Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

Qatar’s stocks declined the most since March after indictments of FIFA officials and a Swiss probe cast renewed scrutiny over the nation’s bid to host the 2022 soccer World Cup.

The QE Index dropped as much as 2.9 percent, the largest retreat since March 26, before trading 2.4 percent lower at 11,935.95 at 11:58 a.m. in Doha. The slump brought its two-day decrease to 3.8 percent.

The world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas is indirectly embroiled in a probe into alleged corruption in the soccer governing body. The U.S. indictment Wednesday outlined two decades of fraud, and Swiss officials said they’re investigating alleged money laundering related to the selection of the host countries for the next two World Cups, in Russia and Qatar.

“Now there is more concern than there was previously about investigations, now it’s federal-level investigations from Switzerland and U.S.,” Ahmed Shehada, the head of advisory and institutions at NBAD Securities LLC, said by telephone. Qatar isn’t “going to be as aggressive with infrastructure spending” without the World Cup, he said.

$200 Billion

Qatar, a country about the size of Connecticut, is spending about $200 billion on infrastructure before hosting the world’s most-watched sporting event. The plan includes at least eight new stadiums and a $35 billion metro and rail system. New highways are being laid and a city for 200,000 people is rising north of Doha, the capital.

Shares in Ezdan Real Estate Company QSC led the drop, plunging 10 percent, the most since December. Qatar National Bank SAQ, which has the biggest weighting on Doha’s benchmark gauge, slipped 1.2 percent to the lowest since April 23.

The Qatari government has denied any wrongdoing, and FIFA said the venues won’t change.