For the sixth year in a row, both Qatar and the UAE are contending for upgrades from frontier market to emerging market status.

And this year, both countries might actually get it, an HSBC report states.

Bloomberg reports:

The UAE and Qatar have improved their delivery-versus-payment systems and now include the buyer-cash-compensation procedure, where the buying investor is paid in cash if a security is unavailable for delivery on settlement day, the report said.

The upgrade could mean an inflow of more than $430 million in investments to Qatar, the report added.

In the past, index provider MSCI has taken issue with the country’s restrictive foreign ownership rules. Last year, Reuters reported that Qatar’s 25 percent ceiling on foreign ownership could knock it out of the running for an upgrade.

But the country responded by saying it was up to individual companies to open up their shares more to non-Qataris.

A decision will be announced on June 11.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo courtesy of Qatar Exchange