HE al-Sada rings the bell marking the listing of MPHC on the QE in the presence of QE acting chairman Dr Hussain Ali al-Abdullah; HE Sheikh Abdulla; MPHC vice chairman Abdulrahman Ahmed al-Shaibi and MPHC chief coordinator Khaled Mohamed al-Subaey. Picture: Noushad Thekkayil.

By Santhosh V Perumal/Business Reporter

The Qatar Exchange yesterday witnessed the debut of a Qatar Petroleum subsidiary, after a six-year gap, with the listing of Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding Company (MPHC), whose shares witnessed impressive buying interests, apparently by local retail investors.

MPHC shares, which constituted about 60% of the bourse’s total volumes, vaulted more than seven times its offer price of QR10 intra-day to finally settle 5.5 times higher at QR55 in an otherwise bearish market, which now has a total of 43 listed companies.

Analysts’ valuations of the stock ranged between QR18 and QR21.

MPHC chairman and HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada rang the golden bell, in the presence of Qatar Central Bank governor HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani and other dignitaries, marking the beginning of the newest stock, whose theoretical opening price was set at QR45.

Al-Sada described the listing as a milestone for Qatar’s petrochemical sector in general, and for MPHC in particular, as it represented an area of interest for the QE and citizens, who have invested in the future by putting their trust in the national company.

“The listing of MPHC is an important step in the implementation of the Qatar National Vision, which will contribute to achieving economic diversification, expanding private sector participation in the development process, and providing a real opportunity to all citizens to benefit directly from the economic growth and boom in the oil and gas sector,” al-Sada said.

A total of 11.01mn MPHC stocks valued at QR674.42mn changed hands across 11,801 transactions. It constituted more than 94% of the total trading volume under the industrials sector.

However, it seems institutional investors rather adopted a cautious approach in buying MHPC shares, which was sold only to Qatari individuals through an initial public offering (IPO) at QR10.2.

Going by yesterday’s trade data, foreign investors’ overall exposure to the market was down as they were net sellers. Domestic institutions’ net buying was less intense, but local retail investors were seen intense in trading.

The listing of MPHC, under the industrials sector which already has another eight constituents, came after its QR3.23bn IPO that was oversubscribed five times.

The last time the Qatari bourse witnessed the advent of a QP subsidiary was in 2008 through the listing of Gulf International Services, a holding company of Gulf Drilling International, Gulf Helicopters, Al Koot and Amwaj.

MPHC - an umbrella holding for Q-Chem I, Q-Chem II and Qatar Vinyl Company, which together generated aggregate revenue of QR4.3bn and net profit of QR1.6bn in 2012 - had offered 323.19mn shares at QR10.20 a piece through its three-week offer.

The IPO had received “very significant” demand from local retail investors and the maximum number of shares allocated per individual investor was 1,633, in accordance with allocation policy in the prospectus of MPHC, whose competitive advantages include reliable and competitive feedstock supply, low energy costs, an excellent strategic location, a global and diverse customer base and highly integrated operations.

MPHC is just one among the many IPOs QP has planned for another 10 years as part of efforts by Qatar to encourage long-term savings and investments by citizens as well as to redistribute the enormous wealth created by its hydrocarbon sector.

“The QE is actively seeking to increase the number of listed companies through a greater understanding of the benefits of using the public equity markets to finance growth,” its CEO Rashid Ali al-Mansoori said, adding the listing of MPHC was the starting point for a renewal interests in companies seeking IPOs and also in the future additional listed products including exchange traded funds and sukuks.