DOHA: The Qatari bourse is working to launch two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) over the next six months. One of the ETFs will be based on government fixed income risk from an Asian borrower and the second product is likely to be an ETF based on a representative Qatar-country index.
This was disclosed by the CEO of Qatar Exchange (QE), Rashid Al Mansoori, at roadshows in London and New York recently to enhance investor relations between Qatari listed companies and international investment institutions.
QE, in collaboration with QNB Financial Services and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, yesterday concluded a week’s roadshows that were held in London and New York to enhance investor relations between international investment institutions and Qatari listed companies. The forthcoming inclusion of Qatar in the MSCI Emerging Market Index provided a unique opportunity for Qatar to showcase its market-leading listed companies at a time when the profile of Qatar was set to be raised further, a press statement said yesterday.
Over two days of meetings in London through a combination of over 130 individual meetings, the listed companies met with over 64 fund managers representing forty major institutions. Those institutions represented the most important funds allocating money to Qatar, the GCC and the broader emerging markets. In aggregate the event hosted 140 meetings.
The Qatari delegation was led by Al Mansoori who delivered a speech about the achievements and future plans of the Exchange. The QE has implemented a number of measures to enhance the liquidity of the market. “These measures include tick size changes, adjusting the trading hours, enhancing the number of brokerage firms, assisting in licensing a number of banks as custodians, introducing the concept of liquidity provision and securities lending and borrowing.”
“Secondly, we have introduced DvP and DMA schemes for foreign brokers, the latter through a sponsoring local broker. Thirdly, QE has introduced a number of new investment tools such as bonds and treasury bills, as well as launching various new indices. These infrastructure changes are of course market-wide and therefore, benefit the international investor base too. Specifically with regard to attracting foreign investment, this is clearly an area of focus for the Exchange and our listed companies, demonstrated by our presence here today and the work we have done with MSCI in the past two years,” he said.
“To put this in context around 60 percent of the total turnover is generated by local investors. More than half of that is traded by individual investors; the rest by Qatari institutional investors. Therefore, foreign investors generate around 40 percent of the total turnover, a percentage that has increased gradually since the opening of the market to foreign investors in 2005, but especially following the announcement of MSCI to include Qatar in the emerging market index by May 2014.”
Al Mansoori added that foreign ownership rules are an important consideration for international investors. He explained that “there is currently a cap on the total holdings by foreign investors in each company, normally set by the Emiri Decree of 2005 at 25 percent of traded shares. However, companies may choose to have another percentage, depending on their own strategy and market demand, so long as that provision is included in their Articles of Association.”
Al Mansoori gave a presentation on the future plans of Qatar Stock Exchange saying that: “In the immediate future, the strategy will centre on continuing the groundwork laid in the cash market specifically (i) improving liquidity further (ii) facilitating listing procedures and developing investment products and (ii) improving disclosure and transparency applications.”
Thirteen listed corporates, representing blue-chip investment opportunities in the Qatari market, used the London-New York forms to meet with the world’s leading fund managers. The Qatari companies participating were: Qatar National Bank, Doha Bank, United Development Company, Ooredoo, Industries Qatar, Mesaieed Petrochemical Company, Gulf International Services, Vodafone, Qatar Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank Qatar, Al Khaliji Commercial Bank, Qatar Electricity & Water and Milaha.
The Peninsula
