.jpg)
Today, Wednesday, April 27, 2016, Qatar First Bank “QFB” was listed on Qatar Exchange (QSE) to raise the number of listed companies to 44.
“We are pleased to welcome Qatar First Bank “QFB” into the family of listed companies on the exchange-a company that will increase exchange depth and brings new opportunities and additional choice to the investing public.” Mr. Rashid Al Mansoori, CEO, QSE said.
Rashid Al Mansoori added:” Qatar exchange is actively seeking to increase the number of listed companies through a greater understanding of the benefits of using the public equity markets to finance growth. We look forward to listing of “QFB” being the starting point for a renewal interests in companies seeking IPO’s and also in the future additional listed products including ETFs and Sukuk.
Commenting on the event Mr. Abdulla Bin Fahad Bin Ghorab Al Marri, Chairman of QFB said: "This is a significant achievement for Qatar, the financial services industry and QFB. It marks the next step in Qatar’s efforts to reactivate Qatar’s stock market and encourage the participation of the private sector in all aspects of the Qatari economy and in particular the banking sector.
Al Marri added: “Our listing on the QSE was always a top priority, and an opportunity to broaden our shareholder base and offer new investors an opportunity to join us for the next phase of our journey."
Al-Mansoori and Al Marri raised a thank you and gratitude message to His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, for his support of the private sector in the State of Qatar, and thanked H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Prime Minister, and H.E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Minister of Economy and Trade and Chairman of QSE Board, for their support of the efforts aiming to list Qatari companies on QSE. They also thanked the Qatar Financial Markets Authority, the Qatar Financial Center Regulatory Authority, and QSE work team for all their efforts resulted in making this listing a reality, and stressed that they look forward to continuing cooperation to further strengthen Qatar’s financial market position.
For his part, Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Emadi, Director of QSE Listing Department, welcomed the listing of Qatar First Bank, which includes a significant investors’ base and described the successful listing of a first QFC-registered company on QSE as precedent that will pave the way for similar listings in the future. Al-Emadi invited the issuers wishing to offer or list their securities to take advantage of the recently announced “Single Window” system, whereby QSE has a specific checklist for the listing and offering applications.
“QSE is ready to cooperate with all the companies wishing or planning to list on the stock exchange, especially in view of the fact that the stock market has ample and qualified expertise to guide the companies through the listing requirements and procedures in order to ensure the readiness of their applications to obtain the required approvals of the regulatory authorities,” Al-Emadi highlighted.
Mr. Nasser Abdullah Al Abdul Ghani, director of QSE Market Operations & Control Department, stated that the opening price on the first day of trading was QR 16.70 and the upper limit reached to QR16.80. The last traded price and the closing price was QR 13.85. The number of executed transactions amounted to 3594 totaling 14,176,417 traded shares for a total value of QR 214,579,277.
Qatar First Bank “QFB” was established on September 4, 2008. The bank’s authorized capital amounts to QR 2.5 billion which 100% is paid up. QFB’s business activities include among others Deposit Taking, Dealing in Investments, Arranging Deals in Investments, Providing Credit Facilities, Arranging Credit Facilities, Providing Custody Services, Arranging the Provision of Custody Services, Managing Investments, Advising on Investments, Operating a Collective Investment Fund.
