Qatar Exchange Expects to Launch Direct Market Access Service

The indices provide exhaustive equity market coverage for over 70 countries in the Developed, Emerging and Frontier Markets, applying a consistent index construction and maintenance methodology. Regarding the recent extension of the review period by MSCI, he said, "It can be looked at both ways – positively or negatively. We have six months to fine tune and improve the operational time frame of the DvP (Delivery versus Payment) which has been extremely successful in terms of implementation. "We can keep improving it to provide better service to international investors. It also gives us time to keep the discussions open with the stake holders on the issue of foreign ownerships limits which is currently 25% of the free float." On the performance of the bourse in the first six months, Gueris said, "The year started well with trading volume levels around QR 500 Million per day. We''ve had sessions above one billion, but now it is a bit quieter due to the summer vacation." On the effect of the Arab spring in the Middle East, he said, "After the good start it faded a bit mainly because of the unrest in the region and the abrupt reaction of the international investors. "It was a knee-jerk reaction as they did not consider where the turmoil took place. Once the picture was clear the discerning investors realized Qatar is very stable, peaceful and unaffected by the events happening elsewhere." Gueris reiterated the strong fundamentals of Qatar’s economy describing it as "robust and enviable". This explains why the foreign investor "has more confidence in the Qatari economy". "Any other country would dream of having such numbers, two digit GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth, and wealthiest per capita country in the world. Further ahead there are good prospects with events like the 2022 World Cup besides many other over the next few years which would boost the economy even more," he concluded.

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