Qatar shares surge to two-year high
Monday, 6 December 2010
DUBAI, Dec 5 (Bloomberg): Qatar's shares soared to the highest in more than two years after the country won the rights to host soccer's 2022 World Cup, becoming the first Arab nation to hold the world's most-watched sporting event.
Qatar National Bank, the emirate's biggest lender by assets, climbed to the highest on record. Barwa Real Estate Co, Qatar's largest publicly traded property developer by assets, gained the most since June.
The QE Index jumped as much as 7.8 per cent to 8,820.09, the highest since October 2008. The measure rose 3.3 per cent at 10:47 am in Doha as all 20 shares advanced.
"Sentiment is understandably flying extremely high," said Akber Khan, a director at Al Rayan Investment in Doha. "There will be a material impact on some companies as the government fast tracks billions of dollars of spending.
Banks, real estate and construction related names would be among the key beneficiaries."
Qatar, projected by the International Monetary Fund to have the world's fastest-growing economy this year, plans to more than double the number of hotel rooms, build nine stadiums and refurbish three others and construct a rail and metro network for the tournament.
Qatar National Bank, the emirate's biggest lender by assets, climbed to the highest on record. Barwa Real Estate Co, Qatar's largest publicly traded property developer by assets, gained the most since June.
The QE Index jumped as much as 7.8 per cent to 8,820.09, the highest since October 2008. The measure rose 3.3 per cent at 10:47 am in Doha as all 20 shares advanced.
"Sentiment is understandably flying extremely high," said Akber Khan, a director at Al Rayan Investment in Doha. "There will be a material impact on some companies as the government fast tracks billions of dollars of spending.
Banks, real estate and construction related names would be among the key beneficiaries."
Qatar, projected by the International Monetary Fund to have the world's fastest-growing economy this year, plans to more than double the number of hotel rooms, build nine stadiums and refurbish three others and construct a rail and metro network for the tournament.