Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) has found that certain companies, after they get listed, tend to become lethargic in communicating with its investors and maintaining relations (IR), and said they should strengthen IR to better attract capital and investments.
“We have seen some companies, after getting listed, they slowdown (their activities) in IR,” QSE chief executive Rashid bin Ali al-Mansoori told a conference organised by the Middle East Investor Relations Association (Meira).
In the light of the growing competition to attract capital and investments, he said, QSE believes that IR is an essential business support function that helps its listed companies attract more investors, enhances credibility and ultimately facilitates expansion and growth opportunities for its companies.
Although most of the companies have robust strategies to engage with investors, he said there are some that have slowed down in IR.
“We find it now important to remind them of the importance of IR,” he said, adding all the companies have to open their doors to the investors at the highest level of chief financial officers and chief operating officers.
“We continue to take the initiative to impress upon all market participants on the importance of IR. It ensures that the story of business is well understood and positioned since at its core, good IR is about effective communications between a company and its shareholders, both in good times but just as importantly in bad times,” al-Mansoori said.
Finding that not enough of its listed companies have the necessary comprehensive IR strategies, including best practice in place, he said they must be equipped at all times to respond to a crisis when it happens in line with its current strategy.
Abdul Aziz al-Emadi, Director of Listing at QSE, said the Meira platform gives Qatari firms the opportunity to interact with investor relations experts and identify the most important actions that a company must take in exceptional circumstances such as the geopolitical turbulent being experienced in the region.
“The inclusion of IR in QSE regulatory framework is required as it would enhance the efficiency of the Qatari capital market and increase investment visibility for our listed companies especially in light of major fluctuations and geopolitical turbulences when the need for an efficient IR function arises to keep investors and enhance confidence in the securities of these listed companies,” he said.
QSE and its listed companies have been working together over many years to ensure disclosure and transparency is developed through an increasing focus on IR. The recent inclusion of Qatar in the MSCI, Standard and Poor’s and FTSE Emerging Markets indices has served to increase attention in Qatar’s stock market and all its listed companies.