The World Exchange Congress 2014,  the largest CEO level exchange event in the world and the most prestigious platform for senior exchange and trading venue executives and their partners, opened in Doha today (March 25).

This is the first time that the Congress is being held in the region, said the event organisers of the ninth annual session.

The two-day event has brought together about three hundred CEOs, CTOs and senior executives, representing more than fifty countries at the St. Regis Hotel.

The conference aims to provide participants with the opportunity to adopt the best practices aimed at ensuring an investment-supportive environment through partnerships, mutual cooperation and exchange of expertise, the organisers said.

In his opening speech, Ali Shareef Al Emadi, the Minister of Finance, said "Qatar Exchange has witnessed many achievements that have contributed to the strengthening of its role as a regional financial center, especially after the MSCI upgrading of the Qatari market into emerging market status."

"The 2012 law, giving the Qatar Central Bank the supreme authority in the supervision of all financial services and markets, is an important step in promoting financial stability,” he stated.

Qatar, he said, was prominent and well known for having one of the best economies in the world with a GDP growth of 6.5 per cent in 2013 and an estimated GDP growth rate up to 6 per cent and more than 10 per cent growth rate in the private sector in 2014.

“Qatar has been supportive of investment opportunities. Based on its strong, robust and open economy, Qatar seeks to become a business hub in the region. No doubt that the economic policies adopted by the Qatari government would enable the Qatari institutions to play an important role in order to achieve sustainability and adaption to global changes,” he added.

He pointed out that the importance of stock exchanges stems from their role in economic growth based on encouragement of economic diversification, capital creation and support of corporate activities.

"On this basis, the role of the government is needed to ensure a regulatory environment and policies that are needed to encourage investment environment," he observed.

Qatar Exchange CEO Rashid bin Ali Al-Mansoori said the two-day event will provide a forum where key executives in global exchanges and capital markets can educate, discuss and forge solid strategic relationships.

"In addition to that, we aim to equip exchanges with the tools they need to make strategic decision in order to ensure growth and stability," he remarked.

“We can share and discuss our mutual ambitions of achieving growth and progress. We hope that this conference will be an opportunity for all of us to see the positive results of the tireless efforts made by Qatar's stock market in order to reach an advanced level among the region's and the world's markets,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service