Qatar Economic Forum Investment House attended the fourth edition of the Qatar Economic Forum, held in cooperation with Qatar Media City and Bloomberg, under the auspices of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar. The forum was attended by an elite group of economic sector leaders, experts, and decision-makers from more than 50 countries. The forum discusses economic issues and provides a platform for joint work, enabling the exchange of knowledge and experiences. This year’s edition focused on five pillars: geopolitics, globalization and trade, business investment outlook, energy transition, sports and entertainment, and technological innovation. Attending this prestigious event provided a unique opportunity to gain insights into the latest economic trends and network with industry leaders. Our attendance at this significant forum primarily enabled us to gain market insights and trends; networking opportunities; competitor analysis; and a focus on sustainability and ESG standards
Qatar CSR Summit 2024 Investment House attended the second edition of the Qatar Social Responsibility Conference and Exhibition, which addressed several important topics, most notably human rights, strategic business practices, sustainability, and socially responsible investment, finance, and banking. It is important to point out that Investment House continuously works on examining and developing its business and operations in a sustainable manner that reflects its social responsibility approach.
Investment House’s Suhoor Event – 2024 Investment House hosted a Suhoor event for its employees and their esteemed family members during the holy month of Ramadan, emphasizing the importance of team building and improving communication. This event allowed colleagues to share Suhoor together, fostering a sense of community, breaking down hierarchical barriers, and strengthening personal bonds outside the work environment. This contributes to creating a harmonious workplace, where members feel valued and connected, and supports the process of human development. It is worthy to mention, that this event included several activities and contests related to the holy month.
Qatar-France Investors Meetup Investment House Company participated in the Qatar-France Investors Meetup, which was honored by the presence of His Excellency Mr. Bruno Le Maire, the French Minister of Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty. The joint meeting of Qatari and French investors aims to enhance the investment and the financial sector between the two countries. It also served as an exceptional platform that brought together some prominent institutions and entities with twenty investment funds and ten startups, in addition to some businessmen from both sides. It is worth mentioning that the meeting discussed ways to explore further cooperation between Qatar and France and enhance the business ecosystem’s growth
10th Doha Islamic Finance Conference Investment House attended the 10th Doha Islamic Finance Conference, which is held under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and with the participation of a number of governmental entities, international organizations, and financial institutions. This year’s edition is also held under the title “Towards Islamic Finance 2.0 (A Fusion of Principles with Technology)”, and aims to explore developments in generative artificial intelligence technology and their impact on Fatwas and Sharia oversight in Islamic financial institutions. This active participation has enabled us to attend some enriching discussion sessions, exchange experience, and knowledge, and address important recommendations in the Islamic finance sector.
Web Summit Qatar Investment House attended the Web Summit Qatar 2024. The Web Summit is the largest technology event in the world, and its edition in Qatar facilitated connecting founders with investors, other individuals, and institutions from around the globe. Our attendance enabled us to create valuable networking opportunities, explore avenues for collaboration, and gain insights and specialized knowledge through discussion panels and workshops within the financial services sector, with a particular focus on the impact of financial technology on institutions.
National Sports Day Event – 2024 Investment House hosted an event on National Sports Day, in cooperation with Doha Municipality in Hazm Al-Markhiya Park. The company invited its clients, employees, along with their family members. Given the company’s belief in its social responsibility and its keenness to contribute to human development under the framework of Qatar Vision 2030, it invited all members of society to participate in its event through an announcement published on various social media platforms. Investment House promoted a healthier lifestyle and its event included many activities, challenges, and games that were designed to suit different age groups. Our team also ensured providing meals and snacks for all participants. At the end of the sports day event, the company honored the winning teams and distributed consolation prizes to the participants in an atmosphere full of activity, fun, and sports enthusiasm.
National Day Event – 2023 Investment House hosted an event to celebrate Qatar’s National Day in conjunction with state celebrations, inviting all its employees to participate in group challenges and competitions revolving around the country’s rich history and Qatari culture. The event aimed to enrich national belonging and loyalty, whilst the event’s activities were designed in a group format to foster team building and strengthen cooperation spirit among its members. Investment House likewise raised participants’ awareness about key Qatari concepts and archaeological landmarks, reflecting its pride in its national identity and commitment to social responsibility. The company also distributed sustainable electronic brochures, specifically designed to motivate participants to visit major historical and tourist landmarks and engage in activities and events taking place during the National Day celebrations.
Investment House’s Suhoor Event – 2023 Investment House Company held a suhoor event for its employees and their esteemed family members in celebration of the holy month. This event included several activities and competitions in a Ramadan-inspired and spiritual atmosphere. Through this event, Investment House reaffirms its strong commitment to creating an inclusive and healthy environment that fosters team spirit and encourages communication and collaboration among its members.
Global economic challenges and their impact on the financial and investment sector In light of the changes taking place in major world economies and the many challenges facing emerging economies, we aspired to discuss the most important opportunities and challenges facing the finance and investment sector and the prospects of Qatari market benefiting from these opportunities. To discuss this, we interviewed Mr. Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Suwaidi, Chairman and Managing Director of Investment House. Given the many economic changes taking place around the world, has your investment strategy changed? The investment environment in global economy has encountered many challenges and influential factors on countries’ economies; forcing several investment companies to adjust their investment strategies in line with the global variables, such as waves of monetary tightening policies, growing interest rates, geopolitical factors, rising energy prices, and basic commodities expenses.These variables have led Investment House to continue its conservative investment policy and target sectors that are expected to benefit from these factors. The Company has continued to focus its investments for the benefit of its clients in the maritime sector, which has benefited greatly during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. Recently, there has been a witnessed change in China’s approach to the pandemic, as it has abandoned its zero-COVID policy, this is expected to support the maritime transport sector worldwide and increase demand for basic commodities and materials. Investment House has also continued to strengthen its partnerships with major real-estate firms to seize advantage of low valuations of some properties in the United States and across Europe. Additionally, the Company has conducted an early review of its investments to avoid significant impact emanating from financial market factors, which have recently witnessed a decline at both local and global levels. Has the rise of bank deposits affected your core activity in investing for clients? Certainly, the increase in interest rates on bank deposits and the fact that customers compare investment opportunities with deposits in banks has put pressure on most global markets such as stock markets, bonds, and Islamic bonds, and not solely the work of investment companies and structured investments. Nevertheless, what helped us absorb the shock of tightening in monetary policies by international central banks and gave the Company adequate maneuvering margin compared to the investment opportunities available in the market, is that our investment product pricing policy is transparent and fair, and we continue to cooperate effectively with our strategic partners for the benefit of our clients. In addition, Investment House has given its clients attractive investment ratios compared to the sectors in which the company operates in accordance with its investment policies, even prior to the monetary policies tightening waves and the rising interest rates. In light of the rise in energy prices and Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, how do you see the reflection of this on the local economy and investment prospects in the State of Qatar? The year 2022 has been an exceptional year for the Qatari economy due to a large number of factors that contributed to accomplishing significant positive figures. Wherein, the Qatari economy has achieved excellent growth rates in both the oil and non-oil sectors, great levels of the State’s public finance and recorded historical surplus, amounting to 89 billion Qatari riyals during the year 2022. This was reflected in the confirmation of the strong Qatari credit rating by international rating agencies, which relies on robust macroeconomic pillars that benefited greatly from the rise in energy prices and the hosting of the World Cup. We at Investment House seek to take advantage of the investment opportunities and attractive investment environment, particularly with Qatar ranking as one of the world’s leading FDI destinations. In fact, the foreign cash flows to the Qatari Stock Exchange reached a record level in 2022 at 15.9 billion Qatari riyals. This is a sign of the attractiveness of the Qatari investment environment, which was boosted by many attractive investment laws, as well as the presence of multiple promising sectors such as fintech, software, and cybersecurity. What sectors are you targeting in the near future? Considering what we have mentioned, there are many promising sectors in which investment can be directed in the future in line with Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy in all fields. One of the most important sectors is tourism and hospitality, which the State of Qatar seeks to make up 12% of its GDP by the year 2030. Therefore, we at Investment House seek to develop our investment strategy parallel with the State’s directions and targeted sectors to develop and diversify the Qatari economy, including fintech and cybersecurity, which have both witnessed significant advancement during the past period and are expected to reach a growth rate of 12% during 2026. This shall contribute to strengthening the financial sector, one of the most important pillars of strength of the Qatari economy. Hereafter, the State of Qatar, early enacted legislative laws to protect information and data, which resulted in establishing the National Cybersecurity Agency in Qatar under the declaration of Decision No. 1 for the year 2021. You mentioned that financial technology sector, is one of the sectors targeted by the company, especially the advancement it has been going through in Qatar recently. In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing the Fintech sector in Qatar? Cybersecurity, data protection and electronic fraud are among the biggest challenges facing the Fintech sector in Qatar. Commenting on this subject, the Company has recently received inquiries from individuals about suspicious calls aimed for electronic fraud through marketing investment services in investment portfolios using telephone. From this stance, we confirm that Investment House Company does not market any investment services or products via the telephone or internet and does not offer trading platforms through social media networks. We therefore reaffirm once again that Investment House provides its services only through clientele visits to the Company’s offices. What are your most important tips for those interested in investing? I advise clients and anyone interested in investing to deal with local investment companies and banks licensed by local regulatory agencies which regulate the work of investment within the State of Qatar. I also emphasize the importance to verify the necessary licenses and to personally visit investment companies and banks on-site. In addition, investors should take the necessary due diligence measures to ensure the reliability of those entities with which they aim to invest their money, and whether those entities have the required licenses to manage assets and invest for the benefit of others. It is also crucial to read the terms and conditions of each investment, and understand the level of potential risk and the nature of investment opportunities offered.
