Qatar fund eyeing to invest in Asia

State-owned Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which is reportedly interested in buying almost a third of the London Stock Exchange, said Tuesday it was considering expanding in Asia.

“What we are looking to do is to increase the exposure (in Asia), but not necessarily at the expense of building things up in the US or Europe,” QIA’s Head of Strategic and Private Equity Kenneth Shen, told reporters on the sidelines of the China-Middle East Investment Forum in Dubai.

He said the fund was looking “across the gamut” of Asian nations, including China, Japan and Vietnam, adding that “financial institutions and consumer-export orientated sectors” were attractive prospects.

QIA already owns a multi-million-dollar stake in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the nation’s top lender.

The QIA-backed Delta Two fund is also interested in buying Nasdaq’s 31-per cent stake in the London exchange, the Financial Times reported without citing its sources.

Over the weekend, Britain’s Sunday Times reported that Qatar had made an informal bid of almost 1.0 billion pounds (1.48 billion euros, 2.02 billion dollars) for Nasdaq’s LSE holding.

Shen declined to comment on the press reports.

Delta Two in July bid 15.8 billion euros for Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group J Sainsbury.

Oil and gas-rich Qatar, along with its wealthy Gulf Arab neighbours, is looking for long-term assets to diversify its economy, which is heavily dependent the energy industry.

AFP