Bloomberg/Doha/London
The Qatar Investment Authority, which controls more than $100bn of assets, said it is ready to boost investment in the UK after acquiring stakes in British companies such as Barclays and J Sainsbury.
“Britain is one of the main destinations for investment,” Ahmad al-Sayed, chief executive officer of the sovereign wealth fund, said in a Bloomberg Television interview from London on Tuesday. “You’ve great systems, great regulations. We’re happy to invest more when the opportunity is coming.”
Qatar, the richest country in the world on a per-capita basis, diversified from energy production with assets including the Harrods department store in London and stakes in banks such as Barclays and Credit Suisse Group. The wealth fund also played a pivotal role in Glencore International’s $29bn takeover of Xstrata in 2012 after demanding the Swiss commodities trader boost its offer for Xstrata, in which it had built a stake of more than 10%.
Qatar, the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas, is now focusing on real estate, commodities and infrastructure investments, al-Sayed said, without giving further details. Qatari money was used to build the Shard, London’s tallest building, while Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co is developing London’s Chelsea Barracks.
The QIA has “much more” than $100bn of assets, board member Hussain al-Abdulla said in April 2012.
The country bought stakes in oil companies including Total, as well as helping cement the deal between Volkswagen and Porsche Automobil Holding. It surprised Glencore management in 2012 after taking an activist stance in the Xstrata deal, people familiar with the matter said at the time.
“We create value for the whole stakeholders, for the management, for the shareholders, even for the country we invest in,” al-Sayed said. “Whoever has opportunities and has good ideas, we’d be happy to discuss it with them.”
Qatar bought London’s Harrods department store in 2010 and has invested about £250mn ($413mn) in the business, al-Sayed said. The store’s revenue has gained 60% to 70% to surpass £1bn, he said.
“We are targeting the next number,” he said, referring to a new sales goal. “I don’t want to disclose it but we have clear planning on what we want to do, how we can do it.”
Al-Sayed was appointed CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority in July. Al-Sayed had been chief executive of Qatar Holding, the foreign investment arm of the QIA.
The QIA invests globally and is seeking “quality,” above large deals, al-Sayed said in response to a question on the fund’s decision to take stakes in sizeable public companies.
“Europe is doing fine, in general,” he said. “America is optimistic. They’re doing well.’
Qatar began shifting assets to natural resources in 2012, betting on a surge in commodity prices, al- Abdulla, a board member at the sovereign fund, said at the time.
The fund is the fourth-largest shareholder in France’s Total, holding a 2% stake, while Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on February 3 in Doha that he had discussed with Qatar a potential investment in oil producer Eni.
Increasing US production of natural gas from shale rock ‘‘could be a big story,” al-Sayed said, adding that “volatility” in emerging markets could also be interesting for the QIA.