Monday 23 March 2009

Qatari stocks rise on government investment

The government of Qatar has taken steps to strengthen the country’s banking sector by buying troubled assets from its banks. Stocks on the Qatari market rose today following the news.

The government had completed the purchase of as much as 6.5 billion Qatari rials (Dh6.55bn) worth of the local banks’ investment portfolios, Abdullah al Thani, the central bank governor, said on Thursday, according to a Qatari newspaper report.
The Doha securities market, which has fallen 50 per cent over the past 12 months, rose by 2.55 per cent to 4,879.88 yesterday, -buoyed by banking stocks. Qatar National Bank, the country’s largest bank, rose by 3.97 per cent, while Commercial Bank of Qatar rose 4.09 per cent and Qatar Islamic Bank 3.32 per cent.

The banks involved in the deal are the Qatar National Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar, Doha Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank, Ahli Bank and Al Kahlij Commercial Bank. The government will buy the banks’ portfolios in exchange for a mix of government bonds and cash.

No comments:

Post a Comment