By Regan E. Doherty
• CEO sees improvement in regional IPO market by
Q4
• Firm optimistic about India as investment
destination
• Recent domestic bond issuance by Qatar "a good
first step"
Qatari investment bank QInvest expects initial public offerings (IPO) in the region to revive during the second half of this year, particularly in the fourth-quarter, the company's CEO Shahzad Shahbaz said.
The firm, Qatar's largest investment bank, has a mandate to do an IPO for a Qatar-based client later this year, "probably in the fourth quarter," he said. It is also working on others, "but these are still early-stage discussions," Shahbaz said.
"Regional markets have had mixed performance, but we are optimistic that Gulf markets -- particularly Qatar -- represent good value from an investment perspective for the medium to long term," he said.
"As investors realize the value available, the market will continue to improve."
The IPO market in the Gulf Arab region came to a grinding halt amid the financial crisis as companies shelved plans to raise money through share sales as markets weakened. However, tight bank lending is expected to prompt firms to consider entering the market again as a means of financing.
Qatar's sovereign wealth fund is also a client, Shahbaz said. "We advise on transactions from time to time."
The company played a role in the fund's purchase of Harrods in May. "We were brought in to do some specific work," he said, but declined to give other details.
"We look at the relationship on a long-term basis. You will do a lot of work, and some of that work may be pro-bono, and it may or may not be publicized... This applies not just to sovereign wealth funds but to all corporates," he said,
QInvest, whose shareholders include Qatar Islamic Bank has a paid-up capital of $500 million.
QInvest is confident about growth prospects in India, Shahbaz said. In February, the company bought a 25 percent stake in Mumbai-based Ambit Group for an undisclosed amount.
The deal, the company's first investment in India, was aimed at helping Ambit expand its investment banking, advisory and private wealth businesses.
"We made the investment because we wanted to invest in the India story. We think financial services will grow in India, and we want to participate in that," Shahbaz said.
The firm is working on a number of other deals in India from both from a strategic perspective and a portfolio perspective, Shahbaz said.
It is also considering several other opportunities in the Gulf, Egypt and Turkey, he said.
Last May, the company trumped two other bidders to buy a 44 percent stake in the UK's Panmure Gordon, investing 23 million pounds in the 130-year-old stockbroking firm.