The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) will publish a daily report on shares bought back by listed companies.
The report – updated daily after trading sessions starting October 17 – will be available in the disclosures section under Shares Buy Back Report on the home page of QSE website.
The move comes after the Qatar Financial Markets Authority's (QFMA) decision No (3) of 2024 regarding regulations for share buybacks.
The QFMA had in July this year issued 18-point new controls for a company's buyback of its own shares with the intention of selling.
These new controls – which stipulate that the company shall be committed to funding buyback transactions from the balance of its voluntary reserves and realised profits and shall be prohibited from funding the buybacks in any other manner – fall within the framework of the QFMAs endeavours to develop the Qatari capital market and bolster investor confidence.
These new controls represent a major step towards enhancing investor protection and ensuring market stability, which, in turn, will enhance corporate governance as well as the efficiency of the Qatari capital market.
The new controls stipulated that the QFMA and the market shall be notified of the board's resolution to buyback a percentage of the company's shares immediately upon its issuance.
The QFMA and the market shall be notified of the board of directors' resolution to buyback a maximum of 10% of the fully-paid issued shares or to purchase the shares in excess of the ownership limit stipulated in the company's Articles of Association within two days as of the date of the issuance of the board of directors' resolution approving the buyback transaction, whilst attaching the documents required by the QFMA to finalise the transaction thereof.
The company should complete the execution of the buyback transaction within a period not exceeding six months as of the date of the QFMA's approval.
In case the transaction is not completed, the company shall be committed to justify the same to QFMA during the first business day following the end of prescribed period.
The company shall sell the repurchased shares after the lapse of the prohibition period and no later than 24 months as of the date of the last buyback. If the selling transaction is not executed within the period, the matter has to be reported to the QFMA for taking appropriate measures.
The report – updated daily after the trading sessions starting October 17 – will be available in the disclosures section under Shares Buy Back Report on the home page of QSE website.
