NYSE Euronext, the transatlantic exchange, reduced its ownership in Qatar stock exchange by selling an eight percent stake to the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar bourse said in a statement on Tuesday.

Qatar Holding, the investment arm of the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, now owns an 88-per cent stake in the Doha-based bourse, with NYSE Euronext holding the remaining 12-per cent stake, the statement said, without giving any financial details.

The owner of the New York stock exchange had bought a 20-per cent stake in the Qatar Exchange in 2009 for $200 million as part of a strategic agreement to transfer knowledge and develop the local exchange.-Reuters