Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) hosted on Thursday an awareness seminar on Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), in collaboration with QNBFS to generate awareness about ETFs in Qatar.
The seminar gathered global ETF experts, local asset managers, regulators, and institutional investors to debate the potential of ETFs in Qatar.
QSE CEO Rashid bin Ali al-Mansoori stressed on the importance of ETFs, saying they are an “increasingly important” part of the investment landscape, covering every conceivable asset type, market sector, and trading strategy.
He added that the ETFs are used by a wide array of investors because of their cost effectiveness and ease of use, pointing out that QSE “is delighted to be part of this investment revolution.”
“We are expecting to list two ETFs on Qatar Stock Exchange in the very near future. The first ETF follows QE Al Rayan Islamic Index and the second one follows QSE Index,” he said.
He noted that the ETF initiative is one of the many means of broadening the range of products and services QSE offers and uses to improve the capital markets infrastructure.
“In recent times, we have seen the introduction of liquidity provision as a service for our listed companies, the introduction of margin trading, and the trading of rights issues. We have seen the inclusion of debt products and the first QFC registered entity joining our other listed companies.
“We hope that these products and initiatives will be followed in due course by other products such as REITs, the introduction of new services to such as securities lending and borrowing and covered short selling, and the launch of the venture market to help to serve our SMEs,” al-Mansoori stated.
He added: “We remain wholly committed to the principles and ambitions advocated in Qatar National Vision 2030. We support its goals of achieving a well-diversified and sustainable economy and believe that the Qatar Stock Exchange has an important role to play in achieving these goals.”
Rahul Thakrar, vice-president, Middle East and Africa ETF Sales, iShares/Blackrock, gave a presentation explaining why regional and global markets offer investment opportunities in ETFs.
He also explained the benefits of ETFs and how they are essential to build investment portfolios. He said ETFs globally have $3tn worth of assets under management. A panel also discussed the importance of ETFs to the local capital market.
Al-Mansoori lays stress on the importance of ETFs during a seminar.
