Qatar shares gained to the highest in more than two years, led by banks, on optimism government spending on infrastructure will boost economic growth after the country won the rights to host the soccer World Cup in 2022.
Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar’s second-largest lender complying with Islamic law, jumped 9.2 percent and Qatar Islamic Bank increased to the highest in more than a year. The QE Index advanced 1.8 percent to 8,779.49, the highest since Sept. 2008, at the 12:30 p.m. close in Doha. Aldar Properties PJSC surged the most in more than eight months on speculation funding for the company will be “shareholder friendly,” Daman Investments PSC said. That pushed Abu Dhabi’s benchmark 0.5 percent higher.
Qatar, projected by the International Monetary Fund to have the world’s fastest-growing economy this year, plans to more than double the number of hotel rooms, build nine stadiums and refurbish three others as well as construct a rail and metro network for the tournament. Moody’s Investors Service estimates that the country will spend about $57 billion over the next decade for infrastructure developments related to the World Cup.
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