase lending,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani said, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency. The emergency measure, the second in Qatar, underscores how the global financial crisis has smashed hopes that the energy-exporting Gulf Arab region would escape due to its petroleum revenues and massive sovereign savings. Banks included in the plan are Qatar National Bank, Commercial Bank, Doha Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank, Ahli Bank, and Al-Khalij Commercial Bank, according to a government statement.