Euromoney Qatar Conference focuses on global, Qatari macro outlooks

Investment professionals, financiers, government officials and economists gathered for the Euromoney Qatar Conference Saturday, which focused on global and Qatari macro outlooks, ESG and climate change, and the digitalisation of the country’s financial sector.The conference opened with a keynote address from HE the Governor of Qatar Central Bank Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud al-Thani.Other keynotes included Sofie Blakstad, CEO and founder of hiveonline, a blockchain-based community finance platform.She spoke about the recent turmoil in the crypto markets before moving on to a wider discussion on blockchain and in detail, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC).Blakstad also explored the key benefits of a CBDC for countries like Qatar, as well as their outlook for adoption globally.A keynote address was given by Abdulla Mubarak al-Khalifa, QNB Group Chief Executive Officer.In a keynote interview, Commercial Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Joseph Abraham discussed economic prospects for Qatar in 2022, the importance of ESG in banking and to its customers, while exploring Commercial Bank’s future in digitisation.“We are pleased to be the Exclusive Innovation Partner of the Euromoney Qatar Conference this year. This sponsorship affirms the Bank’s commitment towards innovation and digital transformation which supports Qatar’s National Vision 2030 and contributes to the continued development of Qatar’s banking industry,” Abraham said.Jessica Renier, managing director (Digital Finance) at IIF talked the audience through the growth and benefits of digital finance.The opening panel discussion on global and Qatari macro outlooks was chaired by Richard Banks, Consulting Editor at Euromoney Conferences, and hosted speakers including: Alexis Antoniades, Director and Chair of International Economics at Georgetown University – Qatar; Gourang Hemani, Chief Financial Officer at Qatar Islamic Bank; and Akber Khan, Senior Director (Asset Management) at Al Rayan Investment.The conference ended with a panel discussing digitising Qatari banking and financial services, which explored the evolution of this sector toward digitisation.Speakers on this panel included Adel al-Malki, general manager (Group Retail Banking) at QNB; Hamed al-Shaibani, IT Development Manager at Qatar Stock Exchange; Henk Jan Hoogendoorn, Chief of Financial Sector Office at Qatar Financial Centre; Leonie Lethbridge, Executive General Manager and Chief Operating Officer at Commercial Bank and Saumitra Sehgal, partner at Roland Berger.Sponsors of this year’s Euromoney Conference include Senior Lead Sponsor, QNB Group; Innovation Partner, Commercial Bank; Lead Sponsor, Qatar Islamic Bank; Co-Sponsor, Qatar Financial Centre; Exhibitor Sponsor, Investment House; and Associate Partners AHK and The Qatar-Poland Business Council.Victoria Behn, Director, Middle East and Africa, at Euromoney Conferences said: “Once again, we are delighted with the turnout for The Euromoney Qatar Conference. Strategy and finance in Qatar were deeply explored, uncovering key insights in interesting areas such as ESG and digitisation.After an absence of over two years, this event acted as a meeting point for senior government officials, financial institutions, investors, and Qatari companies to convene and network around capital markets and finances. It was great to be back!”