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Qatar fund buys 22% of Chinese PE firm

Qatar Holding, the investment arm of the nation’s sovereign-wealth fund, bought a 22 per cent stake in Chinese private equity firm Citic Capital Holdings as the country accelerates spending on overseas acquisitions.

Qatar Holding bought the shares in the Citic, part-owned by the China Investment Corp, for an undisclosed amount, according to an e-mailed statement on Wednesday from the fund.

The private equity firm, founded in 2002 and based in Hong Kong, oversees more than $4.4 billion, including in funds focused on property.

Qatar is using wealth from the world’s third-largest gas reserves to snap up assets across the globe.

The Middle Eastern nation, which already owns a stake in Agricultural Bank of China., the country’s third-largest bank, took an 11 per cent stake in Swiss miner Xstrata. It also bought UK luxury-good store Harrods for £1.5 billion ($2.3 billion) in 2010.

Citic Capital has raised money from investors including Singapore’s state-backed Temasek Holdings.

In November, the company said it raised $225 million in the first closing if its fourth real estate fund.

The value of private-equity deals in China rose 19 per cent to $28.5 billion last year and has doubled since 2009, according to the Asian Venture Capital Journal.

After the Qatar investment, Citic Pacific and Citic International Financial Holdings will together hold a 43 per cent stake in Citic Capital. CIC, China’s sovereign wealth fund, will own 31.1 per cent, according to the statement.