The new listings and initial public offerings (IPOs) have the potential to strongly rebound the Qatari bourse, according to its top official.
“The markets need fuel. I am sure with good IPOs, new listings this (the present trough) will change positively,” Qatar Stock Exchange chief executive Rashid bin Ali al-Mansoori told reporters on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Middle East Investors Relations Association. 
His optimism comes in the backdrop of the QSE reporting more than 25% losses year-to-date.
The latest listing in Qatar was from a family-owned company, Investment Holding Group, which offered 49.8mn shares, or 60% of its share capital, at QR10.1 per piece through its about QR502mn IPO in January this year.
Before that Qatar witnessed an IPO from Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding in 2014 and it received overwhelming response considering that many banks had also extended finances for the purchase of shares.
The QSE had in 2016 institutionalised a single window system wherein a special listing committee, comprising members of the QSE and the Qatar Financial Market Authority, would look into all the aspects of listing and trading.
The local bourse has futures trading and short-selling in their scheme as part of efforts to boost liquidity and encourage more IPOs.
“The IPOs are a market fuel and that’s what we are trying to promote with the stake holders,” al-Mansoori said earlier, highlighting that more than 10 family-owned firms were interested in offering shares in coming years.
Asked any new listings are expected this year, he said the QSE is busy working on two exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Doha Bank and Masraf Al Rayan sponsored QETF and Al Rayan Qatar ETF respectively are awaiting their market foray.
“Once the seed funding is achieved, they will enter the market,” he said.
The launch of ETFs also comes in view of the QSE allowing liquidity providers, which play a crucial role in ensuring that the ETFs trade at fair value. It also comes in the backdrop of upgrade of the QSE by MSCI, Standard & Poor’s-Dow Jones and FTSE Russell.
Al-Mansoori said the QSE is working on dual listing with many stock exchanges across the world as part of efforts to attract more institutional investors.
The QSE, which had recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Borsa Istanbul, is toying with the idea of having multi-currency trading platform and may see the advent of foreign stock brokerages via ‘remote membership.’ Page 3




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