Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has announced a $275 million permanent market-making program to attract more foreign investments and deepen the country’s capital markets. The initiative will run over the next five years and cover 90% of the size of the market capitalization listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE).
QIA stated that the QSE attracted the largest foreign investment flows in its history in 2022. The market-making program is being launched to support the continuation of this momentum and contribute to the growth of the Qatari economy.
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This permanent program will help enhance liquidity in the market, improve price discovery, and diversify the capital markets by increasing investor confidence and attracting more foreign asset managers to invest in the Gulf country. The QIA’s commitment to this initiative aligns with its mandate to support the development of a competitive Qatari economy.
The QSE is working to increase listings and introduce more exchange-traded funds (ETF) and derivatives to help investors diversify their portfolios and better manage their investment risks.
The strategy comes as Qatar’s stock exchange is set to welcome its first initial public offering (IPO) in almost three years under new regulations that allow companies to offer a price range to test investor appetite and determine pricing.
“After witnessing a standout year in 2021, the GCC IPO market witnessed strong activity throughout 2022 and surpassed its previous year’s achievements,” said asset management company Kamco Invest. According to data from Bloomberg and stock exchanges, proceeds from 48 issuances soared by 3.1x to $23.38 billion in 2022 from $7.52 billion in 2021.
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