The Council Of Ministers Approves Increase Of Non-Qatari Capital Ownership In Certain Banks

On Wednesday, August 18, 2021 pursuant to Article 7 of Law No.1 of 2019 on regulating the investment of non-Qatari capital in economic activity, the Council of Ministers approved increasing up to 100% the percentage of non-Qatari ownership in the capital in the following banks: Qatar National Bank (QNB), Qatar Islamic Bank (Al Masraf), Commercial Bank, and Masraf Al Rayan. The move should increase capital in-flow into the market, and follows on from the Council’s approval in April 2021 of a draft law that would permit 100% foreign ownership in listed companies.