(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) HE Governor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al-Thani said that Islamic financial institutions enjoy an high pedigree in the State of Qatar, making the country one of the world's main hubs for Islamic financial institutions.

Speaking today at the opening of the 10Th International Conference On Islamic Economics And Finance, HE the Governor said that Standard & Poor's' report in 2013 confirmed that Qatar's Islamic finance sector was the fastest growing in the world.

His Excellency noted that Qatari Islamic banks have a 25% of all the equity of Qatari banks. Additionally, Islamic banks play a large role in financing different developmental projects. Despite that, HE the Governor said that Islamic Banks face many challenges starting with maintaining its current growth levels and managing risks. His Excellency highlighted that, to combat those challenges, QCB dedicated an entire section to Islamic Financial Institutions in its new law which was issued in 2012.

On the international stage, HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al-Thani noted there were 800 Islamic financial institutions in the world according to the World Bank's 2013 report. Their assets are worth $1.8 trillion in 2013. The GCC has a third of the assets of those 800 institutions, His Excellency added.