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16 Apr 2018 – 14:07
CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani speaks at the Qatar UK Business and Investment Forum in London, Britain March 27, 2017 (REUTERS/Neil Hall)QNA
Doha: Qatar does not need to liquidate its investment assets to support the banking system and it has a strong economy and its financial budget is increasing year by year.
Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Thani said in an interview with the Lusail newspaper on the sidelines of his visit to US Miami city in Florida.
He denied that the Authority liquidated any of its assets to support the Qatari banking system during the Gulf crisis, which began last June by the siege of Qatar. He also said that the QIA has completed the “deal of a lifetime” which will be announced in the coming days.
QIA CEO added that the Authority is continuing its operations and investments around the world, pointing out that there is a major deal in Miami to be announced in the next few days and will be the ‘deal of a lifetime’ for the authority. He did not specify in which sector or the cost of the deal.
Sheikh Abdullah also denied reports that QIA disposed its assets around the world, stressing that it is unfounded news, pointing out that these are normal sales to engage in other investments or seize the opportunity when the return on investment reaches its peak.
He also explained that the restructuring process carried out by the Investment Authority for local companies during the last two years was successful and that these companies are growing significantly and continuously because they have distinct boards of directors and adhere to the governance established by the QIA.
Regarding recent news that QIA has sold part of its stake in Russian company ‘Rosneft’, the world’s energy giant, Sheikh Abdullah said that this is not true, adding “our investments in Rosneft are one of the most successful investments, which are good and excellent, and we did not sell any part of our stake, and what happened were only discussions with the Chinese side.”
He underlined that the investments in the United States are stable and strong, and QIA has already completed about 60 percent of its plan to invest about $35 billion in the period from 2015 to 2020.
