Wednesday, Sep 19, 2012
(This story was originally published Tuesday.)
DOHA (Zawya Dow Jones)--Qatar will set up a debt ratings company for local and non-sovereign companies, its central bank governor said Tuesday.
Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani said the entity, a joint venture between the central bank and Qatar Holding, a unit of the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, would rate and supervise domestic bond issuers and non-governmental institutions.
Al Thani, speaking to reporters in Doha, said the company was currently being set up and would be established "as soon as possible". He didn't say when the ratings firm would be operational.
Banks in Qatar have regularly issued bonds over the last couple of years as they lend more money to the public sector to finance Qatar's infrastructure boom.
The Qatari government, which last issued debt in July with a $4 billion Islamic bond, or sukuk, wants to deepen capital markets and create a yield curve for local companies wishing to tap the debt markets.
Write Alex Delmar-Morgan at alex.delmar-morgan@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
19-09-12 0340GMT
