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Qatar state fund eyes European banks

Qatar, which bought ‘under’ 2 percent of Credit Suisse, is looking to spend between $10 billion and $15 billion over the next two years on bank stakes to diversify the country’s economy from oil and natural gas, Shaikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said in an interview in Doha, Qatar.

‘In the United States, we need to wait a little,’ Shaikh Hamad said late on Saturday. ‘We think there are still problems with the banks.’

In contrast, state-run Kuwait Investment Authority, which has at least $225 billion of assets, said last month it would invest $3 billion in Citigroup Inc and $2 billion in Merrill Lynch & Co as the two US banks scrambled for capital after billions of dollars in writedowns.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is also investing in the two, but has not said how much.

‘We are active in international markets and in wherever we find a good opportunity ... in property, financial or industrial,’ Shaikh Hamad said, declining to be more specific.

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), whose assets Standard Chartered Plc puts at $60 billion, is considering making an investment in Britain’s second-biggest bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the QIA’s plans.

Shares in RBS were up 7.2 percent at 1001 GMT. A spokeswoman for RBS declined to comment on Monday on the newspaper report.

In January, The Sunday Telegraph was the first to report Qatar’s interest in Credit Suisse, saying the QIA was looking to build a 5 percent stake in the Swiss lender.

‘Up to now, I think it is under 2 percent, but, of course, when we reach the legal point where we have to declare, we will do so,’ Shaikh Hamad said of his Credit Suisse shares. The threshold for public disclosure is 3 percent.

‘We are buying them for the long-term strategic holding, and it’s not for selling,’ Shaikh Hamad said, adding he had made no decision yet about whether to buy more.

‘We believe in the bank,’ he said. ‘We are also buying stakes in other banks, and this is to create a basket.’

The lender said on Feb. 19 it was marking down asset-backed positions by $2.85 billion, which would wipe off $1 billion from its net income. A spokesman for Credit Suisse declined to comment on Monday.

By Friday’s market close, Credit Suisse stock had fallen 22.5 percent, and Royal Bank of Scotland’s almost 15 percent. Citigroup, too, has fallen almost 15 percent this year and Merrill Lynch 1.2 percent, according to Reuters data. Credit Suisse shares were up 2.71 percent at 1007 GMT on Monday.

Qatar, which has a population of about 1 million and is the richest Arab country per capita, may consider adding to its 15 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange, Shaikh Hamad said.

‘We have a policy which we are studying in stock exchanges ... One of them is the LSE,’ Shaikh Hamad said. ‘The main thing for us is what sort of benefit we will get from it ... We are looking at it for the capital markets here.’

Asked if he was interested in buying more shares in the LSE, Shaikh Hamad said: ‘We might look at it, possibly.’

Shaikh Hamad said in March he was interested in buying as much as 10 percent of Airbus parent EADS, but on Monday said there were no immediate plans.

‘EADS is a good company, but we have not bought a direct stake,’ he said. ‘We were looking at it at one stage, but the price has dropped, so we are waiting.’

The QIA owns 7.5 percent of French group Lagardere, which owns shares in EADS. Qatar has no plans to sell any of its Lagardere stock, Shaikh Hamad said.