SkyscraperCity Forum banner

Qataris dumping jobs for stock trading

3161 Views 31 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  smussuw
Source ::: The Peninsula

Doha: Many Qatari families are living in fear of confronting uncertain future as swayed by the once-booming stock market, their bread-winners have quit their plush government jobs.

The heads of these families have undoubtedly made money when the share prices were high, but they have lost a stable income that ran their households.

The wives of many of these people are employed but their salaries are too low to meet heavy expenses of the family, Al Sharq said in a report after interviewing a number of men and women from affected families.

Ibrahim Saad became so fond of stock trading after having made some money that he neither had the time nor the inclination to continue with his government job.

Remaining absent from work continually and facing embarrassment, he decided to be honest to himself and quit the job.

"There was more money in stock trading, so I thought why waste my time in a routine job and decided to resign," Al Sharq quoted him as saying.

He said since he was working for a public sector services company, his job demanded full-time presence in the office.

Mohamed Al Sulaiti, who said he religiously visited the Doha Securities Market (DSM) every morning on trading days, had a similar story to tell.

"This routine (of visiting the DSM) I have been following for months. My work in the office suffered and so, I decided to eventually call it quits," he said as a matter of fact.

"It was hard for me to pay attention to my office work any more after a keen interest I developed in share trading," he said.

A secondary school teacher whose name Al Sharq did not disclose, also followed in the footsteps of compatriots Ibrahim Al Saad and Mohamed Al Sulaiti, and put in his papers.

"You make more money doing nothing," he was quoted as saying about stocks.

While compromising their jobs to pursue what they thought was a more rewarding pastime, was so easy for the men, digesting the decision of their husbands was so tough for the wives.

"I got the shock of my life when I realised that my husband had quit his plush and cosy government job. I didn't believe him first as I thought he was just joking, but as days passed it came out that what he told me was true," said Jawahra Mohamed, a housewife.

What happens when the stock boom ends or the market faces a crisis, she asked. "Where is the income going to come from to run the household?" she wondered.

"My husband has compromised our future," Jawahra said.

Noora Khaleel, another affected Qatari housewife, sounded equally upset with her husband and said she did not know what future awaited her family.

"It is uncertainty that we face now. Yes. There is money today when the stock market is doing well, but what happens tomorrow," she asked.

Sheikha Jassem, yet another housewife, faces a more agonising situation as not only her husband but a brother too has quit his job.

"I am employed but I get one-fourth of what my husband was earning as salary. It is a meagre income and insufficient to run the household," a saddened Sheikha was quoted as saying.
See less See more
1 - 20 of 32 Posts
True and sad. Everyone dropped all their responsbilites and headed to the stock market. It was doing so amazingly well and it doesnt seem to stop dropping.
What do u mean by "it doesn't seem to stop dropping" ? Is it that its continuing to do well, or dropping badly ?
The stock market has been falling for the third week in a row if not more. It is losing a lot of its value. I havent seen the green arrow in ages, all i see is the bloody red arrow which indicates a stock going down. Some compaines lost over 60 or 70% of its value. From 70 riyals down to 25 riyals, some from over 400 riyals to 200 others min 250 to around 160 riyals. A lot of ppl are losing money and little is being done by the stock market mgt to put a stop to this. :(
See less See more
Qatar4Ever said:
The stock market has been falling for the third week in a row if not more. It is losing a lot of its value. I havent seen the green arrow in ages, all i see is the bloody red arrow which indicates a stock going down. Some compaines lost over 60 or 70% of its value. From 70 riyals down to 25 riyals, some from over 400 riyals to 200 others min 250 to around 160 riyals. A lot of ppl are losing money and little is being done by the stock market mgt to put a stop to this. :(
Its our stock turn to fall. all the shares values are jumping really fast and I think it might happen the same here.
See less See more
Interesting...

I know somebody who's doing the same thing...still got his job, but obssesed with stocks...and not very knowledgeable, just personal experience based on short term trends in the market, and some background info...risky business...Thats probably what most of those guys in Qatar are like, amateurs really...sad...And the number of those ppl is bound to increase..

The stock market, and trading practice can turn into an addiction, much like gambling..
See less See more
its true a lot of ppl are amatuers who are in for the short run hoping to make a quick buck. sad really. But i dont blame them.. in a two month period stocks went from around 10 riyals up to 70 others from 50 or so up to 250.. crazy.. !! But what really is killing doha stock market is the poor mgt of both the ppl in charge and the stock brokers and the other strong influnce are the really heavy weight investors, hawmeer. These guys keep dumping stocks pushing prices down and re buying the same stocks at cheap prices to push them back up. They are really effecting the market.. bustards..
See less See more
Hahaha, i guess its their prerogative....Don't know much about the stock markets here in the gulf...If i were to invest i'd probably do it in the US stocks, i have more 'virtual' experience there, and all the info one needs is readily available, and in english, which is more convenient for me....And another reason is the 'Hawameeer' in Qatar and wherever would not have the same effect on US stocks as they do on Qatari stocks i'm sure...

This thread has actually got me thinking about getting back in the game, only this time for real =P i was very successful the last time, made a hell of a lot of virtual money, lol (Of course the fact that the US economy was doing great with an all time historically low interest rate helped a bit)
See less See more
Patriot, take my advice and invest in qatar's stock market. Im not kidding. If your into investing for the long-run and have money just sitting there in the bank then invest it here and leave it. Trust me once you want to sell it, say in a years or two time you'll make a whole lot of money. But if your in the short-run wanting to make money overnight then right now, though it seems very appealing, qatar stock market isnt the place. Simply because the stock brokers here arent ready enough for serious investors and they give you little support if any.
See less See more
Raza said:
lazy people.
Who isnt lazy in ur dictionery?
What does lazy have to do with it? Believe it or not, even when your only job is investing in the stock market you still need to run around and handle probably one of the most stressful and riskest jobs. Such a stupied comment.
Qatari shares dropped by 4.9 per cent in the week to Thursday, dipping below 9,000 points for the first time in months in a continued correction following record gains, analysts said.

The Doha Securities Market index closed at 8,930 points, down 458 points from a week ago.

The index, down from a life high near 11,550 points hit in March, is still up 37.5 percent in 2005 on high oil and gas prices, which have fueled strong economic growth in the state.

Weekly turnover fell more than 30 per cent to QR1.1 billion ($302 million).

"It looks like an encouraging time to buy, considering growing corporate profits and realistic share values," said Parvez Khan, head of investments at Commercial Bank of Qatar.

Analysts said the drop on profit-taking could also encourage the entry of foreign investors, who were allowed in April to own up to 25 per cent of shares of Qatari companies. A 8,500- to 9,000-point range would be attractive, they said.

"That's a realistic range, and will encourage international investors to come," economist Roy Thomas of Qatar National Bank said.

Many local investors have been disappointed by few foreigners entering the market. Bourse officials say foreign investment accounts for less than five per cent of the total market capitalisation of QR265 billion.

Industries Qatar , the week's most active share with 28.5 per cent of total turnover, fell some eight per cent to QR152.

Qatar gas transport company Nakilat , the second most active share, ended 13 per cent lower at QR40.80.

Decliners outnumbered advancers 28-2, while one share was untraded.
See less See more
Qatar's market as i heard is the most risky in the gulf, however they are speeking about a crash in the whole regions indexes.
Moody said:
Qatar's market as i heard is the most risky in the gulf, however they are speeking about a crash in the whole regions indexes.
Where did you hear about the crash? Is it because of the surge in oil prices? The only country in the gulf not benefiting from the current increase in prices is Bahrain (we don't export).
See less See more
We benefit indirectly i suppose through our neighbors....and we're less vulnerable to the ups and downs of oil prices which is a good thing...

When this thread was first created, my first impression was that the Qatari stock market was suffering a correction, but it seems more than just a correction since its been going on for quite a while now apparently...but the 2nd article says it is indeed a 'continued' correction...i'm a bit confused now, didnt know corrections could last that long and be soo severe...!
See less See more
I think it was CNBC arabia, in a question to one of the analysts,


And, 70% of Bahrian's income is from proceeds of Oil. and no we do export, do you really think that Bahrain consumes about 150,000 Brl a day ?? hehe
:( the stock market continues to go down further and further.. !! Its true this is a correction phase, but its taking way to long. Many people are suffering :/


I honestly see a stock market crash in the near future if things continue the way they are without any authority stepping in.
Moody said:
I think it was CNBC arabia, in a question to one of the analysts,


And, 70% of Bahrian's income is from proceeds of Oil. and no we do export, do you really think that Bahrain consumes about 150,000 Brl a day ?? hehe

We don't export oil directly, but we export oil related products. 70% is too high for income figure, it's more or less around the 30-40% region.
See less See more
1 - 20 of 32 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top