Qatar in talks with LSE, German bourse

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS: Qatar is in talks with the London Stock Exhange and the German bourse, Al Arabiya has reported. (Getty Images)

Qatar, which on Tuesday agreed to sell 25 percent of its stock market to NYSE Euronext, is in talks with London and German stock exchanges about new partnerships, the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund has said.

Qatar, the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, agreed to sell a stake in the Doha Securities Market for $250 million in a bid to become the booming region's financial hub.

"Qatar is in talks with the London Stock Exchange and the bourse in Germany to build new strategic partnerships," Al Arabiya Television reported on Wednesday, citing Hussein Al-Abdullah, executive board member for the $60 billion Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

"This will induce a leap in Qatar's financial market through a linkage with global markets and also through offering various products through the stock exchange," Abdullah said, without giving further details on the nature of the partnerships.

Western exchanges are looking to boost their presence in emerging markets amid a slowdown in European and American economies.

Foreign investment is driving gains in stock markets across the world's biggest oil-exporting region, where businesses ranging from banks to builders are taking advantage of an economic boom spurred by a near seven-fold rise in oil prices since 2002.

Qatar's main stock index is the second-biggest gainer in the Gulf Arab region this year, up almost 27 percent after surging more than 34 percent last year.

NYSE Euronext and Qatar said on Tuesday they planned to build a new cash and derivatives exchange in Doha. (Reuters)

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