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The Qatar Stock Exchange Monday gained 91 points and its key index inched towards 10,300 levels, on the back of buying interests, mainly in the telecom and real estate sectors..text-box { float:left; width:250px; padding:1px; border:1pt white; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 20px;}@media only screen and (max-width: 767px) {.text-box {width: 30%;}}**media[23141]**The Gulf funds were seen increasingly into net buying as the 20-stock Qatar Index rose 0.89% to 10,272.32 points.The market, which was skewed towards movers, saw the index regain from an intraday low of 10,208 points.The foreign institutions’ increased net buying had its influence in the main market, whose year-to-date losses narrowed further to 3.83%.The foreign retail investors’ lower net selling also had its say in the main bourse, whose capitalisation added QR7.33bn or 1.24% to QR597.77bn, mainly on account of mid and small cap segments.However, the Arab individuals were seen bearish in the main market, which saw a total of 0.22mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by Masraf Al Rayan and Doha Bank) valued at QR1.51mn changed hands across 65 deals.The local retail investors were seen net sellers, albeit at lower levels, in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Islamic index was seen outperforming the other indices in the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The Total Return Index gained 0.89%, All Share Index by 0.94% and Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.99% in the main bourse, whose trade turnover increased amidst lower volumes.The telecom sector index shot up 4.23%, real estate (2.66%), banks and financial services (0.93%), transport (0.82%) and industrials (0.54%); while consumer goods and services declined 0.07% and insurance (0.03%).About 48% of the traded constituents in the main market extended gains with major movers being Beema, Ooredoo, Alijarah Holding, Al Khaleej Takaful, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, QNB, Baladna, Industries Qatar, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, Barwa, Mazaya Qatar, Ezdan and Milaha. In the venture market, Al Faleh Educational Holding saw its shares appreciate in value.Nevertheless, Inma Holding, Widam Food, Mekdam Holding, Estithmar Holding, Mannai Corporation, Qatari German Medical Devices, Qamco and Nakilat were among the losers in the main market.The Gulf institutions’ net buying increased substantially to QR30.65mn compared to QR5.49mn on April 30.The foreign funds’ net buying strengthened significantly to QR10.04mn against QR3.73mn the previous day.The domestic institutions’ net selling decreased perceptibly to QR36.56mn compared to QR39.3mn on Sunday.The foreign individuals’ net profit booking weakened marginally to QR0.39mn against QR0.98mn on April 30.However, the Arab individuals turned net sellers to the tune of QR3.26mn compared with net buyers of QR11.43mn the previous day.The local retail investors were net sellers to the extent of QR0.35mn against net buyers of QR19.72mn on Sunday.The Gulf retail investors’ net profit booking rose marginally to QR0.15mn compared to QR0.01mn on April 30.The Arab institutions had no major net exposure against net sellers to the tune of QR0.06mn the previous day.The main market saw a 19% contraction in trade volumes to 193.11mn shares but on 8% jump in value to QR496.55mn and 35% in deals to 18,649.

The Qatar Stock Exchange Sunday opened the week on a stronger note with its key index gaining as much as 36 points, paced mainly by the real estate and insurance sectors. The local retail investors were seen net buyers as the 20-stock Qatar Index rose 0.35% to 10,131.23 points. The market, which was skewed towards movers, however, saw the index touch an intraday high of 10,246 points. The domestic institutions’ weakened net selling had its influence on the main market, whose year-to-date losses narrowed further to 4.68%. The foreign institutions continued to be net buyers but with lesser intensity in the main bourse, whose capitalisation added QR2.51bn or 0.43% to QR590.44bn, mainly on account of midcap segments. Similarly, the Arab funds continued to be bullish but with lesser intensity in the main market, which saw a total of 0.13mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by Masraf Al Rayan and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.78mn changed hands across 56 deals. The foreign retail investors were seen net sellers in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds. The Islamic index was seen outperforming the other indices in the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills. The Total Return Index gained 0.35%, the All Share Index by 0.3% and the Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.81% in the main bourse, whose trade turnover declined amidst higher volumes. The real estate sector index shot up 2.16%, insurance (1.74%), industrials (0.94%), transport (0.54%) and banks and financial services (0.05%); whereas telecom shrank 1.8% and consumer goods and services (0.35%). More than 55% of the traded constituents in the main market extended gains with major movers being Lesha bank, Qamco, Ezdan, Widam Food, QLM, Masraf Al Rayan, Salam International Investment, Qatari German Medical Devices, Baladna, Industries Qatar, Al Khaleej Takaful, Barwa, Mazaya Qatar, Vodafone Qatar and Milaha. In the venture market, Al Faleh Educational Holding saw its shares appreciate in value. Nevertheless, Qatar Cinema and Film Distribution, Ooredoo, Zad Holding, Gulf International Services, Estithmar Holding, QIIB and Nakilat were among the losers in the main market. The local retail investors turned net buyers to the tune of QR19.72mn compared with net sellers of QR13.57mn on April 27. The Arab individuals’ net buying increased substantially to QR11.43mn against QR7.79mn the previous trading day. The domestic institutions’ net selling decreased drastically to QR39.3mn compared to QR54.71mn last Thursday. However, the foreign individuals were net sellers to the extent of QR0.98mn against net buyers of QR1.11mn on April 27. The Arab institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR0.06mn compared with net buyers of QR0.2mn the previous trading day. The Gulf retail investors were net profit takers to the extent of QR0.01mn against net buyers of QR0.18mn last Thursday. The foreign funds’ net buying weakened significantly to QR3.73mn compared to QR29.43mn on April 27. The Gulf institutions’ net buying shrank markedly to QR5.49mn against QR29.59mn the previous trading day. The main market saw a 31% jump in trade volumes to 237.26mn shares but on 11% contraction in value to QR460.89mn and 28% in deals to 13,796.

The North Field LNG (liquefied natural gas) project will enhance Qatar's economic growth in the future but more foreign direct investment (FDI) is needed to further monetise from it, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF), an US-based economic think-tank."While the North Field LNG project will boost growth over the coming years, more FDI is needed to increase the production capacity of LNG, given the large proven gas reserves," Garbis Iradian, chief economist (Middle East and North Africa), IIF, said in a latest report ‘GCC: Resilient Despite Headwinds.’The country’s hydrocarbon bellwether is expected to raise the country’s LNG production capacity to 126mn tonnes per annum by 2027, a 64% increase from the current level."This would boost medium-term prospects and strengthen the fiscal and the external positions," the report said.Recently, a high-level delegation, led by HE Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, also the president and chief executive officer of QatarEnergy and chairman of Qatargas, took stock of the progress of the NFE (North Field expansion) project, which includes six new LNG trains with a capacity of 8mtpa each, and associated utility and offsite facilities.The NFE project comprises the North Field East (NFE) and the North Field South (NFS) expansion projects and is the industry’s largest ever LNG project.Qatar's gas production is expected to increase to 3.62mn barrels per day of oil equivalent in 2024 compared to 3.39mn in 2023 and 3.21mn in 2022.Expecting average oil prices to decline from $100 a barrel in 2022 to $85 in 2023 and $80 in 2024; IIF said the main downside risk to the oil price forecast is weaker than-expected global growth.Oil production cuts would drag down overall the country's real GDP growth to 2.2% in 2023, it said, adding growth picked up to 4.5% in 2022, supported by higher gas production and prices and an increase in economic activity related to the FIFA World Cup."We expect the fiscal surplus to remain large despite the moderation in oil and gas prices, as spending on infrastructure will start to decline," the report said.On the oil market, IIF said crude prices have declined substantially from their peak reached in June 2022, as the slowing global economy weakened demand for oil, and as supply from the US, Brazil, Canada, and Guyana increased "significantly". China’s oil consumption in 2022 declined for the first time in several decades, amid shutdowns in response to Covid outbreaks, it said, adding tighter global financial conditions, the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and the forced takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, raised the risks of much weaker global demand for oil.The fiscal balance is expected to be 7.4% of gross domestic product of GDP) in 2024 against 5.7% in 2023 and as high as 9.9% in 2022.The IIF report also said the country's banking system remains "well capitalised", liquid, and with low NPLs or non-performing loans."However, commercial bank’s large net foreign liability position may pose potential risks as global financial conditions have tightened," it said.

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) witnessed more than 85% of the traded constituents extend gains to investors this week, which had only two trading sessions in view of the Eid holidays.Despite the truncated session, the 20-stock Qatar Index shot up 2.17% or 215 points and capitalisation add as much as QR12bn this week which saw a Kamco Investor report that found Qatar registered a robust 69.2% year-on-year increase in total value of projects awarded in the first quarter of this year.The transport, telecom and industrials counters witnessed higher than average demand this week which saw Doha Bank report net profit of QR209mn in the first three months of this year.The Gulf institutions were increasingly net buyers this week which saw Gulf Warehousing register net profit of QR61.5mn at the end of first quarter ended March 31, 2023.The foreign institutions were seen net buyers in the main market this week, which saw Mekdam Holding disclose its plans to garner as much as QR75.3mn through a rights issue.The Arab retail investors turned bullish in the main market this week which saw Qatar’s trade surplus amount to QR21.27bn in March this year.However, the domestic institutions were increasingly net sellers in the main market this week, which saw a total of 0.12mn Masraf Al Rayan-sponsored exchange-traded fund QATR worth QR0.27mn trade across nine deals.The Islamic index was seen gaining slower than the other indices in the main market this week which saw as many as 0.16mn Doha Bank-sponsored exchange-traded fund QETF valued at QR1.55mn change hands across 86 transactions.The local retail investors were seen net profit takers this week which saw trade turnover and volumes were on the decline in the main market.Market capitalisation was seen adding 2.03% to QR587.93bn on the back of large and midcap segments this week which saw the industrials and banking sectors together constitute more than 58% of the total trade volume in the main market.The Total Return Index zoomed 2.17%, the All Share Index by 2.04%, and the All Islamic Index by 1.72% this week, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The transport sector index shot up 4.35%, telecom (3.31%), industrials (2.7%), banks and financial services (1.66%), consumer goods and services (1.31%) and insurance (0.5%); while real estate was down 0.06% this week which saw no trading of treasury bills.Major gainers in the main market included Inma Holding, Qatar German Medical Devices, Dlala, Alijarah Holding, Qatar Islamic Bank, QNB, Commercial Bank, Industries Qatar, Gulf International Services, Qamco, Al Khaleej Takaful, Ezdan, Ooredoo, Milaha and Nakilat this week.Nevertheless, United Development Company, Dukhan Bank, Doha Bank, Beema and Mannai Corporation were among the losers in the main market. In the venture market, Al Faleh Educational Holding saw its shares depreciate in value this week.The Gulf institutions’ net buying increased substantially to QR46.99mn compared to QR24.34mn the week ended April 20.The foreign institutions turned net buyers to the tune of QR41.26mn against net sellers of QR31.36mn a week ago.The Arab individuals were net buyers to the extent of QR16.7mn compared with net sellers of QR21.05mn the previous week.However, the domestic funds’ net profit booking grew significantly to QR85.06mn against QR28.5mn the week ended April 20.The local retail investors turned net sellers to the tune of QR19.53mn compared with net buyers of QR51.6mn a week ago.The Gulf individuals were net profit takers to the extent of QR0.49mn against net buyers of QR1.02mn the previous week.The foreign individuals’ net buying weakened noticeably to QR0.12mn compared to QR3.89mn the week ended April 20.The Arab institutional investors’ net buying eased marginally to QR0.02mn against QR0.05mn a week ago.The main market witnessed a 22% shrinkage in trade volumes to 343.15mn shares, 24% in value to QR1bn and 33% in deals to 40,245.

The Qatar Stock Exchange on Thursday gained another 73 points and its key index crossed the 10,100 levels, on the back of buying interests, especially in telecom, industrials and transport counters.The Gulf institutions were increasingly net buyers as the 20-stock Qatar Index rose 0.72% to 10,145.38 points.The market, which was skewed towards movers, saw the index recover from an intraday low of 9,994 points.The foreign institutions were also increasingly bullish in the main market, whose year-to-date losses narrowed further to 5.02%.The foreign retail investors turned net buyers in the main bourse, whose capitalisation added QR4.48bn or 0.71% to QR587.93bn, mainly on account of midcap segments.Both Arab funds and the Gulf were seen net buyers, albeit at lower levels, in the main market, which saw a total of 0.15mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by Masraf Al Rayan and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.78mn changed hands across 36 deals.However, the domestic funds were increasingly net profit takers in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Islamic index was seen outperforming the other indices in the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The Total Return Index was up 0.72%, the All Share Index by 0.64% and the Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.92% in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the increase.The telecom sector index zoomed 2.75%, industrials (1.51%), transport (1.02%), consumer goods and services (0.62%), real estate (0.3%) and banks and financial services (0.16%); while insurance declined 1.26%.More than 71% of the traded constituents in the main market extended gains with major movers being Inma Holding, Qatari German Medical Devices, Qatar Industrial Manufacturing, Qamco, Ooredoo, Lesha Bank, Baladna, Industries Qatar and Ezdan.In the venture market, Al Faleh Holding saw its shares appreciate in value.Nevertheless, Doha Bank, Qatar Insurance, Medicare Group, Gulf Industrial Services and Qatar Islamic Bank were among the losers in the main market.The Gulf institutions’ net buying strengthened substantially to QR29.59mn compared to QR17.39mn on April 26.The foreign institutions’ net buying increased significantly to QR29.43mn against QR11.83mn the previous day.The foreign individuals turned net buyers to the tune of QR1.11mn compared with net sellers of QR1mn on Wednesday.The Arab institutions were net buyers to the extent of QR0.2mn against net profit takers of QR0.2mn on April 26.The Gulf retail investors turned net buyers to the tune of QR0.18mn compared with net sellers of QR0.66mn the previous day.However, the domestic institutions’ net selling increased drastically to QR54.71mn against QR30.34mn on Wednesday.The local retail investors’ net profit booking grew noticeably to QR13.57mn compared to QR5.96mn on April 26.The Arab individuals’ net buying weakened marginally to QR7.79mn against QR8.93mn the previous day.The main market saw an 11% jump in trade volumes to 180.48mn shares and 7% in value to QR518mn but on 9% decrease in deals to 19,173.

Qatar’s shipments to China and South Korea were on the rise and so were its imports from Italy and Germany on an annualised basis, as the country’s trade surplus amounted to QR21.27bn in March 202, according to the official estimates.However, the country’s trade surplus was on a declining path year-on-year with exports declining much faster than imports, according to the figures released by the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA).Asia/South East Asia accounted for the majority of Qatar's exports in March 2023; even as imports came from variegated sources.Qatar's trade surplus decreased 19.6% and 7.2% year-on-year and month-on-month respectively in March 2023.The country's total exports (valued free on board) amounted to QR30.85bn, while the total imports (cost, insurance, and freight) were QR9.58bn in the review period.The country's total exports of goods (including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports) showed 15.5% and 0.6% contraction year-on-year and month-on-month respectively in the review period.In March this year, Qatar's shipments to China amounted to QR6.4bn or 20.7% of the total exports of the country, followed by South Korea QR4.87bn (15.8%), India QR3.58bn (11.6%), Japan QR2.5bn (8.1%) and Singapore QR2.3bn (7.4%).On a yearly basis, Qatar's exports to Japan plummeted 39.52%, India by 36.31% and Singapore by 13.35%; whereas those to China and South Korea shot up 20.64% and 5.52% respectively in March 2023.On a monthly basis, Qatar's exports to Japan declined 25.74%, India by 9.92% and South Korea by 3.41%; while those to China and Singapore were up 5.86% and 1.68% respectively in the review period.The exports of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons declined 5.4% on an annualised basis to QR19.03bn, crude by 26.5% to QR4.88bn, non-crude by 32.4% to QR2.55bn and other commodities by 30.6% to QR3.42bn in March 2023.On a monthly basis, the exports of petroleum gases declined 3.1%; whereas those of other non-specified commodities expanded 4.9%, non-crude by 4% and crude by 1.6% this March.Petroleum gases constituted 63.71% of the exports of total domestic products in March 2023 compared to 56.76% a year ago; followed by crude 16.34% (18.73%), non-crude 8.54% (10.61%) and other commodities 11.45% (13.88%).Qatar's total imports were seen declining 4.6% year-on-year but expanded 18.1% month-on-month in March 2023.The country's imports from the US stood at QR1.85bn or 19.3% of the total imports; followed by China QR1.16bn (12.1%), India QR0.6bn (6.3%), Italy QR0.57bn (6%) and Germany QR0.53bn (5.6%), at the end of March 2023.On a yearly basis, Qatar's imports from India and China plummeted 15.69% and 13.83%; while those from Italy, the US and Germany zoomed 15.73%, 5.73% and 3.5% respectively in the review period.On a monthly basis, the country's imports from the US surged 74.22%, Italy by 31.05%, India by 7.69% and Germany by 3.09%; while those from China shrank 8.31% in March 2023.In March 2023, the group of "Turbojets, Turbo propellers and Other Gas Turbines; Parts Thereof" was at the top of the imported group of commodities, with QR0.8bn, showing an annual increase of 31.5%.In second place was "Motor Cars & Other Motor Vehicles for The Transport of Persons” with QR0.4bn, an increase of 0.7% year-on-year in the review period.In third place was “Articles of Jewellery and Parts Thereof, of Precious Metal or of Metal Clad” with QR0.3bn, showing an annual increase of 4.5%.

Qatar’s strong macro fundamentals helped it report a robust 69.2% year-on-year increase in total value of contracts awarded to $3.6bn in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, after hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022, according to Kamco Invest, a regional economic thinktank."The growth in contract awards was mainly due to the country’s maintenance of strong economic performance," Kamco Invest said in its latest report.Quoting MEED, it said Qatar’s GDP (gross domestic product) growth is expected to dip from 3.4% in 2022 to 2.4% in 2023 but this will have little impact on Qatar’s fiscal health to continue to fund and award projects.One of the notable investment decisions that Qatar made during Q1-2023 was the $6bn Ras Laffan petrochemicals project with Chevron Philips Chemical. The Ras Laffan petrochemicals complex, which is set to start production in 2026, comprises an ethane cracker with capacity of 2.1mn tonnes per year of ethylene, thus increasing Qatar’s ethylene production potential by nearly 70%.The complex also has two polyethylene trains which have combined output of 1.7m tonnes per year of high-density polyethylene polymer products which also raises Qatar’s overall petrochemical production by 82% to 14mn tonnes per year.In terms of investment, QatarEnergy and China Petrochemical (Sinopec) have recently signed a deal in which China Petrochemical will invest in Qatar’s $28.75bn North Field East expansion project.The agreement requires the transfer of a 5% stake in one of the four trains of the LNG (liquefied natural gas) project to Sinopec.Qatar’s North Field East expansion project is anticipated to raise the country’s annual LNG export volume from 77mn tonnes per year to 126mn tonnes per year.In terms of contract awards by sector, the chemical sector took over from the Gas Sector as the largest sector by value of awarded projects in the Qatar recording $2.8bn worth of contract awards during Q1-2023.The Qatari chemical sector accounted for 76.9% of the total value of projects awarded in the country during the quarter. Comparatively, the construction sector recorded $116mn worth of project awards during the quarter, recording a 63.1% year-on-year decline.Despite the decline in value of contracts awarded, Qatar’s construction sector is expected to show a compound annual growth rate of 9.5% from 2023 to 2030 to $123.1bn mainly due to planned government spending on infrastructure and other building projects.The Qatari government has allocated an estimated $14.8bn for new projects between 2021 and 2023.Moreover, the total value of projects awarded in the power sector reached $328mn during the quarter while aggregate value of contracts awarded in the transport sector touched $278mn.About the projects in the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Kamco Invest said the GCC project awards expanded during Q1-2023 despite global economic challenges such as the global financial sector turmoil, elevated inflation, and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.Total value of the GCC contracts awarded rose 54.7% year-on-year during Q1-2023 to $29.9bn."This was the second highest quarterly project awards since the start of 2022. All GCC project markets witnessed year-on-year project awards growth during Q1-2023 except for Bahrain which remains the smallest project market in the region," the report said.The growth in the GCC project awards during this quarter has been partly fueled by the determination of the regional countries to diversify their economies away from hydrocarbons, it said.The GCC countries have backed and invested in projects in the industrial sector such as aluminum, steel, and other industrial equipment manufacturing projects, according to Kamco Invest.Saudi Arabia remained the largest projects market in the GCC during Q1-2023. Its project awards recorded 17.9% growth during the quarter to $13.3bn.Comparatively, the UAE project awards more than doubled to $10bn during the quarter while Kuwait’s contract awards amounted to $1.8bn during Q1-2023 compared to $407mn in Q1-2022, recording the highest percentage year-on-year contract awards increase in the region during the quarter.

The Qatar Stock Exchange Wednesday reopened after the Eid recess on a solid note with its key index gaining as much as 142 points to cross the 10,000 levels..text-box { float:left; width:250px; padding:1px; border:1pt white; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 20px;}@media only screen and (max-width: 767px) {.text-box {width: 30%;}}**media[21488]**The transport, insurance and banking counters witnessed higher than average demand as the 20-stock Qatar Index vaulted 1.43% to 10,072.56 points.The market, which was skewed towards movers, saw the index recover from an intraday low of 9,953 points.The Gulf institutions were increasingly into net buying in the main market, whose year-to-date losses narrowed to 5.7%.The foreign funds were also increasingly bullish in the main bourse, whose capitalisation was seen adding QR7.2bn or 1.25% to QR583.45bn, mainly on account of mid and small cap segments.The Arab individuals turned net buyers in the main market, which saw a total of 0.13mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by Masraf Al Rayan and Doha Bank) valued at QR1.04mn changed hands across 59 deals.However, the domestic funds were increasingly net profit takers in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Islamic index was seen gaining slower than the other indices in the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The Total Return Index shot up 1.43%, All Share Index by 1.39% and Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.79% in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the increase.The transport sector index surged 3.35, insurance (1.79%), banks and financial services (1.49%), industrials (1.16%), consumer goods and services (0.69%) and telecom (0.54%); while real estate declined 0.36%.More than 72% of the traded constituents in the main market extended gains with major movers being Mekdam Holding, Inma Holding, Qatari German Medical Devices, Gulf International Services, Dlala, Qatar Islamic Bank, Doha Bank, QNB, Medicare Group, Al Khaleej Takaful, Qatar Insurance, Ezdan, Vodafone Qatar, Nakilat and Milaha.Nevertheless, United Development Company, Dukhan Bank, Qatar Industrial Manufacturing, Beema and Baladna were among the losers in the main market. In the venture market, Al Faleh Educational Holding saw its shares depreciate in value.The Gulf institutions’ net buying strengthened substantially to QR17.39mn compared to QR3.58mn on April 20.The foreign institutions’ net buying increased significantly to QR11.83mn against QR4.96mn the previous trading day.The Arab individuals turned net buyers to the tune of QR8.93mn compared with net sellers of QR0.17mn last Thursday.However, the domestic institutions’ net selling increased perceptibly to QR30.34mn against QR26.96mn on April 20.The local retail investors were net sellers to the extent of QR5.96mn compared with net buyers of QR18.96mn the previous trading day.The foreign individuals’ net profit booking expanded noticeably to QR1mn against QR0.4mn last Thursday.The Gulf retail investors turned net sellers to the tune of QR0.66mn compared with net buyers of QR0.04mn on April 20.The Arab institutions were net profit takers to the extent of QR0.2mn against no major net exposure the previous trading day.The main market saw an 80% jump in trade volumes to 162.67mn shares, more than doubling value to QR485.26mn on 81% increase in deals to 21,072.

Doha is in a strategic location and has the resources to serve as an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing hub for the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and beyond, according to Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (IPA Qatar).Qatar’s attractive market is attracting EV manufacturers with Volkswagen, Gaussin, and Yutong already partnering with the government entities to transform Qatar’s as well as the region’s mobility, it said in a report.The extensive investments into innovation and infrastructure plus incentives greatly improve EV industry’s cost competitiveness in Qatar, it said.The report said the country's EV targets are underpinned by Qatar National Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy to create opportunities for EV investors and businesses.In this regard, IPA Qatar highlighted that EV is expected to be 10% of total sales target by 2030 from 4% in 2020; the number of public charging stations is slated to be 15,000 by 2030 against 600 in 2020; and 100% public transport electrification by 2030 compared to 25% in 2020.IPA Qatar said national champions including Qatar Foundation, Hamad International Airport, and Lusail City are investing in EV.As part of the country's EV strategy, the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation or Kahramaa is set to supply, install, and operate some 37 EV charging units at 22 of Woqod stations in Doha and its vicinities, as well as in Al Khor, Al Wakra, and border outlets.According to 6Wresearch, Qatar electric vehicle market size grew at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 31.4% during 2022-2028.Qatar EV market is projected to register exponential growth during the forecast period owing to government initiatives such as the ‘Green Car Initiative’ which was launched by Kahramaa, in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Industry and the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) to increase the number of electric cars in the country and contribute to achieving the sustainability targets set under Qatar National Vision 2030.Finding that Middle East auto market is set to reach $18.5bn by 2023; it said amid a growing focus across the Middle East to promote the use of EV, the market in the region has a huge potential for the growth"Major economies in the region plan to transition to EV mobility in the near future," IPA Qatar said.Highlighting the sustained policy support for the sector; the report said public spending on subsidies and incentives for EVs nearly doubled in 2021 to approximately $30bn.From an estimated 3.3mn units in 2020 to an expected 27.5mn units by 2027, the global EV market is witnessing a quantum leap, led by the US, China, and Germany. Globally, the potential of the lucrative EV industry is immense with an expected market share of 58% of all global vehicle sales by 2040.

The renewal of health cards and e-contracts together constituted more than 71% of the electronic services availed through Hukoomi in February 2023, indicating the increased prominence of digital penetration and transformation in the country, according to official statistics. There were as many as 67,868 renewals of health card, which accounted for 46% of the total electronic services through the portal, said the figures released by the Planning and Statistics Authority. On a month-on-month basis, the renewals had seen a 5.4% drop in the review period.The month saw as many as 37,689 E-contracts, which constituted one-fourth or 25% of the total. It registered a 5.1% decline on a monthly basis in February 2023. A total of 148,567 services were conducted through Hukoomi portal in February 2023, which registered a 7.5% fall month-on-month.Hukoomi, the official e-Government portal, is to make government information and services more efficient and effective in order to be accessible to all citizens, residents, visitors and businesses.The third largest component was online registration for the medical commission which stood at 22,576 or 15% of the total in the review period. The online registration witnessed a 16.5% shrinkage month-on-month this February.There were as many as 6,747 criminal cases requests, which constituted 5% of the total service offered through Hukoomi in February 2023. It showed a 12.6% decline month-on-month. There were as many as 4,863 applications for palm import licence, which accounted for 3% of the total in February this year. It was down 2.7% month-on-month in the review period.There were as many as 2,121 non-specified services through the portal in February compared to 2,272 the previous month, thus showing a 6.6% contraction.As many as 1,509 work permit e-services were reported in February 2023 against 1,814 the previous year period, thus registering a 16.8% decline.In the case of medical practicing, it reported a 10.9% increase month-on-month to 1,257 in February 2023.There were as many as 1,062 tender fee payments through Hukoomi portal in February 2023 compared to 1,219, a 12.9% fall on a monthly basis. The portal saw 970 enforcement request registration in February 2023 against 1,059 a month ago.The civil and family case registration numbered 963 in February 2023 compared to 964 in January this year. There were as many as 934 services under Tawtheeqat in February this year compared to 954 the previous month of 2023.There were as many as eight applications for approval for dealing with telecommunication equipment and related activities in February 2023 against 20 in January 2023.

Ahead of Eid holidays, the Qatar Stock Exchange closed the week weak with its key index plunging 160 points and capitalisation eroding in excess of QR11bn.The telecom, industrials and real estate counters witnessed higher than average selling pressure as the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 1.58% this week which saw Standard and Poor’s expects Qatar banks’ net external debt to decline in the next 12-24 months.The Arab retail investors were seen bearish this week which saw Commercial Bank and Masraf Al Rayan report first quarter (Q1) net profit at QR751.3mn and QR384.95mn respectively.About 58% of the traded constituents were in the red in the main market this week, which saw Qatar Electricity and Water register QR400.66mn net profit in Q1, 2023.A close below 9,585 points would deepen the bearish tone and lead to 9,000 points, a technical analysis note of Kamco had said.The local retail investors’ weakened net buying had its influence in the main market this week which saw Nakilat and Milaha report net profit of QR395.49mn and QR363mn respectively in Q1, 2023.The foreign individuals’ lower net buying had its say in the main market this week, which saw a total of 0.13mn Masraf Al Rayan-sponsored exchange-traded fund QATR worth QR0.3mn trade across 15 deals.The Islamic index was seen declining faster than the other indices in the main market this week which saw as many as 0.16mn Doha Bank-sponsored exchange-traded fund QETF valued at QR1.31mn change hands across 78 transactions.The Gulf individuals continued to be net buyers but with lesser intensity this week which saw Vodafone Qatar’s net profit at QR133.39mn in Q1, 2023.Trade turnover and volumes were on the decline in the main market this week, which saw QIIB and Ahlibank Qatar register Q1 net profit at QR315.92mn and QR204.6mn respectively.Market capitalisation was seen eroding QR11.42bn or 1.94% to QR576.25bn on the back of large and midcap segments this week which saw the industrials and banking sectors together constitute more than 65% of the total trade volume in the main market.The Total Return Index tanked 1.58%, the All Share Index by 1.56%, and the All Islamic Index by 1.79% this week, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The telecom sector index plummeted 3.5%, industrials (3.15%), realty (2.17%) and banks and financial services (1.52%); while insurance gained 1.75%, transport (1.26%) and consumer goods and services (0.37%) this which saw no trading of treasury bills.Major shakers in the main market included Mazaya Qatar, Mekdam Holding, Industries Qatar, Beema, Ooredoo, QNB, Masraf Al Rayan, Lesha Bank, Qatari German Medical Devices, Salam International Investment, Mannai Corporation, Qatar National Cement, Qamco, and Ezdan. In the venture market, Al Faleh Educational Holding saw its shares depreciate in value this week which saw Aamal bag QR45mn contract from the Ministry of Municipality.Nevertheless, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, Qatar Industrial Manufacturing, Commercial Bank, Qatar Cinema and Film Distribution, Baladna, Gulf Warehousing and Nakilat were among the gainers in the main market this week which saw United Development Company and Aamal Company report net profit of QR88mn and QR87.5mn respectively in Q1, 2023.The Arab individual investors were net sellers to the tune of QR21.05mn against net buyers of QR11.16mn the week ended April 13.The local retail investors' net buying declined considerably to QR51.6mn compared to QR94.07mn a week ago.The foreign individuals’ net buying weakened perceptibly to QR3.89mn against QR5.36mn the previous week.The Gulf retail investors’ net buying shrank noticeably to QR1.02mn compared to QR2.26mn the week ended April 13.The Arab institutional investors’ net buying eased marginally to QR0.05mn against QR0.19mn a week ago.However, the Gulf institutions’ net buying expanded markedly to QR24.34mn compared to QR12.6mn the previous week.The domestic funds’ net profit booking fell substantially to QR28.5mn against QR76.09mn84mn the week ended April 13.The foreign institutions’ net selling tanked significantly to QR31.36mn compared to QR49.56mn a week ago.The main market witnessed 36% shrinkage in trade volumes to 440.78mn shares, 31% in value to QR1.32bn and 12% in deals to 60,357.

Ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holidays, the Qatar Stock Exchange on Thursday lost another 18 points, dragged down by selling pressure, especially in the telecom and insurance sectors.The domestic institutions were increasingly net profit takers as the 20-stock Qatar Index shrank 0.18% to 9,930.33 points.The market moved in a rollercoaster fashion with the index touching an intraday low of 9,907 points, even as it hit a high of 9,945 points.The foreign retail investors turned net sellers in the main market, whose year-to-date losses widened to 7.03%.The foreign individual investors’ weakened net buying had its influence on the main bourse, whose capitalisation was seen eroding QR2.13bn or 0.37% to QR576.25bn, mainly on account of small and microcap segments.However, the local individuals turned increasingly net buyers in the main market, which saw a total of 0.05mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by Masraf Al Rayan and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.25mn changed hands across 11 deals.The Gulf funds were also increasingly bullish in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Islamic index was seen declining faster than the main index in the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The Total Return Index was down 0.18%, the Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.26% and the All Share Index by 0.36% in the main bourse, whose trade turnover fell amidst higher volumes.The telecom sector index tanked 1.68%, insurance (1.52%), industrials (0.4%), real estate (0.21%), consumer goods and services (0.15%) and banks and financial services (0.12%); while transport gained 0.47%.About 47% of the traded constituents in the main market were in the red with major losers being Qatar Insurance, Ooredoo, Mazaya Qatar, QIIB, Qatari Investors Group, Masraf Al Rayan and Gulf Warehousing.In the venture market, Al Faleh Educational Holding saw its shares depreciate in value.Nevertheless, Inma Holding, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, Qatari German Medical Devices, Medicare Group, Al Khaleej Takaful, Commercial Bank, Lesha Bank, Mannai Corporation and Vodafone Qatar were among the gainers in the main market.The domestic institutions’ net selling increased significantly to QR26.96mn compared to QR9.64mn on April 19.The foreign individuals turned net sellers to the tune of QR0.4mn against net buyers of QR0.09mn the previous day.The Gulf retail investors’ net buying weakened marginally to QR0.04mn compared to QR0.47mn on Wednesday.However, the local retail investors’ net buying expanded perceptibly to QR18.96mn against QR17.82mn on April 19.The foreign institutions were net buyers to the extent of QR4.96mn compared with net sellers of QR11.03mn the previous day.The Gulf institutions’ net buying strengthened markedly to QR3.58mn against QR2.68mn on Wednesday.The Arab individuals’ net profit booking fell marginally to QR0.17mn compared to QR0.4mn on April 19.The Arab institutions had no major net exposure for the second straight session.The main market saw a 12% jump in trade volumes to 90.3mn shares but on 16% contraction in value to QR233.69mn and 9% in deals to 11,641.

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) Wednesday closed marginally down despite buying interests in four of the seven sectors..text-box { float:left; width:250px; padding:1px; border:1pt white; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 20px;}@media only screen and (max-width: 767px) {.text-box {width: 30%;}}**media[8019]**The foreign funds were seen increasingly into net selling as the 20-stock index shed four points or 0.05% to 9,948.01 points.The market, which was skewed towards decliners, saw its index touch an intraday high of 9,970 points. The domestic institutions were also increasingly net profit takers in the main market, whose year-to-date losses widened to 6.86%.The foreign individual investors’ weakened net buying had its influence in the main bourse, whose capitalisation was however up QR0.3bn or 0.05% to QR578.38bn, mainly on account of microcap segments.The Gulf institutions continued to be net buyers but with lesser vigour in the main market, which saw a total of 0.05mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by Masraf Al Rayan and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.24mn changed hands across 15 deals.However, the local retail investors were seen increasingly net buyers in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Islamic index was seen declining faster than the main index in the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The Total Return Index was down 0.05% and Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.22%, while All Share Index rose 0.14% in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the decline.The real estate sector index fell 0.91%, industrials (0.39%) and telecom (0.35%); while insurance shot up 3.63%, consumer goods and services (0.86%), transport (0.7%) and banks and financial services (0.08%).More than 63% of the traded constituents in the main market were in the red with major losers being Qatar National Cement, Inma Holding, Estithmar Holding, Lesha Bank, QIIB, Dukhan Bank, Mannai Corporation, Beema, Mazaya Qatar and United Development Company. In the venture market, Al Faleh Educational Holding saw its shares depreciate in value.Nevertheless, QLM, Qatar Insurance, Gulf Warehousing, Qatari Investors Group, Woqod, Baladna, Gulf International Services, Al Khaleej Takaful and Milaha were among the gainers in the main market.The foreign institutions’ net selling increased considerably to QR11.03mn compared to QR2.39mn on April 18.The domestic institutions’ net selling increased significantly to QR9.64mn against QR4.81mn the4 previous day.The Gulf institutions’ net buying weakened perceptibly to QR2.68mn compared to QR4.35mn on Tuesday.The foreign individuals’ net buying weakened markedly to QR0.09mn against QR2.4mn on April 18.However, the local retail investors’ net buying expanded substantially to QR17.82mn compared to QR4.5mn the previous day.The Gulf retail investors’ net buying strengthened marginally to QR0.47mn against QR0.32mn on Tuesday.The Arab individuals’ net profit booking fell substantially to QR0.4mn compared to QR4.35mn on April 18.The Arab institutions had no major net exposure against net sellers to the tune of QR0.02mn the previous day.The main market saw 17% shrinkage in trade volumes to 80.48mn shares, 10% in value to QR279.78mn and 5% in deals to 12,832.

The Qatar Stock Exchange Tuesday fell more than 46 points, mainly on the back of selling pressure in the transport, consumer goods and banking sectors.The domestic institutions were increasingly net sellers as the 20-stock Qatar Index lost 0.46% to 9,952.49 points, amidst thin trade in view of the impending Eid al-Fitr holidays.“A close below 9,585 points would deepen the bearish tone and lead to 9,000 points,” a Kamco technical analysis had said.The market, which was skewed towards decliners, saw its index touch an intraday high of 10,027 points.The local retail investors’ weakened net buying had its influence in the main market, whose year-to-date losses widened to 6.82%.The Gulf individual investors were seen lowering their net buying in the main bourse, whose capitalisation was down QR0.85bn or 0.15% to QR578.08bn, mainly on account of microcap segments.The Gulf institutions continued to be net buyers but with lesser vigour in the main market, which saw a total of 0.07mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by Masraf Al Rayan and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.37mn changed hands across 17 deals.The foreign individuals were seen net buyers in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Islamic index was seen declining faster than the other indices in the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The Total Return Index shed 0.46%, the All Share Index by 0.35% and the Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.65% in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the increase.The transport sector index tanked 1.14%, consumer goods and services (0.99%), banks and financial services (0.64%) and industrials (0.02%); while telecom gained 1.81%, insurance ()1.21%) and real estate (0.43%).More than 55% of the traded constituents in the main market were in the red with major losers being Widam Food, Beema, QIIB, Zad Holding, Milaha, Qatar Islamic Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Inma Holding, Alijarah Holding and Vodafone Qatar. In the venture market, Al Faleh Educational Holding saw its shares depreciate in value.Nevertheless, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, Qatar Industrial Manufacturing, Ooredoo, Lesha Bank, Commercial Bank, Dukhan Bank, Dlala, Baladna and United Development Company were among the movers in the main market.The domestic institutions’ net selling increased markedly to QR4.81mn compared to QR2.71mn on April 17.The Arab institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR0.02mn against net buyers of QR0.03mn the previous day.The local retail investors’ net buying decreased substantially to QR4.5mn compared to QR9.82mn on Monday.The Gulf institutions’ net buying weakened perceptibly to QR4.35mn against QR7.76mn on April 17.The Gulf retail investors’ net buying shrank marginally to QR0.32mn compared to QR0.88mn the previous day.However, the foreign individuals were net buyers to the extent of QR2.4mn against net sellers of QR0.47mn on Monday.The foreign institutions’ net selling decreased considerably to QR2.39mn compared to QR10.3mn on April 17.The Arab individuals’ net profit booking eased marginally to QR4.35mn against QR5.02mn the previous day.In the main market, trade volumes rose 9% to 96.69mn shares, value by 10% to QR310.64mn and deals by 2% to 13,477.

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) Monday lost 57 points and its key index closed below 10,000 points, mainly dragged by telecom, insurance and industrials sectors.The domestic institutions were seen net sellers as the 20-stock Qatar Index declined 0.56% to 9,998.54 points.“A close below 9,585 points would deepen the bearish tone and lead to 9,000 points,” a Kamco technical analysis had said.The market, which was skewed towards decliners, saw its index recover from an intraday low of 9,942 points.The foreign individual investors were seen net profit takers in the main market, whose year-to-date losses widened to 6.39%.However, the local retail investors were increasingly net buyers in the main bourse, whose capitalisation eroded QR5.01bn or 0.86% to QR578.93bn, mainly on account of small and microcap segments.The Gulf institutions were also increasingly into net buying in the main market, which saw a total of 0.04mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by Masraf Al Rayan and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.33mn changed hands across 24 deals.The Gulf individuals were seen net buyers in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Islamic index was seen declining slower than the other indices in the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The Total Return Index lost 0.56%, the All Share Index by 0.71% and the Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.24% in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the increase.The telecom sector index tanked 3.45%, insurance (1.98%), industrials (1.17%), and banks and financial services (0.61%); while transport gained 0.64%, consumer goods and services (0.5%) and real estate (0.1%).As much as 49% of the traded constituents in the main market were in the red with major losers being Qatar Insurance, Mekdam Holding, Ooredoo, Mannai Corporation, Industries Qatar, QNB, Qatari German Medical Devices and Vodafone Qatar.Nevertheless, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, Widam Food, QIIB, Doha Insurance, Dukhan Bank, Baladna, Estithmar Holding and Nakilat were among the gainers in the main market.The domestic institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR2.71mn compared with net buyers of QR15.61mn on April 16.The foreign individuals were net sellers to the extent of QR0.47mn against net buyers of QR2.27mn the previous day.However, the local retail investors’ net buying increased substantially to QR9.82mn compared to QR0.48mn on Sunday.The Gulf institutions’ net buying strengthened markedly to QR7.76mn against QR5.99mn on April 16.The Gulf retail investors were net buyers to the tune of QR0.88mn compared with net sellers of QR0.68mn the previous day.The Arab institutions’ net buying amounted to QR0.03mn, same as that on Sunday.The foreign institutions’ net selling decreased perceptibly to QR10.3mn compared to QR12.58mn on April 16.The Arab individuals’ net profit booking weakened markedly to QR5.02mn against QR11.12mn the previous day.In the main market, trade volumes rose 4% to 88.41mn shares, value by 32% to QR283.5mn and deals by 44% to 13,208.

Higher extraction of crude and natural gas as well as increased manufacturing, especially in refined petroleum products, helped Qatar's industrial production index shoot up 12.4% on an annualised basis in February 2023, according to the official statistics.However, the country’s IPI witnessed a 4.2% decline month-on-month in the review period, according to figures released by the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA).The PSA introduced IPI, a short-term quantitative index that measures the changes in the volume of production of a selected basket of industrial products over a given period, with respect to a base period 2013.The mining and quarrying index, which has a relative weight of 82.46%, saw a 14.3% surge on a yearly basis owing to a 14.3% increase in the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas and 9.3% in other mining and quarrying sectors.On a monthly basis, the index tanked 4.4% on account of a 4.4% contraction in the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas and 1.7% in other mining and quarrying sectors in the review period.The manufacturing index, with a relative weight of 15.85%, shot up 4.1% year-on-year this February as there was a 34.7% surge in the production of refined petroleum products, 7.6% in beverages, 4.5% in food products, 4.5% in basic metals, 1.2% in rubber and plastics products and 0.8% in chemicals and chemical products.Nevertheless, there was a 12.1% plunge in the production of cement and other non-metallic mineral products and 9.1% in printing and reproduction of recorded media in the review period.On a monthly basis, the manufacturing index shrank 3.3% owing to a 9.3% contraction in the production of refined petroleum products, 3.9% in chemicals and chemical products, 2.3% in beverages and 0.2% in food products in February 2023.However, there was a 2.9% increase in the production of basic metals, 1.4% in rubber and plastics products and 0.5% in cement and other non-metallic mineral products in the review period.Electricity, which has a 1.16% weight in the IPI basket, saw its index zoom 14.5% on an annualised basis but was down 1.9% month-on-month in February 2023.In the case of water, which has a 0.53% weight, the index was seen plummeting 10.7% and 17.9% year-on-year and month-on-month respectively in the review period.

The Qatar Stock Exchange Sunday opened the week weak, mainly dragged by the real estate and industrials sectors.The Arab retail investors turned net sellers as the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 35 points or 0.35% to 10,055.11 points.The market, which was skewed towards decliners, saw its index touch an intraday high of 10,117 points.The Gulf individual investors were seen net profit takers in the main market, whose year-to-date losses widened to 5.86%.The local retail investors’ substantially weakened net buying had its influence in the main bourse, whose capitalisation eroded QR3.73bn or 0.63% to QR583.94bn, mainly on account of midcap segments.The domestic institutions’ lower net buying interests also had its role in dampening the sentiments in the main market, which saw a total of 0.05mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by Masraf Al Rayan and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.42mn changed hands across 26 deals.The Gulf funds weakened bullish grip was seen in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Islamic index was seen declining slower than the main barometer in the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The Total Return Index lost 0.35%, All Share Index by 0.37% and Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) by 0.34% in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the decline.The realty sector index tanked 1.59%, industrials (1.2%) and banks and financial services (0.24%); while transport gained 0.61%, insurance (0.5%), telecom (0.2%) and consumer goods and services (0.16%).About 74% of the traded constituents in the main market were in the red with major losers being Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, QLM, Mazaya Qatar, Qatari German Medical Devices, Qatar Islamic Insurance, Lesha Bank, Dukhan Bank, Baladna, Estithmar Holding, Qamco, Mazaya Qatar and Ezdan.Nevertheless, Qatar Insurance, Qatar Cinema and Film Distribution, Milaha, Doha Insurance, Alijarah Holding and Vodafone Qatar were among the movers in the main market. In the venture market, Al Faleh Educational Holding’s shares appreciate in value.The Arab individuals turned net sellers to the tune of QR11.12mn against net buyers of QR1.94mn on April 13.The Gulf retail investors were net sellers to the extent of QR0.68mn compared with net buyers of QR1.18mn last Thursday.The local retail investors’ net buying declined substantially to QR0.48mn against QR38mn the previous trading day.The domestic institutions’ net buying weakened significantly to QR15.61mn compared to QR25.39mn on April 13.The Gulf institutions’ net buying decreased markedly to QR5.99mn against QR14.66mn last Thursday.However, the foreign individuals’ net buying rose considerably to QR2.27mn compared to QR0.75mn the previous trading day.The Arab institutions turned net buyers to the extent of QR0.03mn against no major net exposure on April 13.The foreign institutions’ net selling decreased drastically to QR12.58mn compared to QR81.92mn last Thursday.In the main market, trade volumes shrank 45% to 84.9mn shares, value by 59% to QR214.17mn and deals by 53% to 9,199.

Qatar banks saw the strongest lending growth among the Gulf lenders during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022 despite hard interest rate regime, according to Kamco Invest, a regional economic think-tank.The GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) central banks data showed that after months of marginal activity, Qatari banks reported the biggest lending growth at 3.5% during Q4-2022 compared to a decline in lending during the previous quarter.Aggregate credit facilities in Qatar reached QR1.3tn at the end of Q4-2022 mainly backed by 9% growth in lending to the real estate, followed by 5.5% and 5.4% growth in lending to services and public sector. A decline in lending to industry (-4.4%) and consumption (-2.5%) partially offset the overall growth in domestic lending.Saudi Arabia continued to report strong growth at 1.4%, but the pace declined considerably and was the smallest since June-2019.The growth in the case of Kuwaiti banks was also modest at 0.9% quarter-on-quarter and was the smallest growth since Q4-2020, while credit growth reported by Oman central bank came in at 1.2% during Q4-2022.Banks in Saudi Arabia showed growth in lending to utilities and health services, transportation and communication, finance and real estate that was offset by a decline in lending to manufacturing and processing and agriculture and fishing industries.The trend in Oman was largely positive but a steep decline of 4.5% in lending to mining and quarrying partially offset the overall growth in lending.The report said Qatari-listed banks showed a strong deposit growth of 3.1% to $405bn. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, continued to boast the biggest share of GCC customer deposits at $691bn after recording a q-o-q growth of 0.2% during Q4-2022.The net impact of a stronger lending growth and a slightly smaller customer deposit growth was a marginal growth of 30 bps in the aggregate GCC loan-to-deposit ratio at the end of Q4-2022. Moreover, despite the growth, the ratio remained below the 80% level and at one of the lowest quarterly levels at 79.3%, led by a fall in the ratio in Kuwait and Qatar that was more than offset by growth in the rest of the markets.The report said aggregate return on equity (RoE) for the GCC banking sector continued to show improvement during Q4-2022 reaching one of the highest levels over the last few years at 12.3% compared to 11.8% at the end of Q3-2022.At the country level, UAE-listed banks once again topped in the region with the highest RoE at the end of Q4-2022 at 13.9% closely followed by Saudi and Qatari banks with RoE of 12.5% and 12.4%, respectively.On loan loss provisions (LLP), Kamco said Qatari banks reported the biggest provisions during 2022 at $3.9bn followed by the UAE and Saudi-listed banks with provisions of $3.5bn and $2.6bn respectively.