Editing Economy of Qatar (section)

===Islamic finance===
{{Unreferencedsect|date=January 2023}}
The [[Islamic banking and finance|Islamic finance]] sector enjoyed increased activity in 2008 and is expected to continue to grow into 2009 as more sophisticated financial instruments spark the interest of investors. In addition to Islamic banks, such as Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) and newcomer Masraf Al Rayyan, conventional banks have also been entering the sharia-compliant sector and are coming to view an Islamic subsidiary as a virtual necessity in order to maintain market standing. Islamic banks currently take the lion's share of sharia-compliant business, though the conventional banks are working hard to take a greater share of market activity. Both Islamic banks and Islamic subsidiaries did remarkably well in the first three quarters of 2008, during which overall financing activity increased by 70.6% compared to the same period in the previous year. The global financial crisis slowed this growth though. Poor market conditions have contributed to a marked slowdown of Islamic bond, or sukuk, activity in 2008 throughout the Persian Gulf. But other segments, such as Islamic insurance, or [[takaful]], have not seen a similar downturn. Overall, challenges to further growth remain, including a lack of qualified staff to meet the growing demand for sharia-compliant banking services.<ref>{{Cite web |last=online |first=IMF Survey |title=IMF Survey: Islamic Banks: More Resilient to Crisis? |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sores100410a |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=IMF |language=en}}</ref>