Title: Analysis of competitiveness in Qatar banking industry

Authors: Saeed Al-Muharrami

Addresses: Sultan Qaboos University, PO Box 20, Al-Khod 123, Sultanate of Oman

Abstract: This study evaluates the monopoly power of Qatar banking industry during the period 1993 to 2002. The sample consists of panel of 60 observations using the |H-statistic| by Panzar and Rosse and investigates the market structure using the most frequently applied measures of concentration k-bank concentration ratio and Herfindahl–Hirschman index. Both of the concentration indices indicate that the Qatar had a |very concentrated market|. The Panzar and Rosse |H-statistic| suggests that Qatar banks operate under monopolistic competition. Qatar Central Bank should be very cautious in granting mergers among banks, in particular among large |core| banks.

Keywords: k-bank concentration ratio; Herfindahl–Hirschman index; H-statistic; Qatar; bank competitiveness; banking industry; monopolistic competition; mergers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2009.022753

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2009 Vol.3 No.2, pp.168 - 181

Published online: 26 Jan 2009 *

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