VZCZCXRO2386
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHDO #0271 0711037
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121037Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6344
INFO RUEHZ/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS DOHA 000271 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON FIN QA
SUBJECT: QATAR'S LEADING BANKS SUPPORT ERO DIVERSIFICATION 
 
 
 ¶1. Summary. In iscussions with senior management of Qatar's 
top two banks, Qatar National Bank and Doha Bank, Emboffs 
learned that the private sector anticipates Qatar's continued 
diversification away from the dollar as the country becomes 
more involved in the global economy. Bank officials also say 
that the GCC monetary union is unlikely to happen by 2010, 
but the USD exchange rate peg that most Gulf Cooperation 
Council (GCC) members have is likely to stay until the 
monetary union is formed. End Summary. 
 
¶2. On February 11 Emboffs met with R. Seetharaman, Deputy 
Chief Executive Officer of Doha Bank. Seetharaman said that 
because of Qatar's rapid economic growth, Qatar is taking 
advantage of more investment opportunities abroad which 
necessitates a diversification of not only investment 
destinations, but also a diversification of foreign exchange 
reserves. Considering the declining value of the dollar, 
maintaining an entire portfolio of dollar-denominated 
securities does not make sense for such a booming economy. 
Seetharaman felt that the Qatar Central Bank was doing the 
right thing to protect its economic interests. Seetharaman 
said that the GCC Monetary Union will absolutely happen, just 
not on the announced time schedule. He felt that is was only 
a matter of time before the GCC countries achieved all the 
criteria for a monetary union. Seetharaman also surmised that 
GCC countries would keep their peg to the dollar until the 
monetary union is formed, but after that a basket peg would 
make more sense. 
 
¶3. Mohamad Moabi, Executive Manager of Qatar National Bank's 
Economics and Research department, told Emboffs February 12 
that it was about time for Qatar to diversify because 
globalization demands it. He said that the U.S. is no longer 
the primary destination for Qatari investment and business. 
This is primarily because of the Dubai Ports World 
controversy, poor treatment by officials at airports, and the 
difficulty in getting visas. In addition, there are more 
attractive investment areas, particularly in Asia, of 
interest to the Qatari business community and as a result the 
historical relationship with the U.S. is changing. 
 
¶4. Moabi also does not think the GCC monetary union will 
happen in the near future, primarily for political reasons. 
He said the nature of decision-making in the GCC makes it 
hard for leaders to resolve their own domestic issues. 
Working together is difficult because each GCC state has 
different priorities. Moabi also stated that Saudi Arabia was 
still trying to control the smaller GCC members but the 
increasing prominence of countries like Qatar and the UAE 
made that harder to accomplish. He asserted that Oman was 
"courageous" for saying that they would not join the monetary 
union by 2010 and that other countries probably feel the same 
way but just did not want to voice their opinion. 
 
¶5. Under an eventual monetary union, Moabi expects that the 
GCC would have a more independent monetary policy that best 
suits the regional economic environment. The current peg to 
the U.S. dollar will be used to help standardize all the 
countries before the monetary union, but he could see the peg 
changing to include more of the GCC's economic partners. He 
also thinks that the monetary union will help boost trade 
between the GCC members because the existing customs union is 
not strong enough. On a side note, Moabi stated that while 
Qatar's economy could accommodate both the local banking 
sector and the Qatar Financial Centre, in the next five years 
there will not be enough room in the market and banks will 
have to move more into private wealth and asset management. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶6. The banking executives with whom we spoke appear quite 
adamant that Qatar continue expanding its business 
relationships away from U.S., primarily to broaden and 
provide greater security to their international investments. 
They probably view foreign exchange reserve diversification 
as an extension of this shift and as a positive for Qatar's 
global aspirations. While the Qatari private sector is very 
forward leaning on diversifying Qatar's foreign exchange into 
the euro, the government is more conservative and we judge 
Qatar's tie to the dollar is unlikely to change in the near 
future. 
UNTERMEYER