13-06-2022
Last week, a conference was held in London, hosted by HSBC, in which the Qatar Stock Exchange and several companies listed in the market participated, during which the rapid economic diversification in Qatar and the development of capital markets in the Middle East were highlighted.
During the conference, which included the largest stock markets in the Middle East, the focus has been centered on the importance of raising the percentages of foreign ownership in listed companies to 100%, the high levels of activity in the market, and economic growth and diversification across the Gulf Cooperation Council region as a strong regional economic catalyst for the State of Qatar.
The aim of the conference, the first regional event hosted by HSBC Bank Middle East, was to connect the capital markets in Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and between international investors, policy makers in the Middle East and stakeholders from the public and private sectors directly.
The conference was attended by Qatari companies listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange, representatives of the Commercial Bank of Qatar, Doha Bank, Gulf Warehousing Company, Masraf Al Rayan, Nakilat, Ooredoo, Qatar Insurance Company, Qatar National Bank, Gulf International Services Company, Mesaieed Company, Industries Qatar, Qatar Aluminum Manufacturing Company, and Vodafone.
Commenting on the conference, Stephen Moss, Regional CEO for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, said: “Our strong and distinct capabilities in global banking and global markets in the Middle East are how we have helped clients in the region to gather more than $19 billion from investors from around the world in 2021, putting us at the top of the Bloomberg Stock & Bond Index rankings in 2021.”
Topics on the conference agenda included environmental, social and institutional governance, capital markets, global energy demand, and economic diversification across the region, in addition to the great reputation and economic and social development that Qatar is witnessing as a result of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. A special session has been devoted to this topic : "More than one game - what does hosting the World Cup mean for Qatar?" Ms. Fatima Al-Nuaimi, Executive Director of Communications and Media at the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in the State of Qatar, gave a speech on this regard.
Abdul Hakim Mostafawi, CEO of HSBC Qatar, said: “Upgrading the Qatari market to an advanced market in international indices is part of the country’s ambition to be a world-class market, capable of providing a variety of investment and trading opportunities to international investors. HSBC has been the first bank to establish an investment banking platform offering institutional fund services in the country in 2005, and since then has played an important role in providing best-in-class practices to international investors heading into the Qatari market.”
For his part, the CEO of Qatar Stock Exchange, Mr. Tamim Hamad Al-Kuwari, indicated that the exchange's focus is now strategically focused on continuing to improve liquidity in the market and complementing this through infrastructure development. “We have a great role to play in order to provide an effective and reliable platform for sustainable economic diversification in support of Qatar National Vision 2030,” said Mr. Al-Kuwari.
HSBC Bank Qatar and the Qatar Stock Exchange have a long history of partnership to promote foreign portfolio investments in Qatar, and are both considered among the leading institutions in the region. This is particularly true in relation to the growing commitment to reforms in the area of environmental, social and corporate governance and sustainability strategies that have become a major concern of investors and issuers of securities alike.