The Qatar Stock Exchange's juniour bourse QE Venture Market (QEVM) will be up and running in the next few weeks, providing an alternative route for the SMEs or small and medium enterprises that need the access to capital.
The QEVM would give SME owners an opportunity to be listed in the bourse in accordance with lighter and flexible regulations, while giving further finance sources in order for them to grow and expand their businesses.
“The launch of the new market comes within the framework of QSE’s vision and strategy aimed at diversifying investment options and products available to individual and institutional investors,” said Rashid bin Ali al-Mansoori, the chief executive of QSE.
The QEVM provides SME’s with many advantages as it allows them to diversify sources of funding through access to permanent equity capital whilst offering liquidity to financial, family or minority shareholders as well as visibility, he said.
The QEVM is characterised by the flexibility of the listing requirements which suit smaller entrepreneurial companies with a more limited track record and fewer resources to meet the heightened investor relations and corporate governance practices demanded in the main market, al-Mansoori added.
Abdulaziz Nasser al-Emadi, Director of QSE’s Listing Department, said the launch of the QEVM will coincide with the listing of the first SME on the QSE.
The launch of the new market is the result of the strategic initiatives and intense efforts made by the QSE over the past years to develop Qatar’s capital market through continuous consultations with private and family-owned companies to identify their needs and offer them suitable solutions and incentives for listing in the market, he said.
The stocks listed on the QEVM will be traded in the same manner as those on the main market in terms of order types, corporate actions and settlement/clearing arrangements.
The pricing of these securities is exactly the same as pricing mechanism of the stocks listed on the main market. Investors do not need to obtain new investor number to trade in the QEVM since no new investor numbers (NIN’s) are required to be issued for the investors who have already existing numbers.
The orders in the QEVM are executed through the brokers licensed by QFMA or the Qatar Financial Market Authority.
The QEVM will follow the same continuous trading pattern as the main market. The tick sizes for the QEVM equities will be as same as those for the main market. The stock quotes of the QEVM will be broadcasted on a separate market watch at QSE website and independent from the main market screens.
The trading volumes and other relevant data for the QEVM will be reported on the QSE website on a daily basis.