Qatar Central Bank looks to deepen local bond market with more riyal-denominated issuances (By IFN)

Qatar Central Bank looks to deepen local bond market with more riyal-denominated issuances

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QATAR: The governor of the Qatar Central Bank (QCB), Sheikh Abdullah Saud Al Thani has said that the bank will look to ramp up its local currency bond issuances to decrease the country’s reliance on international funding and deepen the local bond market, as the country gears up for a massive infrastructure spending over the next few years. Speaking to the press, Sheikh Abdullah said that the QCB will maintain the amount of treasury bills currently being issued, while keeping a close eye on developments in the global financial market in case any adjustments need to be made in the amount of auctioned T-bills. “As of now, we intend to continue with the treasury bill auctions of the same amount as done hitherto. We would take stock of the evolving situation in future, and react flexibly if there is any need to change the current practice,” the governor told Reuters. According to data from the QCB, the bank has issued up to QAR4 billion (US$1.09 billion) in treasury bills for the month of April, with yields ranging from 0.92% to 1.11%.