Doha, 14 May 2007

Top representatives of fund management and pension fund firms from the US and Europe gathered in Doha on 14 May for a conference to discuss the potential of Qatar as a regional hub for private equity and hedge funds.

The conference, held under the patronage of Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Economy and Commerce HE Yousef Hussain Kamal, was organized by Capital Management Group of Chicago in the United States, and was sponsored by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority.

Capital Management Group, founded by Shawn Baldwin, is an investment bank and brokerage firm providing sales and trading, research and investment banking services to pension funds, foundations, endowments and corporations. The company stages two events each year in the US for the top 20 plan sponsors and the world’s largest institutional investors to discuss global markets and macroeconomic trends affecting the institutional investor community. This was the first event of its kind by the company outside the United States.

Those attending the conference in Doha included Lord Jacob Rothschild, who has established many highly successful companies in insurance, banking and investment; Jarvis Hollingsworth, of the Texas Teachers Retirement fund which manages some $109 billion in assets; Harry Alverson, Managing Director of the Carlyle Group; Steve Gilbert, Chairman of Sun Capital; Dan Loeb, Chairman of Third Point, and Quintin Primo, Chairman of Capri Capital Advisors.

In his keynote speech at the conference, HE Yousef Hussain Kamal said:

“This is an exceptional event for finance in the Middle East. There has rarely been a gathering of such influential financial people in one place in this part of the world.

Your presence here today, as representatives of some of the world’s leading investment houses, academic institutions, and local and regional firms, says three important things:

• It shows a strong interest in the potential of our country, and the opportunities we can provide to you
• It is a vote of confidence in our economic management and prospects
• And not least, it endorses Qatar’s potential as a regional hub for the investment industry.”

The Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Economy and Commerce (who is also Chairman of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority) went on to speak about the future development of Qatar’s financial sector, the developing role of the Qatar Financial Centre, and plans by the government to move towards a single regulatory platform for the country’s financial sector over the next 3 years.

Sessions at the conference focused on regional opportunities in alternative asset management, regulatory aspects of the alternative investment industry, doing business in the GCC and round tables on alternative investments and hedge funds involving practitioners from the US and Europe.

Stuart Pearce, Chief Executive Officer and Director General of the QFC Authority, said “We have supported this unique gathering of influential financial talent because we want to forge new relationships with such firms, and to do that we need to help achieve a greater understanding of the opportunities that Qatar and the wider region present. These include the scope for the creation of alternative investment vehicles. If we have succeeded in shedding a little light on what these firms can do here, and made some introductions that might not have happened otherwise, we feel we have made a real contribution to the development of Qatar’s financial market in the longer term.”

Media Contact

Steve Martin
Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing
Tel +974 496 7755 Mob +974 583 1937 e-mail s.martin@qfc.com.qa

Notes to Editors:

Capital Management Group
CMG was formed in 2002 and has participated in over 75 corporate capital markets transactions with a par value of over $68 billion in equity and debt financings.

Shawn Baldwin
Prior to establishing Capital Management Group Shawn Baldwin President and Chief Operating Officer of Wall Street Strategies, a publicly traded registered investment advisory firm. He has also held senior positions with American Express, US Bank and Optima Investment Management Research. Mr Balwin is the former president of the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Securities professionals, and a member of its Board of Directors. He was also the second African-American member of the Chicago Stock Exchange.

Qatar Financial Centre
The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) is a financial and business centre established by the Government of Qatar and located in Doha. It has been designed to attract international financial services institutions and major multi-national corporations and to encourage participation in the growing market for financial services in Qatar and elsewhere in the region. The QFC will operate to international standards and provide a first class legal and business infrastructure for those operating within the QFC. The QFC was created by Qatar Law No.(7) and has been open for business since 1 May 2005.

QFC Regulatory Authority
The QFC Regulatory Authority is an independent regulatory body established by Article 8 of the QFC Law. It regulates firms that conduct financial services in or from the QFC. It has a broad range of regulatory powers to authorize, supervise and, when necessary, discipline firms and individuals. The QFC Regulatory Authority regulates firms using principle-based legislation of international standard, modeled closely on that used in London and other major financial centers. The Regulatory Authority is currently receiving applications and granting authorisations.

QFC Authority
The QFC Authority is the commercial, administrative and legislative body responsible for driving the commercial strategy of the QFC and for developing relationships with the global corporate community and other key institutions both within and outside of Qatar.