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ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER ON SATURDAY MARKET CONCERNS UAE ‘offered to fund Israel’s Gaza offensive’ DOHA: The UAE knew in advance of Israel’s plans for an offensive in Gaza and even offered to fund the operation provided the militant Palestinian outfit Hamas was eliminated in the process, Israel’s Channel 2 claimed in a recent report, according to local Arabic daily Al Sharq. The daily says in a report published today that Israel’s leading national TV sta- tion (Channel 2 in Hebrew) disclosed details of secret parleys between the UAE’s foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, in Paris at the end of last month. Continued on page 4 Gaza deaths from Israel assault soar to 296 GAZA CITY: Fifty-five Gazans were killed yesterday as Israel pressed a major ground offensive in the coastal enclave, raising the overall Palestinian death toll since July 8 to 296, medics said. An Israeli soldier was also killed as troops began an offensive on the Gaza periphery aimed at destroying Hamas’s network of cross-border tunnels, the army said. Israeli television said he died by “friendly fire”. See also page 8 Obama slams Russia over downing of jet HRABOVE: US President Barack Obama demanded Russia stop supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine after the downing of a Malaysian airline by a surface-to-air missile he said was fired from rebel territory raised the prospect of more sanctions on Moscow. At least one American was among the almost 300 killed, he said, a revelation that raises the stakes in a pivotal incident in deteriorating rela- tions between Russia and the West. See also page 9 Villas for prisoners to meet their families DOHA: Prisoners in Qatar will soon be able to spend time with their families. According to THE ISSUE Arabic daily Al Raya, the Supply and Logistics Department at the Ministry of Interior is pre- paring two villas where prisoners will be able to stay with their family for a day. Over the past few years, Qatar’s or inaction detrimental to the interests of supervisory body must publish the details The department is now furnishing the villas. capital market has seen steady shareholders. of its investigations into erring companies The initiative is a part of measures to reform Inquires with a cross section of market and their executives. The QFMA reports and rehabilitate prisoners. It will make their growth in terms of turnover, players in Qatar has proved that investors in the public domain do not explain the social integration easier when they complete trading volumes, market want more information about the invest- nature of trading violations, which is their prison term and also help strengthen bonds capitalisation and market ments of their funds. They complain that essential for investors and shareholders, between the prisoners and their families. listed companies often shy away from dis- he argues. The aim is to give prisoners some private time intermediaries. closing details of major deals with other Market experts want QFMA to tighten with their families. The prisoners will be able to entities, which is a clear case of violation its rules and put the details of erring com- meet their families after proving that they are of market regulations. panies and individuals in the public domain, Pic: Abdul Basit, Design: Abraham Augusthy legally married and passing a health check-up. he number of investors partici- “These companies often prefer to limit explaining the nature of their offences and THE PENINSULA & AGENCIES pating in the market has also their disclosures to a two-line media state- details about the punishment given. increased. Registered investors ment. The media, which is supposed to be Analysts say the market has been wit- Tin Qatar Exchange increased to a major source of information to the inves- nessing unprecedented volatility after the 968,000 in 2013 against 914,000 in 2012, tors, is either not bothered about looking MSCI upgrade story hit it. reflecting an increase in the trading into the details of the deals or they do not Another section of market experts volume. want to offend these companies which are argues that Qatar’s market potential is This is largely attributable to the coun- their major source of advertisement rev- yet to be tapped efficiently. At least one- try’s economic growth. Unfortunately, enues”, says local market analyst Bashir third of the listed companies’ shares do not grievances on the part of investors on a Yousef Kahlout. trade on many days. Few companies hold Ramadan Timing wide range of issues have also been on the Abdullah Al Taher, a Qatari lawyer and regular meetings with analysts or even say PAGErise. Grievances 6 against listed companies market expert, feels that Qatar Financial in advance when their earnings results will Todays Iftar: include misleading, inaccurate and insuffi- Markets Authority (QFMA) needs to get be released. 06:28pm cient disclosure of information and actions tough with violators. He says the market See also page 2 Tomorrow’s Imsak: 03:18am Saturday 19 July 2014 • 21 Ramadan 1435 • Volume 19 • Number 6131 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 JULY 19, 2014 ON SATURDAY 02 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com Home Investors call for better corporate disclosures Pic: Abdul Basit Absence of key information preventing investors from taking timely decisions BY SATISH KANADY companies that are a major source of advertis- will be released, said another market expert. there is a whole lot of confusion, he added. ing revenue,” he added. Abdallah Al Taher, a Qatari lawyer and finan- The QFMA claims it is serious about market DOHA: Qatar’s capital market stakeholders Kahlout said investors were in the dark about cial expert, said there are laws and regulations monitoring and its guidelines are in line with are increasingly complaining of lack of trans- the details of a series of deals sealed by some of the in place, but they can be internationals standards. parency in corporate disclosures. Given the top listed companies on the local bourse. At least interpreted in many ways. But it needs to walk the talk, said Al Taher. local bourse’s growing volatility, investors and three of them are heavily traded stocks. Without It is not clear which inter- The Authority launched investigations into market experts are pushing for more transpar- knowing the numbers involved in these deals it pretation is adhered to in alleged cases of violations by market players in ency and better corporate financial reporting. is difficult for an investor to decide whether they practice, and consequently Qatar last year. The market supervisory body Investors and fund managers insist this is should sell, buy or hold these stocks. These com- conducted 16 inspections at various organisations, necessary for them to take timely and informed panies include a major lender, a property devel- including some brokerage companies, in 2013. investment decisions. They also argue that better oper and a telecoms sector firm. The QFMA said it had received a number of standards of corporate governance are essential Trading in the shares of a leading conglomerate Institutional investors tend to reports about suspected trade violations last for enhancing value for shareholders. was suspended for several months on the bourse be well-informed on market year. The body recommended appropriate action “For want of adequate market information, we before it resumed a few months ago. Investors against the erring companies to the competent are often unable to determine our clients’ accu- still do not know what trading violation was com- movements and monitor their authority. It submitted 10 reports against vari- rate portfolio positioning at a certain point of mitted by the company and why they were being portfolios on a regular basis. ous companies regarding trading violations. In time. If an advisor is running a client’s portfolio, allowed to resume trading, said another investor. the first quarter of 2013, the body submitted five then accurate and timely information of holdings Shares of at least one-third of the listed Unlike them, retail investors miss reports to the authorities on trading violations. is important, which we often miss in Qatar,” a top companies are not traded on many days. Few the market cues and end up with In 2013, QFMA received eight complaints and financial advisor told The Peninsula. companies hold regular meetings with analysts conducted 25 investigations in suspected cases. During market volatility, it is normal for clients or say in advance when their earnings results big losses. Surprise inspections were conducted at some to seek reassurances that they are not exposed organisations. The authority completed investi- to the hard-hit sectors. gations into all complaints except one, which is “We received calls from panicking investors on pending before the investigation committee. The a day when the Qatar index surged to unprec- regulatory body referred eight cases to the dis- edented levels in May. Honestly, we could not fig- ciplinary action committee, which imposed fines ure out what exactly was going on in the market or issued warnings. that day. We took calls from clients wanting to But investment experts ask why the regula- know their exposure to different stocks, but were tory body is not coming out with the details of unable to explain what exactly had triggered the its investigations and findings. surge,” the advisor said. The QFMA report does not explain the nature It’s not just advisers who want more informa- of trading violations, which is essential for inves- tion. Retail investors, key stakeholders in Qatar’s tors and shareholders of these companies to capital market, are the ones who bear the brunt know.

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