Advertisement

ma

Qatar looking to invest more in Germany

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Qatar looking to invest more in Germany
Photo: DPA

The Gulf emirate of Qatar is looking for more German investment opportunities after becoming the third biggest shareholder in Volkswagen, a top official told the business daily Handelsblatt.

Advertisement

"In Europe, and particularly in Germany, there is a whole series of interesting companies that we are going to look at," deputy prime minister Abdallah ibn Hamad al-Attiyah said in comments published on Tuesday.

Germany "now seems to be open again to investment," he added in reference to efforts two years ago to limit the access of sovereign wealth funds from Gulf countries, China and Russia to German companies.

Al-Attiyah noted that little came of those efforts however and said "it is just as well. That will help the German economy."

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which manages investments for the gas-rich nation, invested $30 billion (€22 billion) in 2009 and plans to reach a comparable level this year, Prime Minister Hamad ibn Jassem al-Thani said on Monday.

In addition to a 17-percent stake in Volkswagen, QIA holds almost seven percent of the shares in Barclays bank, 25 percent of the supermarket chain J Sainsbury and 14.7 percent of Canary Wharf, the business district in London. Al-Thani said recently it was also in talks to invest in the French nuclear group Areva.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also