Dubai: Qatar's stock exchange, the second-largest by market value of primary listings among the Gulf states, on Sunday launched a new trading system as it bids to become the premier financial centre in the region, and said it aims to establish a derivatives market.
NYSE Euronext's Universal Trading Platform, or UTP, went live at the start of trading on Sunday, the bourse said in a statement.
"Both issuers and investors alike will benefit from the speed, efficiency and reliability of NYSE Euronext's world class technology, together with greater market transparency resulting from the introduction of a closing auction," Qatar Exchange's chief executive officer Andre Went said in the statement.
"UTP will play an essential role in Qatar Exchange's progression towards establishing a world class market, listing diversified investment products," he added.
Enhanced connectivity
Qatar Exchange plans to use the technology to launch new products for its cash market and enhance its connectivity to the NYSE Euronext global community, thereby tapping into NYSE Euronext's liquidity network, the statement added.
"Further into the future, we expect to see the launch of a derivatives market in Qatar." Went told Zawya Dow Jones in an interview that "we have started internal preparations" but declined to put a launch date for derivatives trading.
On new listings, Went said the exchange continues to work with prospects but sees no clarity on actual IPOs this year.
"We have had some testing months but hope that the economic climate will improve next year. Some listing interest is definitely there and we have the infrastructure in place to facilitate it," he said.
The bourse said UTP offers extremely low latency-less than one millisecond. It also uses internationally recognised protocols for order routing, providing seamless integration with participants across the globe.
The Qatar Exchange is 80 per cent owned by the state's investment firm Qatar Holding and the balance 20 per cent is held by NYSE Euronext. Qatar Holding also owns a 15 per cent stake in London Stock Exchange, according to data from Zawya.com.
Doha's stock market is the region's top performer for the year so far, up more than 7 per cent to date, after closing almost flat in 2009. However, the bourse has seen average daily turnover in 2010 fall by a third to about $66 million, from nearly $100 million last year.
