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Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) today held the 9th Annual Investor Relations Conference. The conference was held at the Rotana City Center in Doha with the participation of a wide range of representatives from leading listed companies, market participants, regulatory bodies and investors.
With its continuous efforts to further promote the adoption of international best practice in the field of Investor Relations (IR) amongst its listed companies, QSE decided to hold this event in an interactive type sitting so that all listed companies and the investment community can gain greater exposure to the latest IR strategies and effective practices utilized worldwide.
Mr. Rashid bin Ali Al Mansoori, CEO of Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE), stressed in a speech during the opening of the conference on the importance of investor relations in light of the growing competition to attract capital and investments, and added that the QSE believes that IR is an essential business support function that helps its listed companies attract more investors, enhances credibility and ultimately facilitates expansion and growth opportunities for its companies.
“Corporate access in today’s regulatory environment is a must. Investor Relations in big corporation see that corporate access means opportunities for Investor Relations professionals. With the recent changes in Mifid II, traditional corporate access is expected to change significantly. The role of the sell side is expected to shrink and the role for the buy side is expected to rise and the numbers of independent service providers will increase. Roadshows can be crucial to your company’s bottom line for various reasons and are an important platform for managements in their active communication with investors.” Al-Mansoori added.
V“Well-crafted web sites will reinforce your brand, show corporate transparency and educate as well as inspire your stakeholders. Good sites will deepen your relationships with investors. To re-energize your investor relations content, start by tying it to your company's overall communications strategy and goals. It's important to ensure that your IR site has the same look and feel as your corporate site. The same branding and messaging will give it a cohesive feel and keep investors coming back to your site.” Al-Mansoori elaborated.
“ESG boils down to targeting additional investors when your company covers ESG reporting. Recent trends show that few IR teams are actively targeting ESG-focused funds, according to a research report done by IR Magazine.” Al-Mansoori added.
“Effective from 1st of October 2019, Qatar will be introducing a mandatory “rules-based” framework for IR; the Rules reflect best-practice and should in any case be standard for listed companies in today’s regulatory capital markets’ environment. For some, this will represent only ‘business as usual’ but for others you will undoubtedly need to pay more attention to your IR function and its resourcing.” Al-Mansoori said.
“QSE, Qatar Financial Markets Authority and the listed companies have been working together over many years to ensure disclosure and transparency are developed through an increasing focus on IR, especially after the inclusion of Qatar in the MSCI, S&P and FTSE Emerging Markets indices, which has served to increase attention in Qatar’s stock market and all its listed companies.” Al-Mansoori concluded.
Mr. Abdul Aziz Al Emadi, Listing of QSE, said: “The event today builds on the ground work of prior events and is specifically designed this year to give our listed companies the opportunity to interact with industry experts in the area of IR. The agenda topics of this conference give the listed Qatari companies the opportunity to interact with investor relations experts and identify the most important actions that a company must take to ensure effective communication.
“At QSE, we strive to deliver the necessary tools and the know-how in developing your IR strategies within your respective companies and better yet communicating an effective strategy to the international investment community.” Mr. Al-Emadi concluded. The event targeted all Qatari listed companies, featuring a wide spectrum of presentations and panel discussions on a series of significant topics covering of global best practices in IR. The program topics aim to educate listed companies on the importance of sound Investor Relations practice covering the daily functions of international IR teams, crisis Management from corporate perspective, ESG issues and the understanding of the value of indices for Qatari listed companies.
