Trading Resumes on Masraf Al Rayan Stock Following Suspension Due To Incomplete Details For Recent Real Estate Deal

QATAR: Trading in the shares of Qatar-based Shariah compliant bank Masraf Al Rayan resumed on Wednesday, due to the provision of additional details regarding the sale of its 50% stake in real estate joint venture Seef Lusail Real Estate Development Co. Qatar’s regulatory authorities suspended trading of the bank’s shares on the Qatar Stock Exchange on Tuesday due to incomplete information regarding the deal.

Masraf Al Rayan reported the sale of 49% of the bank’s stake to Qatari Diar Infrastructure Company and the remaining 1% to Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company to the Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA) after trading hours on Sunday, but gave no details as to the price agreed for the sale or any further details.On Tuesday evening, following the suspension of the bank’s shares prior to the day’s trading by Qatar’s regulatory authorities, Masraf Al Rayan issued a statement revealing that the sale price would be QAR1.53 billion (US$419.91 million), which would generate a gain of QAR466 million (US$127.9 million) for the bank spread over three years. The bank indicated that the gain would not affect its second-quarter results, which are due to be published on the 21^st July.

The bank stood by its handling of the sale announcement, stating that the news was issued in accordance with its disclosure policy and immediately upon the signing of the sale contract. “The bank did not violate any rules or regulations as set out by the concerned regulatory authorities,” the statement read, emphasizing that the further information issued was to add clarity, “based on the guidance of the Qatar Central Bank and the QFMA”.

Masraf Al Rayan, which owns UK-based Islamic Bank of Britain, was included as one of the companies that would be listed on the MSCI Emerging Markets Index with Qatar’s upgrade to emerging market in May, and has the largest MSCI weighting of any Qatari stock.