Doha, June 21 (QNA) - HE Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Investment Authority Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud stressed the State of Qatar's endeavor to invest in various sectors and expand its current projects by taking advantage of the financial surpluses resulting from the rise in oil prices.
In a dialogue session within the activities of the Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg, His Excellency said that the funds resulting from the increase in oil prices will constitute an opportunity to invest in various sectors, but must be taken with caution due to the fluctuation of oil prices in addition to global inflation rates and their impact on the global economy.
He pointed out that the Qatar Investment Authority is currently focusing on investments in the technology, health, and technologies sectors that will help advance Qatar's economic projects, as there are already Qatari investments in the US, Asia, and Europe in the technology sector.
HE CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority also spoke about other important sectors such as governance, environment, and clean economy, stressing that there are opportunities to deal with partners interested in these sectors, and that work is currently underway in this context to develop performance indicators, which may take some time due to reviewing the various schools specialized in this field.
His Excellency stated that Qatar Investment Authority invests in the field of renewable energy and energy storage facilities resulting from renewable sources, and there are existing partnerships and other partnerships that are being worked on with various sectors, and they will be successful and will constitute an emulated experience, expecting that Europe will go through a period of economic recession due to the energy crisis.
He explained that the Qatar Investment Authority will not stop investing in Europe in selected fields, in addition to expanding in the Asian markets, noting that European countries are a destination for skills, and have a solid education system, tourist attractions, and other programs concerned with renewable energy.
The expected economic recession in Europe will be a difficult but positive journey, he said, expressing his optimism for the future despite these expectations, especially in light of the presence of many technology-related activities in the European Union countries that will be taken care of and worked on.
He noted that the investment strategy for 2018 focused on Europe, with the decision to also focus on expanding into other markets in Asia and the US, meaning that there will be a distribution of Qatari investments between different geographical regions, which also includes Africa, where there are Qatari investments in the field of renewable energy and there is a real desire to move forward with these economic projects in this continent.
His Excellency also spoke during the session about the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, which has not, so far, affected Qatar's investments in Russia. He noted that some companies decided to exit Russia but it is very difficult to get out of this important market. In a related context, he said that Qatar is committed to international sanctions against Russia and is trying to find a solution to this problem, expressing his hope that this crisis will be resolved soon.
His Excellency indicated that Qatar has a large investment in the Russian company Rosneft that is not covered by international sanctions, in addition to the fact that other Qatari investments have not been affected by this situation so far. He pointed out that the Qatar Investment Authority did not invest in cryptocurrencies despite having a clear view and a desire to invest in the blockchain sector, especially in the US. (QNA)