Doha is keen on dual listing its exchange traded funds (ETFs), including the one that is considered as the largest Shariah-compliant one in the world, on the US bourse Nasdaq.

"Qatar is looking forward to promoting co-operation to benefit from Nasdaq’s expertise in distributed ledger technology and to discussing co-ordination mechanisms in terms of the dual listing of ETFs," HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani told Meyer Sandy Frucher, vice chairman of Nasdaq on the sidelines of Qatar's participation in the 73rd United Nations general assembly.

At present, Qatar has two ETFs: One conventional sponsored by Doha Bank and the other Islamic sponsored by Masraf Al Rayan, both of which doing well in terms of volume and turnover.

Sheikh Ahmed also called for strengthening the partnership between Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) and Nasdaq in terms of financial product development and joint marketing initiatives, noting the importance of capitalising on the latter's expertise in regulatory technology, particularly in applications that support enhanced governance.

Qatar is also keen on promoting co-operation in terms of technical training, the minister said, noting that these efforts reflect the QSE’s interest in enhancing transparency and promoting good governance across not only listed companies but also in terms of improving the capital markets infrastructure in Qatar.

During the meeting, Sheikh Ahmed emphasised Qatar’s keenness on improving the performance and developing its capital markets by drawing on the expertise of international financial markets, particularly Nasdaq, an American stock exchange established in 1971 featuring around 3,200 listed companies with one of the highest average number of traded shares among US bourses.

Discussions touched on enhancing bilateral co-operation between the QSE and Nasdaq as well as the exchange of expertise to develop the local capital market. The meeting also tackled challenges that may impact international exchanges over the coming five years and efforts to address these challenges as well as prospects for strengthening and expanding QSE markets.

Sheikh Ahmed also met with Mike Mansfield, chief operating officer of AOT. Discussions touched on prospects for joint co-operation across several fields as well as the investment incentives and initiatives that Qatar offers to support the private sector and attract foreign investments.

Qatar and the US enjoy close economic and trade relations, which have reflected positively on the volume of bilateral trade, which reached about QR21bn in 2017. The US is Qatar’s first trading partner and primary source of imports, with 16% of Qatar’s imports coming from the US. More than 650 American companies currently operate in Qatar, of which 117 are fully-owned by the US citizens.

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