| With an eclectic list of interests united only by a belief in investing for the long term, the emirate's sovereign wealth fund is being taken seriously at last. The Qatar Investment Authority, where HBJ is chief executive, is what most people think of when Qatar pops up on a deal, but little is known about its workings. The sovereign wealth fund rankings gives it a "transparency index" of five out of 10 – the same as Iran's sovereign fund – while estimating it has around $115bn of assets.
Even so, the QIA is essentially a holding company and it is its various subsidiaries, mainly Qatar Holding, that have led many of Qatar's foreign acquisitions. It is via QH that Qatar holds its stakes in Barclays, Sainsbury's and German carmakers Volkswagen and Porsche, plus full ownership of Harrods, the luxury department store which houses the QIA's London office...............................................Full Article: Source
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