Qatar Seeks $5bn Investment in China
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Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, one of the largest funds in the world, is seeking a $5 billion quota to invest in China’s capital market.
According to the Xinhua news agency, Qatari investment officials are seeking an investment quota five times the current cap of $1 billion, and will invest the funds mostly in China’s equity markets and initial public offerings, with some investment in fixed-income assets.
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, one of the largest funds in the world, is seeking a $5 billion quota to invest in China’s capital market.
According to the Xinhua news agency, Qatari investment officials are seeking an investment quota five times the current cap of $1 billion, and will invest the funds mostly in China’s equity markets and initial public offerings, with some investment in fixed-income assets.
During his trip in Beijing, Qatari Energy and Industry Minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada said Qatar will be investing a part of its earnings from its sale of liquefied natural gas to China.
Qatar is a major supplier of liquefied natural gas to China with total annual exports reaching almost 5 million tonnes.
China’s securities regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said it would “actively assist” in obtaining a license approval for the Qatar Investment Authority “as soon as possible”.
Earlier this month, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said it will lower the entry barrier for foreign institutions seeking to invest in China under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) programme after more than doubling the total quota to $80 billion in April.
The Commission plans to cut the minimum requirement for assets under management to $500 million from $5 billion for companies seeking a QFII license.
Under the new QFII guidelines, foreign investors in China can also hold up to a 30 percent stake in a listed company.
Related News: China Opens Up Equity Market to More Foreign Investment
Explaining the move, the Commission said in May that introducing more long-term overseas funds will help improve confidence, promote stable growth in China’s capital markets and provide robust returns to domestic investors.
The Bank of Korea, Kuwait Investment Authority and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings are among the 172 entities granted the QFII licenses since the programme was introduced in 2002 to allow foreign institutions to trade yuan-denominated securities.
Last week, the Commission reported that 145 of the licensees have been awarded a combined quota of $27.3 billion.
According to al-Sada, Qatar’s application is a reflection of its confidence in China’s long term economic growth prospects, and added that the country’s major listed companies had good investment value.
Related News: China Promises to Make Growth a Bigger Priority
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