The Group Securities Weekly Report on QSE Performance, 7-11 May 2017
The stock market rebounded on the back of improved oil prices

After the stock exchange benchmark index had fallen to below 9900 points last week, it recovered the previous week's losses and gained 173 points to stand at 10111 points taking advantage of low-level buying opportunities. The indices also benefited from the rise in oil prices after US data showed a decline in oil inventories in the previous week. The rise in the stock indexes was driven by higher prices of some leading shares such as Ooredoo and Industries Qatar. At the end of the week, the market total capitalization increased QR 8.5 billion. The Group reviews QSE performance in the week ending 11^th May with illustrative charts combined with corporate news and a list of the affecting economic developments.

  
Corporate News:

1. Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), announced that Moody’s Investors Service, (“Moody’s”) has assigned a first time rating of A1 with stable outlook to QIB’s local and foreign currency deposit.

Moody’s cited that the bank has solid asset quality, sound capital buffers, good profitability, underpinned by its established and growing retail and corporate Islamic banking franchise. QIB was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing financing assets lower than the local market average and total Capital adequacy of the Bank is higher than the regulatory minimum requirements prescribed by Qatar Central Bank and Basel Committee.

 
2. Qatar Islamic Bank has announced signing of a Sharia-compliant financing agreement of US $ 925 million (equivalent to QR 3.4 billion) with Gulf Drilling International Limited. The Company will use these financing facilities to improve and develop its financing strategy.

3- Ezdan Holding Group announced a date change for Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting.  The new scheduled date will be Wednesday, 24/5/2017 instead of 23/5/2017.  The meeting will take place at 4:00 pm at the Ezdan Hotel Towers in Dafna. In the event of an absence of quorum, it shall be re scheduled on Tuesday 31/5/2017 at the same place and timing as a second date of the meeting after obtaining the necessary approvals from the competent authority on the specific time and place.

4. Doha Bank, in its capacity as the Founder, has announced that it has reached the final stages of     filing its application for listing approval for the proposed launch of the QE Index ETF (QETF). The QETF will invest and replicate the Qatar Index largest 20 companies in terms of market capitalization and liquid listings - The crown jewels of Q-Inc. The fund will replicate the index in performance, net of fees. The fees or ‘Total Expense Ratio’ to be 0.50%; one of the lowest in Emerging Markets offerings. The fund will pay an annual dividend, net of fees, similar to the index; which currently carries a yield of 3.80%. The offering will enjoy easy access, as the investor needs only an investor number and broker and the ETF will be easily traded in the secondary market like other current listings. The Fund also has on boarded a dedicated ‘Liquidity Provider’ to ensure secondary market liquidity. The fund enjoys full support from local government and regulators and currently the bank is raising seed capital to be invested along with the bank pre-listing. 

5. The Constitutive General Assembly of Investment Holding Group approved the founders' report on the initial public offering and the procedures for converting from a limited liability company to a Qatari public shareholding company and the expenses of such procedures. The company’s founding was announced and the items of the meeting agenda were approved. In the founders' report, Mr. Khalid Bin Ghanem, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors stated that the shares of Investment Holding Group will be listed for trading within less than two weeks from the date of the Constitutive General Assembly.

Economic Developments:

1. Banks consolidated balance sheet for March were released showing an increase in total assets / liabilities by QR 18.1 billion to reach QR 1,282.5 billion and a decrease in total domestic public debt by around QR 13 billion to stand at QR 423.9 billion. Local private sector’s total credit rose by about half a billion Riyals to reach the level of QR 439 billion.

2. Oil prices rose more than 3% after data from the US Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday that crude oil inventories in the United States last week recorded the biggest weekly drop since last December. The price of OPEC crude oil returned to rise at the end of last week and recovered about a dollar from its losses and closed on Thursday at $ 48.37 a barrel.

3. Last week, Dow Jones fell 111 points to stand at 20896 points. US Dollar exchange rate against the yen rose to 113.38 yen per dollar and rose to 1.09 dollars per euro. Gold price settled at $ 1228 an ounce unchanged from the previous week.