UBS Head on EMEA Investment Office Praises Qatar's Expanding LNG Production

25 May 2023 (Qatar News Agency) Head of UBS investment office for the EMEA region Themis Themistocleous highlighted the State of Qatar's increasing production capabilities of liquefied natural gas will enhance the stability of the Qatari economy, especially as it is one of the largest exporters of natural gas in the world, and provided a fifth of its supplies in 2021.

Speaking exclusively to Qatar News Agency (QNA) Themistocleous said that the Qatari economy has benefited from the financial returns secured by long-term LNG sales contracts away from price fluctuations in global markets. He pointed out the importance of Qatar Economic Forum discussing a number of current economic, trade and global issues and topics related to investments, as well as providing a dialogue platform for leaders, decision-makers, experts and international actors to exchange views and experiences. He pointed out that these discussions will enable UBS to form valuable insights and analysis that will reshape his views to help the bank's clients amidst this fast and changing economic landscape.

On the banking crisis, he said that the failure of three regional banks and the FDIC stepping up to ensure depositors did not lead to a complete restoration of confidence for several reasons, most notably of which is that, the rate of failure of US banks was seven a year since 2013. As for the second point he referred to, it is recording losses on uninsured deposits in small banks, pointing out that most of the failures occurred during the past three decades in small banks whose assets are less than $10 billion. He noted that the three bank failures let to the outflow of $548.5 billion in assets, which is significant and helps explain why the FDIC moved quickly to guarantee deposits. He maintained however that the FDIC is unlikely to guarantee all deposits, as that would require congressional action. He added that the third reason was that it was perfectly logical for depositors to pull out their deposits out of small banks and seek the safety of big ones. He noted that he expects the negative implications of the crisis to continue for some time, given the pressure on regional banks. He said however that the banking sector has enough liquidity and regulatory capacity to deal with the situation.

He said also that a failure to reach a deal on debt ceiling in the US could lead its treasury department to use tax return to ensure interest payments are made on time. He also said that he expects the US Fed to interfere in this case and provide the financial system with enough liquidity. In the case of a failure to reach a deal, he said he expects the S and P 500 to fall 10 percent quite quickly, while other assets like gold and the Japanese Yen could catch a bid.