Qatar Holding Buys NYSE Euronext Stake Out Of Qatar Exchange

Qatar Holding, the investment arm of the country’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), has bought NYSE Euronext’s 12 per cent stake in the Qatar Exchange, the Doha-based bourse said in a statement on Tuesday.

The deal, for which a price was not revealed, makes Qatar Holding the sole owner of Qatar Exchange, which operates the country’s securities market.

QIA and NYSE Euronext signed a strategic partnership deal in June 2009 aiming to develop Qatar Exchange into a world-class market under which NYSE Euronext bought a 20 per cent stake in Qatar Exchange for $200 million and brought in a Western chief executive.

The buyout coincides with the partnership’s objectives being achieved, the statement said. Late last year, NYSE Euronext reduced its stake from 20 to 12 per cent and Qatar Exchange named a new, local chief executive.

“Cooperation between Qatar Exchange and NYSE Euronext will continue in different fields, including technology and expertise,” the bourse said.

The Doha-based bourse is home to companies such as Qatar National Bank, the second largest lender in the Gulf by market value and petrochemicals firm Industries Qatar.

Trading volume at the exchange fell to QAR70.7 billion ($19.4 billion) last year from QAR83.4 billion in 2011.

International index compiler MSCI has decided to upgrade the UAE and Qatar to emerging market status next June, which should attract fresh foreign money.