Central bank takes the reins of exchange in Qatar

Qatar is moving towards its goal of creating a unified market watchdog with its central bank taking responsibility for stock exchange regulation.

The central bank last month assumed control of the stock exchange, adding another level of regulatory oversight to the market.

A government circular said the central bank had taken the place of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA) as the top stock market regulatory organisation.

"It is not entirely clear what the new structure will be but in terms of the overall development of the market it should not significantly slow growth prospects," said Saugata Sarkar, the head of research at Qatar National Bank.

Qatar's central bank governor, Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani, in March became the chairman of the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA), which oversees Doha's financial hub.

Qatar has a long-standing plan to unify market regulation by combining the central bank, QFMA and QFCRA as it seeks to assure international investors of its powers of market oversight.

Qatar has also granted some local investors on the stock exchange more time to settle trades, Reuters has reported.

Under the new system such individuals would be given three days to pay for a trade.

Previously they were required to pay before buying shares.Brokers are now sending the names of "recommended" clients, companies or individuals to be approved by the QFMA.

It is hopedthe move will boost liquidity in the stock market, which has under-performed other Arabian Gulf bourses so far this year.

Qatar has also granted licences to provide so-called "custodian services" to Qatar National Bank and Standard Chartered.

Overseas investors often buy shares using custodian services.