The current move by some Gulf countries to isolate Qatar should not have any impact on Banif Bank, which has a majority Qatari shareholding, bank sources told the Times of Malta.
One of the largest private companies in Qatar, Al Faisal Holdings, has 78.6 per cent of the shareholding in Banif Malta, but its predominantly Maltese activity, serving local customers, means that the current controversy will have a negligible impact.
“It’s business as usual,” the sources said, adding that there was no point in speculating about whether the impact of this political scenario could spread beyond the Gulf.
Al Faisal Holdings, established in the 1960s, is planning to invest in Banif and a strategic plan is currently being drawn up for approval by the board – but it was also eyeing investments in the hospitality, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and educational sectors – and it the situation escalates to a full on embargo, this could, in theory, affect these plans.
Al Faisal managing director Mohamed Shafiek had told The Business Observer last November that the company would also be interested in buying or developing a hotel.
Qatar is already feeling the impact of the isolation started a few days ago. On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain decided to cut diplomatic and transport ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism, a charge that Qatar denies.
The campaign to isolate Qatar is disrupting trade in commodities from crude oil to metals and food, and deepening fears of a possible jolt to the global gas market
Standard & Poor's downgraded Qatar's debt on Wednesday as the riyal currency fell to an 11-year low amid signs that portfolio investment funds were flowing out of the country because the diplomatic rift.
Qatar remains one of the wealthiest countries per capita in the world, with an estimated $335 billion of assets in its sovereign wealth fund, and its liquefied natural gas exports are raking in a trade surplus of about $2.7 billion every month.
But the campaign to isolate Qatar is disrupting trade in commodities from crude oil to metals and food, and deepening fears of a possible jolt to the global gas market.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain closed their airspace to commercial flights on Monday, and bans on Doha's fleet using regional ports and anchorages threatened to halt some of its exports and disrupt those of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
More worryingly, food imports are affected as Saudi Arabia closed its land border with Qatar, stranding thousands of trucks carrying supplies.
Qatar, which largely depends on food imports for its population of 2.5 million, has assured residents it has taken measures to assure that normal life continues.