QSE Holds 7Th Annual Qatar Investor Relations Conference

Doha, November 21 (QNA) - The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) and the Middle East Investor Relations Association (MEIRA) held their 7th Annual Investor Relations conference in Doha, Qatar with participation from the forty four QSE-listed companies. During a speech at the conference, the Listings Director at QSE, Abdel Aziz Al Emadi, said "We continue to focus on developing the Investor Relations practices in Qatar in line with international best practices and are extremely delighted to have held this conference with the MEIRA. Al Emadi added "we can all achieve even greater success in the field of IR when we collectively share best practices amongst all Qatar IR professionals and assist all Qatari listed companies through providing access to the essential tools and knowledge to fully implement best international practices." "We certainly hope today serves as a catalyst in highlighting and reinforcing the importance of IR in Qatar and that best practice will be embraced by all management teams in today's conference," he added. For his part, Chairman of the Middle East Investor Relations Association (MEIRA), Alex McDonald Vita, said ""We are delighted to announce our 7th Annual Investor Relations Conference in Qatar which will be held in partnership with the Qatar Stock Exchange. The MEIRA Qatar Chapter is a key part of our regional network and represents a model of best practice in proactive market engagement and ongoing market development". "This year, with the QSE''''s continued support, we will explore the importance of the regulatory frame work in empowering the functions of Investor Relations and corporate governance. As part of the conference agenda, we will also look at how leading international IR strategies can be adapted to Middle East markets, how IR can be advanced through new technologies, and the role of the board in supporting IR as a strategic management function. These key focus areas were selected to provide critical support mechanisms geared to increasing market sophistication, including the inclusion in Emerging Market and Developed Market indices", he said. The carefully selected topics for this year conference were to fully support the further development and practice of investor relations in the State of Qatar and to showcase new topics of interests to many listed companies, in line with the increasing growth and significance of QSE as an emerging capital market. Topics on Investor Relations on board agenda, the importance of indices and dealing with passive investors, advancing the Investor Relations through technology, adapting an Investor Relations strategy in the Middle East and the necessity of a regulatory framework to empower the Investor Relations function were all discussed. This year conference witnessed substantial participation of QSE listed companies and provided a unique opportunity aimed for Qatari listed companies to develop the IR profession as well as introducing advanced IR topics through technology and a forum a forum for the development of best practices, professional and corporate governance. (QNA)