Qatar has $340 billion in reserves, can withstand sanctions

Qatar has $340 billion in reserves, can withstand sanctions
Qatar has $340 billion in reserves that could help the Gulf country to weather the isolation by its powerful Arab neighbours, according to Doha's central bank governor.
2 min read
10 July, 2017
Sheikh Abdullah bin Saoud al-Thani said Doha has $40 billion in reserves [AFP]
Qatar's central bank announced it has $340 billion in reserves including holdings of its sovereign wealth fund, enough to enable it to withstand isolation by its Gulf neighbours, the central bank governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saoud al-Thani told a news channel on Monday.

Doha has $40 billion in reserves plus gold, al-Thani said, adding that the Qatar Investment Authority also has $300 billion in reserves that it can liquidate.

"This is the credibility of our system, we have enough cash to preserve any...kind of shock," al-Thani told CNBC.

Qatar has found itself isolated following a decision last month by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and others to cut diplomatic and transport ties with Doha over its support for "terrorism", a charge the emirate vehemently rejects.

As a result the Qatari riyal has been unstable and stocks were weakened, but the central bank governor said the economy has not seen any disruptions.

"Qatar has already had a good and unique system. We have laws established against all these kinds of terrorists," al Thani said.

"We work with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and other institutions to establish our laws and audits and reviews."

"We have no challenges, we welcome those to review all our books, they are open," he added.

The central bank governor said there have been some outflows of funds by non-residents but they were not significant.

"There is more [money] coming in," al-Thani said, confirming that inflows are greater than outflows.

He said long-term contracts in the gas and oil sectors have seen no interruptions.

Credit ratings agency Moody's announced earlier this month it was changing the emirate's outlook to negative from stable over the crisis.

However economists believe that Qatar, the world's top liquefied natural gas exporter, has planned a boost in gas production to weather the crunch.