The growth rate of the Qatari economy will accelerate in real terms despite the fall in oil prices since the summer of 2014, Ali al-Kuwari, CEO of Qatar National Bank (QNB), told the MEED Qatar Projects Conference on 10 March.

“The government is committed to its investment programme in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Fifa World Cup final plan,” Al-Kuwari said. “Qatar has ample external and fiscal buffers to withstand the temporary drop in oil prices. Therefore, the investment programme is unlikely to be affected by lower oil prices and public investment should continue to drive strong non-hydrocarbons real GDP growth.”

QNB, which is the largest bank in the Middle East and Africa, forecasts that the total assets of the country’s banking system will rise to $380bn in 2017 from $278bn in 2014. Total deposits are forecast to rise to $231bn in 2017 from $165bn last year.

Al-Kuwari said QNB forecasts that total lending by Qatari banks will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10 per cent to $129bn in 2017, from $180bn in 2014.