Qatar recently acquired a small part of Lifestyle International Holdings in Hong Kong. This may be indicative of the start of an Asian spending binge. What this means for the near future is that Qatar may very soon be investing in other Asian regions including: China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. The total amount spent could reach $15bn.
This is new for Qatar, which, via the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has primarily made investments in Europe, with businesses like Barclays, the Canary Wharf Group and Harrods. Now, with its move into Asia, Qatar is doing something new.
While in the past there have been some Qatarian investments into Asia (such as in 2010 the $2.8bn investment into the Agricultural Bank of China) until now there hasn’t been a steady flow. Now, putting £616m into Lifestyle International Holdings is according to QIA forming part of the region’s “strategy to diversify its portfolio.”
Another potential region for investments is Turkey. The Hassad Food Co. is planning on investing in Turkey’s country poultry, dairy and meat sectors. As it stands right now, 90 percent of Qatarian food products are imported. Hassad was launched to secure supplies. And then there is real estate investment, linked to the FIFA World Cup that is set to be in Qatar in 2022 and all the infrastructure preparations involved in that. Real estate prices are elevating due to increasing demand for infrastructure land.