The QFC Regulatory Authority has visited the Qatar Banking Studies and Business Administration Independent Secondary schools to promote investor education and protection. The visit comes in support of the objective of the World Investor Week (WIW) campaign, in which the Regulatory Authority is participating.
The week-long WIW global campaign promoted by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and supported by regulatory authorities in over 60 countries and leading organisations such as the G20 and World Bank, concluded in Doha on Thursday.
The objective of the WIW is to highlight the importance of investor education and protection, and foster learning opportunities for investors, given today's rapidly changing environment of online and technological innovations, the Regulatory Authority has said in a statement.
During their visit to both the boys’ and girls’ schools, the Regulatory Authority staff introduced students to concepts of the ‘smart investor’ and how to complain if things go wrong.
In conjunction with the visit, the Regulatory Authority is conducting an essay competition where students describe what they will be doing with their first salary as a ‘smart investor’. The first-prize winner will be invited to the Regulatory Authority and presented with a certificate and prize.
For the Regulatory Authority, this initiative falls under Qatar’s Second Strategic Plan for Financial Sector Regulation. In addition, in co-operation with the Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA), the Regulatory Authority is participating in one of the panels held during the QFMA WIW 2018/Corporate Governance Conference, which ended yesterday.
The topic of the panel was Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism, regarding readiness to the MER process, risk-based implementation and supervision, and the common challenges faced by market participants and licensees. Ashley Alder, chair of the IOSCO board and CEO of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, said: “The IOSCO World Investor Week not only effectively communicates key messages to market participants regarding investor education, investor protection and financial literacy but also encourages and facilitates new initiatives among our members.”
Michael G Ryan, CEO of the QFC Regulatory Authority, added: “The promotion of investor education and protection is one of the key objectives of the QFC Regulatory Authority. In our school visits and participation in World Investor Week, our aim was the same – to educate both professional and student audiences about best practices when it comes to investing, and to raise awareness of the important role of finance and regulation in our economy.”
