Qatar SWFs among top FDI recipients

A number of big-ticket transactions including the $2.4 billion (Dh8.8bn) sell-off in Volkswagen preferential shares by Qatar Holding (an arm of Qatar Investment Authority) pushed the Gulf country among the top three sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) direct investment recipients in terms of transaction values in 2009, according to the latest SWF Transaction Database (SWFTD).

Globally, SWF direct investments grew by a third in 2009, with investments totalling $92.8bn compared with $69.6bn worth of investments in 2008, according to SWFTD. Topping the list of SWF direct investment recipients is Germany, with 20 per cent ($18.56bn) of all SWF direct investments directed at the European country, while Qatar received 14 per cent – or almost $13bn – of such funds. In April last year, Qatar Holding, the biggest shareholder in Barclays, also sold 35 million shares in the British bank to cut its stake to 5.8 per cent from just over six per cent.