Qatar stocks could attract up to $3.5bn on free float plan

Qatar stocks could attract up to $3.5bn on free float plan

Qatar’s equity market could attract as much as $3.5bn of passive flows if the Gulf state proceeds with a plan to combine all of the local stocks held by its sovereign wealth and pension funds, according to Dubai-based . The $450bn Qatar Investment Authority and the General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority are examining a proposal to consolidate their local holdings worth up to $3bn under a separate entity in a bid to draw more foreign investor interest and deepen markets, reported on Tuesday. The new entity would hire third-party funds to actively manage and trade the shares, effectively boosting activity in the overall market, according to people with knowledge of the plans who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Such a move could attract an estimated $2.4bn inflows from MSCI trackers and $1bn inflows from FTSE trackers in a “blue sky scenario” where both entities pooled all of their stakes to free float, Arqaam analysts Jaap Meijer and Elia Al Chaar, wrote in a note on Wednesday. If the QIA added 5 per cent of its local stocks to free float, the exchange could draw $587m of inflows in a base case scenario, they said.