HSBC Amanah on Tuesday opened its first branch dedicated to Shariah compliant products and services in Qatar. HSBC Group Chief Executive Officer, Michael Geoghegan, and Governor of the Qatar Central Bank, Sheikh Abdullah bin Saoud Al Thani, held an opening ceremony at the branch at Salwa Road in Doha, HSBC said in a statement. The branch, HSBC's first dedicated Islamic banking branch in the MENA region outside of Saudi Arabia, will serve retail and corporate customers. The range of services includes HSBC Amanah Premier, an international Islamic banking service, which is an expansion of HSBC's market-leading premium banking service HSBC Premier; HSBC Advance, an international current account and banking service proposition, as well as international trade finance and corporate banking services. Speaking at the opening ceremony in Doha, Michael Geoghegan, HSBC Group Chief Executive Officer said: “As the leading international bank in the Middle East, HSBC is strongly placed for the tremendous growth opportunities in providing Islamic banking services here in Qatar and across the region. By combining our Islamic banking expertise in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia with our international reach, we can meet the increasingly sophisticated requirements of Islamic banking customers in many parts of the world.” Since its launch in 1998, HSBC Amanah has continued to grow and now has a presence in the Middle East, South East Asia and Europe.
