30-03-2021
During the next few weeks, the Qatar Stock Exchange is preparing to launch QE Venture market as an important and pivotal event that emphasizes the development of the Qatari market and adds to its previous successes as one of the most important leading markets in the region. The launch of the new market represents a complementary vision for the main market because it provides an alternative mechanism that enables promising companies, whether small and medium or those that do not fulfill the conditions for listing in the main market from accessing the market and the necessary financing.
Rashid bin Ali Al-Mansoori, CEO of the Qatar Stock Exchange, said on this occasion: “The launch of the new market comes within the framework of the QSE’s vision and strategy aimed at diversifying options and investment products available to individual and institutional investors, and stresses the QSE’s pioneering role in providing financing and expansion opportunities for leading and promising Qatari companies in order to serve the achievement of the strategic objectives of the Qatar National Vision 2030 and support the efforts of economic diversification in the country.
Al-Mansoori explained that the venture market provides promising companies with many advantages as it allows them to diversify financing options through access to the capital market, improving the company's position and branding, fair valuation of its shares, in addition to providing liquidity to shareholders, the founding family and minority shareholders.
He added: “The venture market is characterized by that the requirements for listing in it are easy and suitable for promising companies that have fewer accumulated resources and experiences and limited and relatively recent performance records compared to those listed in the main market, especially since the requirements of investor relations and corporate governance requirements needed in this market became easy and more flexible compared to those in the main market, but while maintaining the minimum disclosure requirements set by the organized financial markets in the world."
For his part, Mr. Abdulaziz Nasser Al-Emadi, Director of the Listing Department at the Qatar Stock Exchange, expressed his great happiness with the launch of the new market, and indicated that the launch of the venture market will coincide with the listing of the first company in it, stressing his confidence in the joining of a number of other companies in the coming period. He also indicated that for companies to join this market, it is a condition that their issued capital should not be less than 2 million riyals and that the number of its shareholders should not be less than 20 shareholders when applying for listing, who own a percentage of not less than 10% of its capital.
Al-Emadi added that the launch of the new market is the result of the strategic initiatives and intense efforts made by the Stock Exchange over the past years to develop the Qatari market, in addition to continuous communication with the business sector in the country with the aim of identifying its needs and providing services and incentives for him to transform and be included in the market.
In a related context, Mr. Al-Mansoori praised the pivotal and pioneering role played by the Qatar Financial Markets Authority in launching the market by developing and preparing an appropriate and attractive legislative and regulatory environment for these companies and their permanent cooperation with the stock exchange team. He also thanked Qatar Central Depository Company for their role in creating the appropriate technical environment for trading companies' shares listed on this market.
Al-Mansoori thanked Qatar Development Bank for their continuous cooperation and support for the efforts of the Qatar Stock Exchange to launch the venture market through the financial and technical assistance they provide to companies wishing to convert and list in the stock exchange in a way that reduces their financial burdens and the costs of the listing advisor, as part of the activation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Qatar Stock Exchange and Qatar Development Bank, which aims to coordinate and cooperate in the field of encouraging small and medium-sized companies to be listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange for emerging companies and to enhance awareness of the benefits of their listing, especially since both the Stock Exchange and Qatar Development Bank share one goal, which is to support the success of small and medium-sized companies and their economic contribution to the national economy. From the strategy of economic diversification and self-reliance in accordance with the Qatar National Vision.
It should be noted that the shares of companies listed in the emerging companies' market will be traded in the same way as the main market shares in terms of types of orders, corporate procedures, settlement and clearing arrangements. The pricing of the shares of companies listed in the venture market is exactly the same as the shares of companies listed in the main market. Trading in the emerging market will also be the same as the investor number, and the investor will not need to extract a new investor number for whoever has an existing number, and orders are issued and executed in this market through licensed brokers.
The venture market in the Qatar Stock Exchange will also follow the same continuous trading mechanism as it is the case in the main market. The auction units for shares traded in this market at the Qatar Stock Exchange shall be in the same manner as in the main market. The prices are broadcast in the emerging companies' market through its own independent trading screen, and the follow-up of the emerging market trades and the news of the companies listed therein will be through the website of the Qatar Stock Exchange, and the trading volume data and other data related to the market are published daily on the website of the Qatar Stock Exchange. Note that it will be easy for those interested to get to know the companies listed in the emerging market, which will be separate from the main market.