Doha – Mubasher: Qatar announced on Tuesday that it does not plan to issue sukuk or international bonds during 2017, according to Reuters news agency.

Qatar's first domestic bond issue took place in August 2016 with a $3 billion offering, which led to improving liquidity in the banking sector, which had been hit by lower oil and gas prices.

A report by the Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) revealed that the total value of sukuk and bonds issues in GCC markets, including those issued by central banks, governments, and companies, increased to $167.5 billion in 2016, showing a growth of 41.2% compared to 2015.

Qatar’s government may not issue international bonds this year due to recent increases in world oil prices, which boosted Qatar’s revenues, minister of finance Ali Shareef Al Emadi said at the beginning of February 2017.