Henk Jan Hoogendoorn, Managing Director, Financial Sector Office at QFC
Doha: Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) launched its landmark ‘Qatar Capital Market Report 2020,’ which highlights major capital market advances in Qatar, identifies how comparator markets have forged ahead on their developmental journeys and how QFC and its regulatory partners can build further on its successes to become a regional world-class financial hub.
During a webinar, which coincided with the launch of “Qatar Capital Market 2020”, Fahmi Alghussein, CEO, Aventicum Capital Management (Qatar) and Andrew Wingfield, Partner, Simmons & Simmons (Qatar), discussed the report’s key recommendations for Qatar’s capital market development.
Commenting on the unveiling of the ‘Qatar Capital Market Report 2020,’ Thaddeus Malesa, Senior Advisor, Economics and Research at QFC, said: “We are delighted to release this report today that provides policymakers and practitioners with a thorough overview of the developments in Qatar’s capital market.
Most importantly, it lays out a clear pathway forward to build on the great strides that Qatar has taken in capital market development in the past to help facilitate commercial opportunities, empower domestic financial institutions to expand, help attract more international investors to the country’s growing equity market and continue to enhance the underlying regulatory frameworks.”
Henk Jan Hoogendoorn, Managing Director, Financial Sector Office at QFC, said: “Sustainable investment is fast growing in the GCC and Mena regions and with Qatar’s market largely untapped, it presents a prime opportunity for the government and regulators to push forward a cohesive agenda to further develop this segment in the country. Qatar establishing itself as a destination for sustainable investments will attract both issuers and investors to its capital markets, which will eventually be a big win for the entire financial sector in the country. Gladly, QFC is already at the forefront of this agenda.”
Hoogendoorn added: “Qatar has effectively started to do the groundwork. The mandatory ESG reporting requirement for listed companies in Qatar Stock Exchange serves as a stepping stone for sustainable investments to be widely introduced."
Qatar does not need to reinvent the wheel to keep ahead of the curve, but the regulators need to strategically and quickly leverage the ample potential for capital markets development in Qatar by incorporating sustainable investment to the market.
