On how the financial industry is adapting during and after Covid-19 How has the pandemic impacted digitalisation in Qatar’s banking sector? BASSEL GAMAL: The crisis has created a fundamental shift in customer behaviours, as people were obliged to bank online and through their phones to comply with social-distancing guidelines. Our investment in recent years in digital transformation allowed…
As one of the world’s richest countries per capita, Qatar entered the Covid-19 pandemic from a position of relative strength. Backed by deep and accessible gas deposits, a positive fiscal balance and a high credit rating, Qatar had invested heavily in boosting its health care system and upgrading its digital and transport infrastructure in the years leading up to the pandemic. This generated significant…
– Economies in the region were hit by reduced trade volumes and lower oil prices – Governments launched extensive stimulus packages to stabilise theireconomies – Short-term recovery will be tied to oil prices and the resumption of travel – The pandemic looks set to accelerate economic diversification efforts Facing the twin challenges of a sharp reduction in trade and a steep drop…
Qatar acted swiftly to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the early stages of the pandemic, harnessing the power of digital technology to implement effective test, trace and treatment strategies. At the same time, the country’s bourgeoning start-up ecosystem was mobilised to develop technological solutions to the various pandemic-related challenges facing society and the economy. As a result of…
The Covid-19 pandemic that spread quickly around the world after emerging in the city of Wuhan in December 2019 has been hard for many and extremely tragic for some. There are currently over 26.5m cases worldwide and almost 900,000 people have succumbed to the virus. Unofficially both figures are expected to be much higher, with the lack of testing and diagnosis in some parts of the world preventing…
Around the globe the urban transportation sector is experiencing rapid expansion, driven by economic growth and a global demographic shift towards urbanisation. Politicians, urban planners and private sector actors are working together to find new solutions for reducing congestion and increasing the speed and efficiency of urban transport. However, unless proactive steps are taken to plan and…
As countries within the Gulf begin a gradual easing of Covid-19-related movement restrictions, the revival of the region’s aviation sector has come into focus. Effective recovery strategies will rely on reassuring passengers that sufficient health and the safety measures are in place. Reopening airlines According to the International Air Transport Association in an April briefing, air traffic…
From the health sector to finance, education and retail, Covid-19 has sparked widespread digital adoption in Qatar as the threat of infectioncombined with social distancing measures hastransformed consumer demand and business-customer interactions in potentially permanent ways. In thefinancial servicessector, for example, Qatari banks havesought to improve digital…
