US Qatar plans US$35b of US investments

[DUBAI] Qatar plans to invest $35 billion in the United States over the next five years as the world's richest country on a per capita basis diversifies from Europe and Asia.

The Qatar Investment Authority, which helps manage the country's energy-generated wealth, opened an office in New York to "better access new and existing investment partners," the sovereign fund said in a statement Monday.

The Persian Gulf nation will target "various sectors" of the US economy, "creating many American jobs," Qatar's ambassador to Washington, DC, Mohammed Al Kuwari, said in Twitter postings. The fund "remains committed to its investments in Europe, Asia and the Middle East," it said in the statement.

Qatar announced in April that it planned to set up an office for its sovereign wealth fund in New York as it scouts for deals in the US. The Doha-based fund controls more than US$100 billion and has deployed the nation's riches on assets ranging from British bank Barclays Plc to German automaker Volkswagen AG, with many of its investments confined to Europe.

BLOOMBERG