VOL. XLI

No. 38

21-September-1998

QATAR

Qatari 1997 Banking Profits Up 16.5%

Still relatively shielded from the impact of tenaciously low oil prices, Qatari bankswitnessed a significant improvement in profitability in the financial year 1997. Netprofits for the sector increased by 16.5% from $135.8mn in 1996 to $158.2mn in 1997.Individual profitability rates increased by an average of 17.3% over the previous year,due in most cases to higher lending and lower provisioning, with Doha Bank...