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Qatar CB Governor: We Can Weather Arab Sanctions With $340 Bln in Reserves

Qatar CB Governor: We Can Weather Arab Sanctions With $340 Bln in Reserves
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Qatar has $340 billion in reserves including holdings of its sovereign wealth fund that could help the Gulf country to weather the isolation imposed by its powerful Arab neighbors, central bank governor said.

Qatar CB Governor: We Can Weather Arab Sanctions With $340 Bln in Reserves

"This is the credibility of our system, we have enough cash to [absorb] any ... kind of shock," Sheikh Abdullah Bin Saoud al-Thani told CNBC in an interview published early Monday on its website.

He said the central bank has $40 billion in reserves plus gold, while the Qatar Investment Authority has $300 billion in reserves that it could liquidate.

Meanwhile, Qatari stocks weakened and the riyal was volatile in the spot market since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of backing terrorism. Doha, for its part, denied the allegations.

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

"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. Al-Thani said while the central bank has noticed fund outflows from some non-residents, the amounts weren't particularly significant.

"There is more coming in," he said, confirming that inflows are exceeding outflows.
Al-Thani said long-term contracts in the gas and oil sectors were not seeing any disruptions.

Meanwhile, rating agency Moody's Investors Service earlier this month changed the outlook on Qatar's credit rating to negative from stable, citing economic and financial risks arising from the ongoing dispute between Qatar and the Saudi-led alliance.

Despite the market ructions, economists say Qatar, the world's top liquefied natural gas exporter, has taken a number of measures such as a planned boost in gas output and new transport routes to weather the crisis.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

 

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