Qatari QE to Attract Global Interest with New Trade System

The Qatar Exchange, which is expected to switch over to a new trade engine UTP from 5 September 2010, will feature more order types to attract the global investing community in a big way, according to its top officials.

With the introduction of time-tested UTP (Universal Trading Platform), the bourse will see a 15-minute extended session until 12.45pm. Hussein Muhammad al-Abdulla, sales and marketing director of QE, confirmed that the bourse has obtained the approval from the Qatar Financial Market Authority to introduce UTP, a multifaceted trading platform currently used by NYSE Euronext across Europe and the US.

“There will be more order types, which will appeal to international investors. The more the orders, the more is the liquidity, which is also better for the local investors,” COO Oliver Gueris, told an introductory seminar on the implementation of UTP last week. Orders in the market are instructions from a customer to a broker to buy or sell. These orders also bring in revenue for the bourse and the fees would vary depending upon the order types.

The new trading platform would see new types such as “market” order, “market-to-limit” order, “stop-loss” order, “stop-limit” order, “fill and kill” order, “fill or kill” order, “minimum quantity” order, “ice berg” order, “good-till-time” order, “good-till-date” order, “good-till-cancelled” order, “Valid-for-auction” order and “Valid-for-closing” order. The launch of the new trading, which will come into effect concomitantly with the implementation of the new regulatory and legal changes, marks a major milestone in the QE’s strategy aimed at developing its services and diversifying traded products.

This step would be followed by many other improvements aimed at strengthening Qatar’s position as a financial centre, which is the ultimate aim of the strategic partnership between the Qatar Investment Authority and NYSE Euronext, the bourse’s spokesman said. QE chief executive Andre Went said the implementation of the new system came under the first stage and the second stage would see the establishment of central counterparty (akin to a clearing house). The UTP would also see change in the trading timetable.- Gulf Times