Satyendra PathakDoha
Dukhan Bank, the third-largest Islamic bank in Qatar and the fastest-growing bank in the country, successfully listed its shares on Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) on Tuesday.
The number of listed companies on QSE’s main market increased to 50 with the listing of Dukhan Bank.
The bell rang at 9.30 am on Tuesday, marking the start of Dukhan Bank shares trading on the Qatar Stock Exchange.
Dukhan Bank’s shares were listed in the banking sector category through the direct listing mechanism, a common mechanism in all regional markets that allow companies to be listed without an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Dukhan Bank’s shares were listed in the Banks and Financial Services sector with the ticker DUBK. The company’s share price was floated on the first trading day. The stock’s opening price was QR4 and the last transaction price was QR2.992.
The highest price reached during the first day of trading was QR4 and the lowest price reached was QR2.99. Starting from the second day of trading, the stock price will be allowed to fluctuate by 10 percent up and down, as is the case for other companies listed on the market.
It is worth noting that the company’s shareholders’ data have been made available to the brokerage firms as of February 15, 2023, to enable shareholders to submit their buy/sell orders directly to the brokerage firms.
Commenting on the successful listing, Dukhan Bank Chairman and Managing Director Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said, “We are thrilled to see Dukhan Bank’s shares successfully listed on Qatar Stock Exchange giving the investment community a promising investment choice in the banking sector category. We extend our sincere appreciation to all the regulatory and supervisory authorities for their cooperation with us in this strategic step in Dukhan Bank’s operational journey. Our unrelenting efforts to provide world-class Shari’ah-compliant services to our clients helped us today to boast a robust 150,000 customer base and assets worth over QR100 billion.”
“Moreover, I would like to extend my gratitude to the bank’s employees who were able, in a record time, to transition from the merger to the listing process, despite the challenges of the past period, as they are armed with expertise and high capabilities to overcome all challenges,” he said.
Dukhan Bank Acting Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Hashem said, “Today, we are happy with the successes achieved by the bank, and we extend our thanks to our shareholders for their great confidence in the bank and its management. As we believe in the importance of investing in the future, Dukhan Bank adopts an ambitious vision, promotes digital transformation, and specialises in customer-centric services.”
Speaking on the occasion, Qatar Stock Exchange Acting CEO Abdul Aziz Nasser Al Emadi expressed his pleasure in the listing of Dukhan Bank on the Qatar Stock Exchange as the second company to be listed on its main market through the direct listing mechanism.
Emadi said that the bank's shares represent another investment option for QSE investors, especially with the bank's market value exceeding QR20 billion.
Therefore, he said, “The QSE considers that the listing of the bank is an important process and it will attract more investors, and also encourage more companies to take the same steps.”
He said, “The listing of this company will increase the depth of the market and unlock opportunities to expand our investor base and access to capital while providing investors with the opportunity to invest in leading Qatari companies.”
The QSE is making unremitting efforts to increase the number of companies listed on the stock exchange by raising awareness of the advantages of listing on the QSE, Emadi said.
New companies are about to be listed on QSE including MEEZA and another start-up operating in the oil and gas services sector, he said.
Another group of companies will be listed in the venture market depending on the companies' submission of their requests and fulfillment of all procedures and requirements, and thus it has the right to move to the main market, Emadi said adding that requests for listing ETFs are also being considered.
Dukhan Bank is licensed and regulated by the Qatar Central Bank. The Bank provides an award-winning and full range of Shari’ah-compliant banking services, including retail, corporate, and commercial banking, business banking, private banking, real estate finance, structured finance, investments, and asset management.
The Dukhan Bank was established in 2008 under the name of Barwa Bank, then it merged with Qatar International Bank in April 2019, and in October 2020 the bank changed its brand to Dukhan Bank, with an authorised and issued capital of 5.234 billion Qatari riyals, which is Paid in full at 100 percent.
The main activities of Dukhan Bank are to carry out, whether for its own account or for the account of others or to participate with it at home and abroad, in all aspects of banking, financing, investment, real estate, and social services activities, in accordance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia.
A team of lawyers from the global law firm K&L Gates recently acted as international legal advisors to Dukhan Bank on the bank’s successful direct listing. The size and growth of Dukhan Bank make the bank’s listing among the recent major listings on the main market of the QSE. The bank is also the first financial institution to complete the listing process under the new offering and listing regime of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority.
The K&L Gates team in Doha that advised on the transaction was led by partner Amjad Hussain alongside special counsel Elias Matni with support from senior associate Jaime Oon and paralegal Reine Haidar and London partner Richard Dollimore and senior associate Robert Boughey, as well as a number of other lawyers from K&L Gates offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore.
Hussain said, “We are delighted to have assisted Dukhan Bank on this prestigious and highly significant listing on the Qatar Stock Exchange. This transaction represents a key milestone in Dukhan Bank’s journey toward ongoing growth and the realisation of its strategic goals. As the capital market rules in Qatar are still recent and, in many ways, untested, we are pleased with the pace at which this transaction proceeded and the role we played, alongside other stakeholders, in making this listing a success.”
