NYSE Euronext Takes Qatari Route

With the European and American exchange space becoming increasingly crowded, NYSE Euronext is looking to Qatar for growth.

NYSE Euronext, the world's first transatlantic exchange, announced Tuesday that it was buying a 25.0% stake in the Doha Securities Market in Qatar. The remaining shares will remain in the hands of the Qatar Investment Authority, the world's sixth-largest sovereign wealth fund, and the two partners will build the first derivatives exchange in Doha. NYSE Euronext will also receive three of the eleven seats on the board of directors of the Doha market.

The Doha Securities Market was established in 1995, and has grown rapidly to list 43 companies with a total market capitalization of $136.0 billion, from $5.2 billion, in 2000.

NYSE Euronext owns exchanges across six countries, including the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext, the world's and the euro zone's largest cash equities markets respectively, NYSE Arca Options, an option trading platform in the U.S., and Liffe, a European derivative trading platform.

But Western markets are getting crowded, with alternative trading platforms like BATS denting the dominance of established exchanges in the United States, and the same set to happen in Europe following the introduction of the Market in Financial Instrument Directive last year.