Qatar replaces chief of its $510bn sovereign fund

Unsplash.com/Florian Wehde

The Qatari government has appointed Mohammed Al Sowaidi to lead its $510 billion Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

He replaces Mansoor Al Mahmoud who had headed the sovereign wealth fund since 2018.

Al Sowaidi joined the fund in 2010 and worked as the Americas region’s chief investment officer.

The QIA, set up in 2005, manages revenues from liquefied natural gas exports, expected to add more than $30 billion to state revenues. 

Sovereign funds from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar made up 40 percent of the value of all deals done by global state-backed investors in the first nine months of this year, according to Global SWF.

In September, Abdulla Ali Al-Kuwari, head of Asia Pacific at QIA Advisory, said the fund is looking at expanding into Australia, South Korea and Southeast Asia.

In June, the QIA also announced plans to expand its portfolio in the US and Asia – particularly China and India. It is aiming to take advantage of more “investor-friendly” deal terms, said Mohammed al Hardan, head of QIA’s technology, media and telecom investments.

QIA’s domestic holdings include stakes in Qatar National Bank – the Middle East and Africa’s biggest bank by assets – and former telecom monopoly Ooredoo.