Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which has invested about $26bn in the US since 2015, has said the present diplomatic rift will not affect investments there and will soon open another office in San Francisco to tap biotech and tech sectors in the Silicon Valley.
QIA, which opened an office in New York in 2015, is committed to investing another $10bn as part of strategies to expand its US portfolio to include infrastructure projects. QIA also hinted that it could partner with hydrocarbon major Qatar Petroleum to invest in the US downstream industries should opportunities arise.
These were conveyed by QIA chief executive HE Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohamed al-Thani in his business roundtable interaction with the US-Qatar Business Council (USQBC) in Washington.
“The current diplomatic turmoil will not affect QIA’s investments in a friendly country like the US with which Qatar enjoys close ties,” he said, adding “Qatar and QIA are open for business and the US ranks amongst their highest priorities.”
Highlighting its ambition to diversify its portfolio, both internationally and within the US; he said QIA has typically prioritised US investments in the real estate sector, while maintaining a presence in residential real estate, industry, alternative energy, and technology and recently in healthcare.
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has become the fourth largest investor in the US office space in 2016, mostly in New York and Los Angeles.
QATAR
