Qatar's $500 Billion Sovereign Fund Aims for Bigger Deals as LNG Boom Approaches - FT

Forex - Qatar's $500 billion sovereign wealth fund is preparing to distribute its cash more aggressively ahead of a petrodollar windfall that could double its size. Mohammed Al-Sowaidi, the new CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority, stated to the Financial Times that he expects to pursue "larger deals" and invest "more frequently" as the fund begins to review its investment strategy.

Sowaidi mentioned, "We need to distribute more aggressively and find ways to achieve higher returns than perceived risk. Generally, you review your allocation policies, look at global trends, and make some calls on future forecasts, and see how to optimize the distribution."

The fund typically reviews its investment strategy every five years, with the last review conducted in 2019. Sowaidi took the helm of the QIA in 2018, as a major expansion in Qatar's liquefied natural gas production began to come online, doubling the workforce since then. While preparing to accelerate the deal flow, Sowaidi noted that the QIA has significantly increased its risk over the past decade, focusing on technology, artificial intelligence, healthcare, real estate, and infrastructure in the United States, as well as in the UK and Asia.