Qatar Exchange Announce Results of Excellence Program

Doha, February 28 (QNA) - Qatar Stock Exchange announced Sunday the results of the 2015 Investor Relations Excellence Program. The IR Excellence Program is designed to recognize listed companies and individuals who display best practice in investor relations. Developed and executed by Iridium Investor Relations, an independent advisory firm, the program surveyed the expert opinion of the domestic and international investment community. The program also featured a detailed ranking of corporate investor relations websites. Qatar National Bank (QNB) won a number of awards, such as best Qatari company for excellence in investor relations. The bank was also voted best large cap company and had its own Ramzi Mari voted best Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Doha Bank and Mazaya Real Estate were chosen as best mid cap and small cap companies respectively. Ooredoo won twice, best investor relations officer and best investor relations website. CEO of Qatar Stock Exchange Rashid Al-Mansoori said that "Our mandate is to support Qatars national economy by providing an exchange platform where investors can trade fairly and efficiently based on information that is essential to make intelligent investment decisions." "Companies that adopt international standards in transparency and investor relations directly support this objective. The Investor Relations Excellence Program rewards companies that work hardest to support best practice in investor relations, and encourages all listed companies to aspire to follow their example," he added. Abdul Aziz Al Emadi, Director of Listing Department of QSE, said: "I was impressed by the overall standard of investor relations of Qatari companies and congratulate the winners. We look forward to ever greater levels of competition for the top spots in the years to come." The Investor Relations Excellence Program was benchmarked globally against best practices to ensure a transparent methodology. The methodology and all ranking criteria were made public via the QSEs website and other public channels. This enabled all listed companies to review categories and selection criteria, and gave them advance notice to adjust their investor relations efforts. The program was not available for sponsorship to avoid any conflict of interest. CEO of Iridium Investor Relations Oliver Schutzmann said: "We witnessed a number of companies that upgraded their investor relations efforts as a direct result of the Investor Relations excellence program. This is a great result that we believe will benefit all participants in the Qatar Stock Exchange." The Investor Relations Excellence Program was announced in April 2015, the evaluation began in August and it was concluded in December. (QNA)