Doha Global Investment Company (DGIC), a new QR45bn ($12.4bn) investment firm, will offer shares to the public in May.

Half of its capital will consist of paid-up capital, according to a statement by Hussain Ali al-Abdulla, chairman of the Qatar Exchange board of directors.

Qatar Holding, the foreign investment arm of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, will transfer $3bn into the fund’s assets, with a similar amount raised in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Qatar Exchange.

The shares will only be open to Qatari citizens, companies and institutions, though foreigners will be able to buy and trade once they are listed. The nominal value of a share will be QR10, of which five riyals will be paid up.

The IPO is meant to allow Qataris to invest in their country’s economic success and boost investor confidence, though the exchange’s limited liquidity poses a risk for investors.