Doha: Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) sees Japan as a ‘key market’ and continues to seek new opportunities there, the head of Asia-Pacific investments for the fund told Nikkei Asia in an interview.
Abdulla Ali al-Kuwari, Head of QIA Advisory for Asia Pacific, said QIA "has more than doubled its investments in Japan" since 2021, when it opened a Singapore office as a base for expanding in Asia.
Established in 2005, QIA has become one of the leading Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. It does not disclose its size but is estimated to manage over $500 billion in assets.
It made few moves in Japan until around 2020 but quickened its pace from the following year. QIA is believed to have made several 100bn yen ($646m) in Japanese investments to date, including a 5 percent stake in chipmaking equipment supplier Kokusai Electric worth about 50 billion yen.
"It's a key market for us," al-Kuwari said about Japan. "I have been spending a lot of time there, and I'm going to spend a lot of time there."
Al Kuwari said QIA has a dedicated team for Japan that it is expanding. He said that the fund is "agnostic" when it comes to the size of individual investments.
"It's all about the opportunity," he said, noting that QIA had made a deal to invest $1 billion in India's Reliance Retail Ventures. Besides semiconductors, it also sees potential in Japan in such areas as manufacturing and real estate. QIA is also watching various other sectors.
