Barclays Bank PLC has been granted a banking licence by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority to operate from the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC).

The licence is Barclays first significant geographic expansion in the Middle East since it first began operating in the region from the UAE over 30 years ago.

Establishing a permanent presence in Qatar will provide Barclays with another platform from which to further develop its presence in the region and accelerate its growth.

Cyrus Ardalan, vice chairman and head of Middle East and North Africa investment banking at Barclays Capital said, "Barclays aims to be amongst the world’s leading banks and it is crucial that we gain customer confidence in our capabilities across the right segments, regions and products. To do this we need to ensure that we have the right geographic footprint, which leads us to growing markets such as Qatar."

Barclays, which has clearly stated its intention to increase the proportion of income it generates from outside the UK, is focusing on some of some of the world’s fastest growing economies.

Qatar is a very attractive market with the highest per capita income in the Middle East and a GDP per capita that is amongst the highest in the world.

The banking licence to operate from the QFC has been granted to Barclays Bank PLC and the licence will initially cover products from the Group’s investment banking arm Barclays Capital.

Cyrus Ardalan commented: "Historically, Barclays Capital has always been active in Qatar but securing a licence will provide a base from which we can develop a permanent presence in the country and expand further across the region."

"Qatar’s transformation and achievements over recent times have been remarkable and we are delighted to be a part of this new era."