NYSE Euronext to buy 25 per cent in Doha exchange for $250 million

24 June 2008

Mumbai: NYSE Euronext will acquire a 25 per cent stake in the Doha Securities Market from the Qatar government for $250 million, to extend its reach to the oil-rich region's financial hub.

NYSE Euronext, which comprises the New York Stock Exchange and several leading European bourses, said the deal was its largest-ever investment in a foreign exchange.

Qatar, which retains 75 per cent of the Doha Securities Market, plans to sell a minority stake in the DSM in a domestic initial public offer within the next three years.

"This partnership lays the foundations for us to build Doha into a world class financial centre," Qatar prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani said in a statement.

"Our country's financial markets will be an integral part of a group which links together the world's major trading centers across the US and Europe and now the Middle East," he added.

Western exchanges are increasingly looking to emerging markets amid a slowdown in European and American economies, even as the oil-rich Arab economies play an increasingly active role in market consolidation across the globe.