Qatar Wealth Fund President is waiting for cryptocurrency to mature | Business and Economic News

QIA CEO Mansoor Bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud stated at the Qatar Economic Forum that cryptocurrencies “need a little maturity before we can express our views on investments in this area”.

The “speculation” surrounding cryptocurrencies has prevented Qatar’s sovereign wealth funds from investing in one of the world’s most volatile asset classes.

The extreme volatility of Bitcoin and other tokens hinders their attractiveness to institutional investors such as the Qatar Investment Authority. The Qatar Investment Authority is one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds. The global sovereign wealth fund estimates that its assets exceed US$360 billion.

QIA CEO Mansoor Bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud stated at the Qatar Economic Forum that cryptocurrencies “need a little maturity before we can express our views on investments in this area”.

After the turbulent rout, the prospects of Bitcoin and other tokens were questioned.

Bitcoin has fallen by more than 50% from its high of nearly $65,000 in mid-April. After a four-fold increase in 2020, the token will start trading at approximately US$29,000 in 2021. After falling below the $30,000 level earlier, investors rebounded on Wednesday.

Asia, the U.S. pivot

Al Mahmoud stated that QIA will focus on continuing to increase investment in Asia and the United States, rather than crypto assets, because it wants to balance the concentration of European assets in its portfolio. He said the fund will also increase its investment in warehouses in response to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on retail and office real estate.

“Our focus in the real estate sector is the theme of investing in warehousing to support e-commerce businesses,” he said. “This is a market segment that we are deploying on a large scale.”

QIA was established in 2005 when the country hoped to use the soaring natural gas export revenue to invest in assets to ensure future income. It holds shares in some of the world’s top companies, including London Stock Exchange Group, Volkswagen and Glencore.

Al Mahmoud said that this year the fund will also consider incorporating environmental, sustainability and governance (or ESG) considerations into its investment criteria.

“We have made considerable investments in ESG initiatives and projects, and it will be institutionalized this year,” he said. “We will embed ESG into our investment process.”

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Qatar, Qatar Investment Promotion Agency and Qatar Media City are the underwriters of the Bloomberg Qatar Economic Forum.