Qatar's wealth fund to buy capital of listed banks

by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Monday, 13 October 2008

RIYAL DEAL: Qatar's sovereign wealth fund is poised to buy up to 20 percent of capital of banks listed in Doha. (Getty Images)

Qatar Investment Authority, the Gulf Arab state's sovereign wealth fund, will buy 10-20 percent of the capital of banks listed on the Doha bourse to boost confidence in the market.

Shares would be bought at Sunday's closing price, the official QNA news agency said on Monday.

The decision came at a meeting between Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, listed banks and the vice governor of the central bank, at which he promised to support growth.

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Qatari banks were healthy but the share purchases were aimed at providing wider funds for future projects, the news agency said.

Qatar's biggest banks include QNB, Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar Commercial Bank, and Doha Bank. (Reuters)

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READERS' COMMENTS

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Nice
Posted by johnpetersen on Tuesday 25 November 2008 at 01:29 UAE time

Great post. You hit some good points, and hopefully me sending this post to my boss just saved some money in the future.
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johnpetersen
MLS

Wealth Fund buying bank shares
Posted by Lee, Dubai, UAE on Monday 13 October 2008 at 10:40 UAE time

Odds are the Qatari Wealth Fund will make a good profit in the long run. Instead of turning to the West for investment opportunities, the recent downturn in local stock markets has created great opportunities for these Sovereign Wealth Funds. Middle East fundamentals are strong but the markets have gone down to levels that are perfect for bargain hunters. I would be surprised if the wealth funds limited their purchases only to banks.

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