DOHA, April 16 (KUNA) -- Governor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani, said Monday the value of the government treasury bonds topped QR 14 billion (over USD 3.943 billion) by the end of March, 2012.

"The QCB has discussed with the government the possibility of issuing new bonds with different maturity periods in order to enhance the capital market," Qatar News Agency (QNA) quoted Sheikh Abdullah as saying in a keynote speech to the opening session of the Bloomberg Financial Summit here.

"The government started issuing treasury bonds in 2008 and listed on the Qatari bourse for trade in late December, 2011" said Sheikh Abdullah who is also Chairman of Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA).

He praised the government's keenness to update and develop the financial markets in keeping up with the best global standards and practices.

The monetary policy of the State of Qatar aims to maintain the stability of the exchange rate which constitutes the pillar of that policy, Sheikh Abdullah added.

He added that the firms listed at Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) will be listed at Qatar Securities Market by the end of 2012, noting Qatar was the first Gulf country to launch a stock market for the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). (pickup previous) ma.gbKUNA 162352 Apr 12NNNN