Qatar Amends Regulations and Issues Rules as Morgan Stanley Capital International Upgrade Comes Into Effect

Analysis

Qatar, along with the UAE, has been upgraded from “frontier” to “emerging” market status by Morgan Stanley Capital International (an upgrade which is now in effect), which is among the criteria used by a large number of institutional investors and private equity funds to identify markets in which they can invest.

It has been reported that the upgrade may draw as much as US$500 million of new investment into Qatari and UAE securities with the entry of foreign institutional investors and passive or index-tracking investors.

In response to its upgrade, Qatar announced that it proposes to amend foreign ownership restriction rules imposed on companies listed on the Qatar Exchange.

Amendments to the foreign ownership restriction rules imposed on companies listed on the Qatar Exchange