Qatar's capital market is slated to see a healthy pipeline of listings this year with Daaman Insurance Company or Beema making its entry Monday.
Beema, a Shariah-principled risk cover provider, is entering the trading ring of the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE), following its direct listing.
"The capacity enhancement in the hydrocarbons sector (through North Field expansion projects) and the mandatory health insurance augur well for the sector," a senior official of a leading investment firm told Gulf Times.
With the listing of Beema, the insurance sector will have seven listed firms. At present, the QSE has six listed insurance companies: Qatar Insurance, Doha Insurance, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, Alkhaleej Takaful Insurance, Qatar Islamic Insurance and QLM Life and Medical Insurance.
Overall, the bourse will have 49 entities.
Meeza has already outlined its roadmap to get listed on the Qatari bourse through initial public offering (IPO) and the market buzz is that there are a few more listings (as many as five to six) this year. Market indications are that the companies seeking listing on the QSE are in the healthcare/pharmaceutical, agriculture and banking sectors, apart from some family entities.
The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) has become a magnet for the international investors because of the region's resiliency after the pandemic and higher energy prices. International indices such as MSCI and FTSE have been actively tracking the asset classes in the region, which in turn attracted the global fund houses.
Of the $91bn raised through IPOs worldwide, as much as 23% or $21bn were raised by the GCC companies in 2022, according to according to EFG Hermes.
QLM was the last entrant among the listed constituents in the insurance sector in QSE. It had entered the QSE through an IPO, which saw high demand from retail and corporate investors and was oversubscribed.
Beema, which has a strong financial profile as supported by the 'A3' rating by global credit rating agency Moody's, had reported an 11.03% year-on-year increase in net profit to QR42.25mn during the nine-month ended September 2022. Total assets amounted to QR1.51bn with policyholders' assets at QR0.9bn and shareholders' assets at QR0.61bn in the review period.
Beema, one of the leading Islamic insurance providers in Qatar, was established in 2009 by its five founding shareholders; Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar Insurance Company, Masraf Al Rayan, Barwa Real Estate Company and QInvest.
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