Doha Investment is expanding Qatar’s Active Asset Management Initiative from QAR2.6 billion to QAR5 billion (about US$1.4 billion). The extra QAR2.4 billion will be funded with new cash.
The platform was launched in September to manage the domestic holdings of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
It said the expansion will help deepen liquidity and draw more institutions into the market.
The move also aims to grow Qatar’s capital markets and asset management sector.
QIA set up the programme in 2024. It works with global and local fund managers that have experience in Qatar and the wider Gulf, and it has invested QAR2.6 billion so far.
Four managers now take part, namely Ashmore Group, Fiera Capital, Franklin Templeton and Lesha Bank.
Ashmore was the first to join in January 2024. Its Qatar equity fund opened with about US$200 million, with QIA as the anchor investor.
Each manager runs an active fund, which means it picks stocks rather than tracking an index.
When QIA first set up the scheme, it said it would seed these funds with shares it held in firms listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange.
“The additional investment will contribute to a more active and diversified market, while strengthening collaboration with leading asset managers,”
said Sheikh Faisal bin Thani Al Thani, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Vice Chairman and Managing Director at Doha Investment.
Local and foreign managers that meet the criteria can join, including firms based in Asia.
However, the announcement did not say what those criteria are. Doha Investment added that new managers will continue to join on a regular basis.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News UAE, based on image by Doha Investment and lifeforstock via Magnific.
