Qatar and Luxembourg Financial Centres Boost Ties

Doha, January 29 (QNA) - Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority and Luxembourg for Finance held here Sunday a joint seminar to explore and further advance their partnership for financial services. The seminar is the first initiative following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (Moue) last year between the QFC Authority and Luxembourg for Finance, the agency responsible for the development of Luxembourg as a financial centre, to promote co-operation between the two countries in financial services. Among the topics discussed at the seminar were financial services opportunities in Qatar and the role of Luxembourg as an international hub for financial services in Europe. The QFC Authority has refined a highly attractive and business friendly legal and regulatory environment, in which it is focusing on the three hubs of reinsurance, asset management and captive insurance. The strategy has resulted in growing recognition of Qatar as a financial centre. Last year, Qatar won the award of Best Financial Centre in the Middle East from Global Investor magazine and was ranked highest in the Middle East by consultants Z/Yen Group. QFC Authority Board Member and Managing Director Abdulrahman Al Shaibi welcomed the participants to the seminar and HE Minister of Finance and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Luc Frieden delivered the key note address. QFC Authority Acting CEO and Chief Strategic Development Officer Shashank Srivastava, elaborated on the opportunities in Qatar's financial services sector. Luxembourg for Finance CEO Fernand Grulms gave a background on how Luxembourg developed into a European financial hub. Later, participants explored the opportunities for co-operation and expanding finance ties between Qatar and Luxembourg during a panel discussion moderated by Grulms. Banque Internationale, Luxembourg, CEO, Francois Pauly; KBL European Private Bankers SA, CEO Jacques Peters; Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry Chairman Marc Saluzzi and Islamic Finance Chairman, Vice Chairman MENA, Chief Country Office-Qatar, Deutsche Bank AG - Qatar Salah Al Jaidah were the panelists. The QFC Authority, the commercial arm of the Qatar Financial Centre, jointly hosted the seminar with Luxembourg for Finance. The Luxembourg for Finance delegation comprised more than 60 representatives from Luxembourg's financial and professional services sector. Speaking about Luxembourg as a financial centre, HE Luc Frieden said, "Luxembourg is a modern, diversified financial centre that has a reputation for stability and for its openness to international markets. We look forward to developing the relationship between our two financial centres in the future." QFC Authority Board Member and Managing Director Abdulrahman Al Shaibi said, "Qatar and Luxembourg have already established close relations in the financial sector. I am sure this seminar will strengthen those relations further and open up fresh avenues for cooperation." Last year Qatar and Luxembourg signed a number of cooperation agreements, including a MoU on economic, trade and technical cooperation and an agreement on financial cooperation between the two countries. Since then,the Qatari investment fund Precision Capital agreed to buy Luxembourg-based KBL European Private Bankers, the private banking division of Belgium's KBC Group and has also been involved in the purchase of a significant stake in the private banking arm of Dexia Bank. (QNA).