Al-Mansoori with Gallagher after the meeting. Qatar is increasingly becoming an investment destination with the upgrade of its bourse from “frontier” to “emerging” market by both MSCI and Standard & Poor’s-Dow Jones and the increase of foreign ownership limits from 25% to 49%.
By Santhosh V Perumal/Business Reporter
The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) is keen to strengthen co-operation with the US securities markets as part of its efforts to attract more international fund houses.
In this regard, QSE chief executive Rashid bin Ali al-Mansoori has held a meeting with Daniel Gallagher, commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) where they explored the prospects of cooperation between the two countries in the areas of capital markets and exchanges.
The meeting assumes significance against the backdrop of Qatar increasingly becoming an investment destination with the upgrade of its bourse from “frontier” to “emerging” market by both MSCI and Standard & Poor’s-Dow Jones and the increase of foreign ownership limits from 25% to 49%.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed many topics of mutual interest in global and regional securities industry, as well as areas of possible future cooperation and where regional markets could learn from the recent experience of the US markets.
They also discussed the regulatory environment post financial crisis and its impact on securities markets.
Al-Mansoori gave a briefing on the QSE, which once had NYSE Euronext as its strategic partner, as well as the QSE’s evolution to become a leading stock market to attract investors from around the world.
He also briefed on the QSE plans with respect to the adoption of the world’s best practices and the development of the main market and venture market (dedicated to small and medium enterprises), as well as the diversification of investment instruments such as exchange traded funds (ETFs) and corporate bonds.
The QSE, which is also expecting an upgrade from the FTSE, is all set to see four ETFs and a spate of listing from the Qatar Financial Centre-based entities. It is also expanding the scope of securities and lending/borrowing programme as part of its multi-pronged approach to enhance liquidity in the market.
Doha Bank had recently announced that it was launching the 20-stock Qatar Index-tracking ETF in association with Amwal Investments; while there have been reports that Masraf Al Rayan is also slated to launch the Islamic-index based ETF. The moves are seen deepening the investment universe of the bourse.
Ever since the upgrade, the QSE has seen vast improvements in the liquidity with average daily turnover jumping 160% year-on-year during 2014, al-Mansoori had said earlier.
The bourse now has 43 listed companies with 12 in the banks and financial services sector, nine in the industrial, eight in the consumer goods and services, five in insurance, four in real estate, three in transport and two in the telecom segment.
Al-Mansoori expressed the QSE’s keenness to strengthen co-operation with the US securities markets to achieve common interests, and stressed the desire of the domestic bourse to adopt the world’s best practices and standards to serve investors both in Qatar and abroad.
