DOHA: HSBC Group Chief Executive Officer, Michael Geoghegan and the Governor of the Qatar Central Bank, H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Saoud Al Thani yesterday opened HSBC Amanah's first branch on Salwa Road dedicated to Shariah compliant products and services in Qatar.
The HSBC's dedicated Islamic banking branch will serve retail and corporate customers. The range of services includes HSBC Amanah Premier, an international Islamic banking service, which is an expansion of HSBC's market-leading premium banking service HSBC Premier; HSBC Advance, an international current account and banking service proposition, as well as international trade finance and corporate banking services.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Geoghegan said, "As the leading international bank in the Middle East, HSBC is strongly placed for the tremendous growth opportunities in providing Islamic banking services here in Qatar and across the region. By combining our Islamic banking expertise in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia with our international reach, we can meet the increasingly sophisticated requirements of Islamic banking customers in many parts of the world."
Since its launch in 1998, HSBC Amanah has continued to grow and now has a presence in the Middle East, South East Asia and Europe. It has a significant distribution network and a team of dedicated Islamic banking professionals in its global financial centers namely, New York, London, Riyadh, Dubai, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. a
Growth in Islamic banking exceeds that of conventional banking in Qatar, and across the Middle East, says HSBC. After growing at double-digit compounded annual rates over the past few years, the industry is forecast to continue growing at about 20 percent annually until 2012, according to Oliver Wyman, a research firm.
Abdul Hakeem Mostafawi, Chief Executive Officer HSBC Qatar said the opening of this branch underlines the bank's commitment to Islamic finance in Qatar and the Middle East. "This is a milestone for HSBC Qatar and HSBC Amanah is delighted to support this growing need with the opening of this new branch," he said.
© The Peninsula 2010
