DOHA: H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, Minister of Economy & Commerce, has underlined the role of capital market in strengthening the local economy. Stock market is playing a critical role in attracting foreign investment to the country, he said.
Formally opening the annual meeting of World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) here yesterday, Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim re-asserted the role played by Qatari stock market in strengthening local economy and the financial institutions.
The Minster said the government has taken several steps to attract foreign investors to take part in the economic development of the country.
The foreign ownership limit of companies in most of the sectors have been raised up to 49 percent. It will soon go up to 100 percent in selected sectors like industry, health, education, tourism and agriculture.
The Minister noted the country has enacted a series of laws and put in place a number of regulations to deepen the capital market in Qatar. This is in line with the government’s professed policy of diversifying its sources of revenues from oil and gas .
The government has embarked on an ambitious and pioneering plans to diversify the sources of income, which has already started paying its dividends.
The Minister noted the contribution from non-hydrocarbon sector has exceeded more than half of the country’s GDP.
Addressing the event, Qatar Exchange (QE) Chief Executive Officer Rashid bin Ali Al Mansoori said the idea of Qatari stock market is to offer equal opportunities to all investors.
The consolidation of the fundamentals of local economy is key for Qatar, he said.
“2014 was a splendid year for Qatar Exchange. The market also did great in Q1, 2015”, he said.
Juan Pablo Cordoba, World Federation of Exchanges Chairman and CEO of Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, Nandini Sukumar, CEO, The World Federation of Exchanges and QNB Group CEO Ali Ahmed Al Kuwari were among other who addressed the opening session.
Nicky Newton-King, CEO, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Tajinder Singh, deputy Secretary General, IOSCO, and Stephen Fisher, Managing Director, Global Government Relations & Public Policy, Blackrock took part in a panel discussion on “Beyond Europe’s Capital Markets Union-The Global Response”.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim, yesterday, met Nasdaq Vice-Chairman Sandy Frucher. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed means of enhancing bilateral cooperation between Qatar Exchange (QE) and Nasdaq Stock Market in order to develop the financial market in Qatar.Rashid bin Ali Al Mansoori also attended the meeting.
The Peninsula
