It’s Qatar’s turn to stake its claim in global finance

Qatar wants a slice of the cake: It’s Qatar’s turn to stake its claim in global finance, as its sovereign wealth fund pours capital into firms, drawing financiers to set up shop in Doha in exchange for backing, the Financial Times writes.

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The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has already committed nearly half of its USD 1 bn fund-of-funds to attract VCs, aiming to turn the country into a regional VC hub. “There is a different level of engagement when [the partners] are prepared to invest into the country and help diversify your own economy,” said Mohsin Pirzada, head of funds at the QIA.

The Gulf state is following in the footsteps of its regional rivals, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, which have used their sovereign wealth funds to bring global finance players into their markets. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and BlackRock launched BlackRock Riyadh Investment Management last year after the PIF committed USD 5 bn to BlackRock and Abu Dhabi has become a magnet for hedge funds and asset managers like Brevan Howard and PGIM.

Now, Qatar’s making its own push — backing six VC firms so far, including Builders VC and B Capital. Two have already opened offices in Doha, while the others are finalizing their move.

Qatar isn’t just looking at venture capital — it also wants private equity-backed companies to set up shop. “If these underlying companies want to expand into the Middle East, then we would roll out the red carpet and say, consider Doha as a choice,” Pirzada said.

Qatar’s latest play for venture capital aligns with other Gulf nation’s ambitions to diversify their economies, with Pirzada calling the intra-regional competition to attract fund managers “healthy.”

PLUS- JPMorgan muscles into the USD 2 tn private credit market: The largest US bank is setting aside some USD 50 bn of its own capital, and another USD 15 bn from outside investors, to lend directly to private equity-backed firms, Financial Times reports. CEO Jamie Dimon framed the move as giving corporate clients “more options and flexibility from a bank they already know.” While rivals like Citigroup have partnered with private credit giants, JPMorgan is leveraging its own balance sheet to bypass traditional debt markets.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are broadly in the red in early trading this morning — Japan’s Nikkei is down 1%, the Shanghai Composite is looking at losses of 0.5%, the Hang Seng is down 1.9%, and the Kospi is down 0.2%.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.3% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 3.7 bn (1.9% above the 90-day average). International investors were the sole net sellers. The index is up 4.0% YTD.

In the green: Orascom Development Egypt (+5.6%), Sidpec (+3.9%), and Orascom Construction (+1.2%).

In the red: Juhayna (-2.5%), EFG Holding (-2.3%), and Rameda (-1.8%).