MIDEAST STOCKS-Banks buoy Qatar's index, DAMAC surges on buyout report - Agricultural Commodities - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Banks buoy Qatar's index, DAMAC surges on buyout report - Agricultural Commodities - Reuters:

Qatar's banking shares ended higher on
Wednesday after two lenders in the sector said they had started
merger talks, while Dubai-listed DAMAC Properties surged on a
report its chairman might take it private.

The Qatar index advanced 1%, led by a 5% jump in
Masraf Al Rayan after it and Al Khaliji Commercial
Bank said they had started negotiating a potential
merger that could create a combined entity with more than 164
billion riyals ($45.04 billion) in total assets.

Al Khaliji Commercial Bank, which is not part of the index,
soared 10%.

"The potential merger will lead to the creation of one of
the largest Sharia'a (Islamic) compliant banks in Qatar and the
Middle East," the banks said in a filing.

QNB Financial Services in a research note said Al Khaliji
has a very liquid balance sheet position which could benefit
Masraf.