Qatar Investment Authority targets $45bn in US investments within the next two years
The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which is in charge of the country’s investments abroad, is looking to raise stakes in the USA to $45bn within the next two years.
The QIA currently has investments of around $30bn, said its Chief Executive Officer Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud recently, during the visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
He said the Qatari fund was looking to balance its investment, so that the level of US investment is closer to that in Europe, reported Al Jazeera.
The QIA has built up a substantial European portfolio through stakes in companies including Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, London Stock Exchange and Volkswagen.
“We’re talking about $45bn for the US market. We’re on track for this over the next two years,” the official was quoted as saying by Gulf Times.
Mahmoud’s predecessor Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud Al Thani had in 2015 committed to investing $45bn in the US over five years.
“Our objective is to balance our portfolio. Currently, we have a little bit of concentration in Europe and having this allocation toward the US market is to balance the portfolio,” he added.
In the USA, the QIA will be looking to invest in fundamental sectors such as real estate, technology or US exchanges.
In one such deal in December 2017, QIA and hedge fund Elliott Management Corp had taken over Gigamon Inc, a US networking software company, for $1.6bn.
The value of bilateral trade between Qatar and the US has doubled in 10 years, Minister of Commerce and Industry HE Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari said at the US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue conference, reported The Peninsula.
Al Kuwari said bilateral trade volume reached $6bn in the period from January to October last year. US exports to Qatar increased in 2018 to $5.15bn from $4.88bn.
