Doha: Qatari stocks are expected to see a positive boost in the current year and next year thanks to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, QNB Financial Services (QNBFS) said in a report.
Qatari equities are in an investment sweet spot benefiting from unique tailwinds. High oil and gas prices, large net inflows of foreign investment given Qatar’s status as a safe haven/FOL (foreign ownership limit) are increasing, the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and groundbreaking LNG expansion provide significant drivers for the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE).
“We could see a positive impulse in Qatari equities in 2022 and 2023, driven by the FIFA World Cup, mainly thanks to construction, real estate, tourism and retail spending which affects companies. listed on the stock exchange and throughout the economy. Qatar’s goal is to use the event as a springboard to showcase its offerings and hopefully grow international tourist arrivals from 2.1 million in 2019 to 6 million per year by 2030,” indicates the report.
The report also touched on the seven previous FIFA World Cup host markets (apart from the outlier Brazil). “2022 has been an extraordinary year with global equity markets bearing the brunt of the quantitative easing pullback from global central banks as they attempt to fight inflation without plunging their economies into recession/stagflation. Qatari equities were not immune as the QSE index appreciated as much as 24.7% (April 11, 2022) but then declined to almost flat territory at the end of June and is now at again up 12.1% year-to-date (September 5, 2022),” he added.
The QSE index remains a relative outperformer among most major regional markets. Thus, “we note that these drivers could be broadly integrated into the market, but should provide the Qatar Stock Exchange index with high-quality catalysts that contribute to market growth or stabilization despite the prevailing global backdrop of risk aversion,” the report notes.
The QNBFS report further stated, “As the world looks forward to an incredible spectacle and experience in Qatar, empirical evidence suggests a positive impact that the FIFA World Cup is likely to have on the Qatar Stock Exchange in the short term. term. While markets tend to fall in the first three months immediately after the World Cup, returns 12 months after the event are positive, outperforming the MSCI World Index by 4 percentage points.
