The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) kicked off its "QFC Speaker Series powered by Bloomberg", a line-up of industry events tackling prominent areas of opportunities and challenges and gathering thought-leaders from Qatar, the region and the world.
The first edition focused on MiFID II. The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) is the EU legislation that regulates firms that provide services to clients linked to "financial instruments" and the venues where those instruments are traded. The event was co-hosted by the QFC, the QFC Regulatory Authority and Bloomberg, and provided participants with the opportunity to discuss current MiFID II challenges and Bloomberg solutions.
During the session, Bloomberg experts highlighted areas of industry consensus regarding practical solutions for compliance, research, fixed income and Bloomberg’s view on how firms in the Middle East can best position themselves to meet these challenges.
Commenting on the importance of such events in creating a knowledge-based economy, QFC Authority CEO Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida stated, "The ‘QFC Speaker Series powered by Bloomberg’ is one in a series of events planned with industry experts aimed at maintaining our edge as one of the leading and fastest growing financial centres in the world."
Bloomberg’s Country manager and event moderator Boris Grozev said at the event, "MiFID II focuses on core principles relating to the creation of fairer, safer and more efficient markets, this arguably is the broadest piece of financial industry legislation ever and has the potential to significantly change market structures."
MiFID was initially applied in 2007, but is now being revised to improve the functioning of financial markets in light of the financial crisis and to strengthen investor protection. The changes are currently set to take effect on January 3, 2018, with the new legislation known as MiFID II.
