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Qatar Central Bank Announces Launch of Digital Currency Project

The Qatar Central Bank in Doha. (Reuters)
The Qatar Central Bank in Doha. (Reuters)
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Qatar Central Bank Announces Launch of Digital Currency Project

The Qatar Central Bank in Doha. (Reuters)
The Qatar Central Bank in Doha. (Reuters)

The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) launched on Sunday its Digital Currency Project (CBDC), which aims to settle large payments with a group of local and international banks, the bank said in a statement carried by the Qatari state news agency, QNA.

The CBDC was launched after successfully completing the comprehensive study of the project.

It will serve as a proactive step to keep pace with the rapid global developments in this field.

The Central Bank explained that after successfully completing the comprehensive study conducted in this field, it will proceed with testing and developing selected applications for the CBDC to settle large payments with a group of local and international banks in a trial environment designed according to the latest advanced technologies.

The project will focus on the applications of the CBDC to increase access to capital markets for operating banks in the country, enhance domestic settlement, and improve the efficiency of securities transactions, the Bank’s statement noted.

This project, which will enter its first experimental phase extending to October 2024, aims to also achieve a set of primary objectives, including leveraging artificial intelligence technologies, distributed ledger technology (DLT), and emerging technologies and establish a strong foundation to enhance liquidity by expanding participation in financial market facilities, considering the aspects related to information security during project implementation.

The start of the CBDC project represents an important milestone and a strategic step towards building a digital economy in the country, QCB said.

It then reaffirmed its continuous commitment to introducing distinguished and valuable initiatives that will help create a conducive environment for the growth of the financial sector, stimulate the widespread adoption of emerging technologies, and promote technological innovations across various fields.

Last April, the United Arab Emirates prepared to complete the first phase of its central bank digital currency strategy. The Digital Dirham aims to address the obstructions of domestic and cross-border payments, enhance financial inclusion and the move towards a cashless society.

In 2019, Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) announced a joint digital currency initiative named Project Aber.

The two banks said Aber will be used as a settlement unit for domestic as well as cross-border commercial bank transactions between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The joint digital currency plan is only for the use of banks participating in “Aber” project, and will not be available for individuals.

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ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
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ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde renewed her call for economic integration across Europe on Friday, arguing that intensifying global trade tensions and a growing technology gap with the United States create fresh urgency for action.
US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose tariffs on most if not all imports and said Europe would pay a heavy price for having run a large trade surplus with the US for decades.
"The geopolitical environment has also become less favorable, with growing threats to free trade from all corners of the world," Lagarde said in a speech, without directly referring to Trump.
"The urgency to integrate our capital markets has risen."
While Europe has made some progress, EU members tend to water down most proposals to protect vested national interests to the detriment of the bloc as a whole, Reuters quoted Lagarde as saying.
But this is taking hundreds of billions if not trillions of euros out of the economy as households are holding 11.5 trillion euros in cash and deposits, and much of this is not making its way to the firms that need the funding.
"If EU households were to align their deposit-to-financial assets ratio with that of US households, a stock of up to 8 trillion euros could be redirected into long-term, market-based investments – or a flow of around 350 billion euros annually," Lagarde said.
When the cash actually enters the capital market, it often stays within national borders or leaves for the US in hope of better returns, Lagarde added.
Europe therefore needs to reduce the cost of investing in capital markets and must make the regulatory regime easier for cash to flow to places where it is needed the most.
A solution might be to create an EU-wide regulatory regime on top of the 27 national rules and certain issuers could then opt into this framework.
"To bypass the cumbersome process of regulatory harmonization, we could envisage a 28th regime for issuers of securities," Lagarde said. "They would benefit from a unified corporate and securities law, facilitating cross-border placement, holding and settlement."
Still, that would not solve the problem that few innovative companies set up shop in Europe, partly due to the lack of funding. So Europe must make it easier for investment to flow into venture capital and for banks to fund startups, she said.