Qatar: Rise of Foreign, Domestic Debts

A man walks past a branch of Qatar National Bank (QNB) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
A man walks past a branch of Qatar National Bank (QNB) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
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Qatar: Rise of Foreign, Domestic Debts

A man walks past a branch of Qatar National Bank (QNB) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
A man walks past a branch of Qatar National Bank (QNB) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

The Qatari economy continues to face aggravated foreign and domestic debts -- there are several indicators showing that Doha’s economy is facing huge challenges that might affect domestic and foreign investments.

Qatar National Bank data revealed the rise of foreign and domestic debts of the Qatari government and the institutions affiliated with QNB to around QAR574 (around USD158) end of July. The same data showed that the Qatari banks internal claims from the Doha government and its institutions reached around QAR466 billion (USD128 billion) end of July. This indicates a remarkable rise in the first year of diplomatic boycott that Doha is facing by the countries sponsoring the fight against terrorism.

QNB data indicated that the volume of the banking sector claims from the private sector reached around QAR517 billion after it was QAR467 billion, a rise of around QAR60 billion (USD16.5 billion) in one year.

The increase of foreign and domestic debts represents a direct threat to local investments in Doha, as investments require stronger economies. The threats facing Qatar extended to the gas markets in which a global news agency mentioned earlier that Australia has become a danger to Qatar liquid natural gas.

Figures show that foreign investment in Qatar dropped 10.3 percent during the first quarter of 2018. On an annual basis, figures show a drop of QAR77.6 billion (USD21.3 billion), compared to the first quarter of 2017.



Trump Taps Scott Bessent for Treasury

(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
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Trump Taps Scott Bessent for Treasury

(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday said he will nominate prominent investor Scott Bessent as US Treasury secretary, a key cabinet position with vast influence over economic, regulatory and international affairs.

"I am most pleased to nominate Scott Bessent to serve as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury of the United States," Trump said in a statement released on Truth Social. "Scott is widely respected as one of the world's foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists."

Wall Street has been closely watching who Trump will pick, especially given his plans to remake global trade through tariffs and extend and potentially expand the raft of tax cuts enacted during his first term, Reuters reported
The choice came after days of deliberations by Trump as he sorted through a shifting list of candidates. Bessent spent day after day at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida providing economic advice, sources said, a proximity to the president-elect that may have helped him prevail.
Other names that had been floated included Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Marc Rowan and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh. Investor John Paulson had also been a leading candidate, but dropped out, while Wall Street veteran Howard Lutnick, another contender, was appointed as head of the Commerce Department.
Bessent, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has advocated for tax reform and deregulation, particularly to spur more bank lending and energy production, as noted in a recent opinion piece he wrote for The Wall Street Journal.
The market's surge after Trump's election victory, he wrote, signaled investor expectations of "higher growth, lower volatility and inflation, and a revitalized economy for all Americans."
"Bessent has been on the side of less aggressive tariffs," said Oxford Economics' Ryan Sweet, adding that picking him makes the steep tariffs Trump proposed on the campaign trail less likely.
Bessent follows other financial luminaries who have taken the job, including former Goldman Sachs executives Robert Rubin, Hank Paulson and Steven Mnuchin, Trump's first Treasury chief. Janet Yellen, the current secretary and first woman in the job, previously chaired the Federal Reserve and White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, Bessent's home state, said in a statement: "President Trump's economic agenda is in good hands with Scott Bessent. I look forward to working closely with Scott and President Trump to lower inflation and create the golden age of prosperity for the American people."