Doha Bank planning to launch ETF on QSE

Publisher: Gulf Times

Date : 09 March 2015

Doha Bank is planning to launch an exchange traded fund (ETF) on the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE). The proposed ETF, which will track the 20-stock Qatar Index and is pending regulatory approvals, have Amwal and the Group Securities as fund manager and liquidity provider respectively.

“Once approved by QFMA (Qatar Financial Market Authority), the (proposed) ETF product would list on the QSE and provide investors with exposure to the index benchmark with a single trade,” Doha Bank group CEO R Seetharaman said.

A signing ceremony to mark the appointment of Amwal as fund manager and the licensing of the index benchmark from QSE was held yesterday in the presence of QSE CEO Rashid Bin Ali al-Mansoori and Amwal CEO Fahmi Alghussein.

The Group Securities will provide regular bid and ask prices and interact with the fund manager to manage the supply of ETF units on the bourse, Seetharaman said, adding Amwal will ensure the ETF passively managed strategy is in line with global ETF standards.

The ETFs once approved by the regulators, enables investors to trade the index as a single security, it complements the underlying 20 shares and provides an opportunity to look at alternative trading strategies, according to al-Mansoori. “The growth in ETFs internationally is unbridled and we have an exciting pipeline of ETFs being developed here in Qatar,” he said.

Amwal has established new benchmarks through pioneering initiatives in investment and asset management within Qatar and the wider Middle East and North Africa region, Amwal chairperson Sheikha Hanadi Nasser bin Khaled al-Thani said.

“The (ETF) products provide easy access for those wishing to take long exposure to Qatar markets but will also attract intraday traders looking for arbitrage,” according to Hamad al-Maadadi, chairman of The Group.