Listing guide to trading on the QE:

Understanding the basics is important when it comes to trading on the Qatar Exchange (QE). Equally so, investing wisely on QE requires information and education. The guide below will aid the investor on the essentials of trading shares on QE. To get started, select one of the topics below. To familiarize yourself with all of the terminology, we recommend you checking our Glossary section.

  TO GET STARTED
  BUYING & SELLING LISTED SHARES
  THE VALIDITY OF PURCHASE AND SALE ORDERS
  COMPLETING A TRANSACTION
  MONITORING YOUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
  ADVANTAGE OF OWNING STOCKS
  DISADVANTAGE OF OWNING SHARES
  COST OF TRADING SHARES

To get started:

Without a stockbroker, you are not able to trade on the Qatar Exchange . Your stockbroker is an essential player, who will act as the intermediary for all of your trading and brokerage transactions. At present, QE has licensed ten (10) stockbroker firms. To begin trading on QE, it is mandatory for a potential investor, whether an individual (local or foreign), a company or any other establishment, to be registered with the exchange. For complete instructions on how to register, click on Trading Procedures. Once you are registered with QE as an investor, in other words you have obtained an Investor Card bearing a “NIN” (National Identification Number), you are eligible to begin buying and selling listed shares.

Buying & selling listed shares:

Once you are registered with the exchange and have chosen a stockbroker, you can be active on the exchange. It is crucial, once you decide to sell or buy securities, to provide your broker with precise and complete instructions in order for your broker to execute your transaction properly and in a timely manner. When giving a buy order to your stockbroker, you must specify the following requirements:

  The time validity of your order
  The name of the company in which you want to invest
  The price per share at which you are willing to buy
  The number of shares you wish to buy

Similarly, when given a selling order to your stockbroker, you must specify the following requirements:

  The time validity of your order
  The name of the company in which you want to sell
  The price per share at which you wish to sell
  The number of shares you wish to sell

* In all of your brokerage dealings, make sure your application is signed and stamped (with date and time) by your brokerage firm. It is highly recommended to obtain/retain a copy of your order application for your own records to ensure your rights of priority upon order execution are preserved.

The validity of buy and sell orders:

There are three types of buy/sell orders which you can choose from. Select the type you would like to opt for:

  Valid (good) for a day
  Valid (good) for a week
  Valid (good) for a month

Completing a transaction:

Once your transaction (buying/selling) is complete, your broker will send you a notification on the date of execution. You can obtain a Statement of Account which reflects all of your brokerage activities. Your broker firm will request payment for any share dealings before order execution. If you are selling shares, your broker will issue a check after the date of sale. Please contact your brokerage firms for additional details.

Monitoring your investment portfolio:

As an investor, you can monitor the performance of your investment portfolio regularly. QE offers several ways for monitoring the performance of your investment. You can stay informed either in real time, by viewing real prices on the QE website, or by obtaining delayed information utilizing the options below :

  Access stock prices movements via computer terminals at any time.
  Obtain share prices in local daily newspapers
  View our daily, weekly, monthly and yearly bulletin and publications on our website
  Review the listed company’s quarterly, semi-annual and yearly annual reports

Advantage of owning stocks:

Stocks (also referred to as equity or shares) represent ownership in a company with specific rights, including the ability to “share” in the profits of the company. Some of the advantages of owning stocks are:

  Income flow (Cash + Stock Dividends)
  Long-Term growth (price appreciation potential)
  Liquidity (can be converted into cash)
  Low Transaction Costs (low cost compared to other investment vehicles)
  No Income taxes
  Risk can be diversified (allocation of your portfolio among different stocks and/or sectors will reduce the overall risk of your portfolio)

Disadvantage of owning stocks:

Every type of investment vehicle carries a certain degree of risk. The degree of risk differs from investment to investment. The risk involved in investing in stocks can be classified into two main categories:

  Systematic risk (market related risk or undiversifiable risk)
  Unsystematic risk (specific risk or diversifiable risk)

Cost of trading shares:

The cost of trading in securities includes brokerage commission and fees for services. For a complete list of fees, contact your stockbroker firm for details.