Mubasher TV
Contact Us Advertising   العربية

QAMCO listing, foreign investor-related decisions top QSE news in 2018

QAMCO listing, foreign investor-related decisions top QSE news in 2018
QSE encouraged its listed firms to increase the ownership of foreigner investors to a cap of 49%

By: Eman Ghaly

Mubasher: Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) had witnessed, during the year, many important decisions, especially listing Qatar Aluminum Manufacturing Company (QAMCO) and increasing the limits of foreigners’ ownership, which boosted the main index by 19.9% since the beginning of 2018.

 QSE encouraged its listed firms to increase the ownership of foreigner investors to a cap of 49%, in order to offset the historical losses of the bourse last year, which witnessed its worst performance since 2008.

Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA) approved the foreigners’ quota increase in 12 listed companies; Qatar National Bank (QNB), Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Barwa Real Estate, Qatar Industries, Gulf International Services (GIS), Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC), Woqod, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, Qatar Industrial Manufacturing, Al Khaleej Takaful, Qatari Investors, and Widam Food.

On December, QSE listed 49% of QAMCO’s shares in the industrial sector, raising the total number of equities listed in the market to 46.

The company offered 273.43 million shares in an IPO, with issue price of QAR 10.1, from 30 October to 12 November. The subscription was covered 2.5 times.

In the first week, FTSE Russell granted the equity fast entry to the FTSE All-World Index, FTSE Global Mid Cap Index, and FTSE Emerging Index, starting from 24 December 2018.

Moreover, QSE launched trading on its first exchange traded fund, the biggest in GCC markets, in 2018, as well as trading on Al Rayan GCC Fund listed on QE Al Rayan Islamic Index.

Other companies were also listed on Al Rayan Islamic Index, including Woqod, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding, and Zad Holding, while stocks of Qatar Islamic Insurance Company and Mazaya Qatar were delisted from the index.

In 2018, QFMA announced the split of the shares’ nominal value of QSE listed companies to become one riyal per share.

QSE also agreed not to suspend trading on shares during the general meetings, effective starting from the first of January 2018.

Qatar Cinema was delisted from the main index and consumer services sector.

Translated by: Mohammad Shokhba