Techno Q starts trading on venture market; surges 45% intraday

Qatar Electronic Systems Company (Techno Q) – a leading systems integrator in audiovisual, lighting systems and business solutions – on Wednesday made the debut on the Qatar Stock Exchange’s Venture Market (QEVM) with its shares vaulting as much as 45% against its reference price.Techno Q made it to the trading ring through "direct listing”, a common mechanism in all the regional markets, which allows companies to be listed without an initial public offering or IPO.Techno Q chairman Abul Latif al-Jaidah; Zeyad al-Jaidah, managing director; Abdulla al-Ansari, chief executive officer, along with other senior company officials rang the customary bell to mark its advent in the junior bourse. QSE acting chief executive officer Abdul Aziz Nasser al-Emadi, Qatar Financial Centre Authority chief executive officer Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida and other senior officials of the QSE were present on the occasion.The stock’s opening price was QR3.81, and the last transaction price was QR3.67. The highest price reached was QR4.2 (45% higher than the reference price of QR2.9) during the trading session and the lowest price was QR3.48.Starting from the second day of trading, the stock price will be allowed to fluctuate by 10% up and down, as is the case for other companies listed on the market."The listing of this company will increase the depth of the market and unlock opportunities to expand our investor base and access to capital while providing investors with the opportunity to invest in leading Qatari companies," said al-Emadi.The QSE's venture market, which has less stringent listing norms, have so far seen listing of four companies, achieving a growth rate of one listing each year, since its inception in 2021. However, two of them have already been transferred to the main market.Terming Techno Q’s listing as a historic feat for the company, partners, and stakeholders; Zeyad al-Jaidah said "our journey to becoming a regional systems integrator is a culmination of 28 years of planning, persistence, and passion."Highlighting that the company has been looking forward to the listing since 2012, he said since it started doing bigger projects, there was a realisation that the only way forward to grow, whether inside or outside Qatar, was by being listed in the stock market."We feel that by being listed in the stock market, the company will be taken more seriously, will give more confidence, not just to the employees of the company, (0:36) that they are dealing now with a listed company," he said, adding for the clients, they would be more confident that the projects are being signed with a public shareholding entity."As a technology company, we feel that being in the stock market (1:36) gives the investor a window to invest in the future technology," he said."As only the fourth company to list on the QEVM, we understand the task at hand, but our Techno Q DNA demonstrates we are prepared to take on the challenge of this new chapter,” according to al-Ansari.