Doha: The assets under management by the sovereign wealth fund (SWF) of Qatar have far exceeded $100 billion (Dh367 billion), Qatar Investment Authority board member executive Hussain Al Abdullah said yesterday.
Asked if the assets of the fund have reached $100 billion, Abdullah told reporters they were "much more" but declined to provide a specific figure.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Investment Forum in the Qatari capital Doha, Abdullah said: We like commodities, we like to invest in commodities. Since 2002, the commodity price trend keeps going up," Abdullah said.
"Also, because of the fin-ancial crisis, people are not investing enough in commodities. Maybe in 2016 and 2017 that might create a gap between supply and demand that might push prices even higher up."
Commenting on the fund's strategy, Abdullah said: "(It) is simple: we are opportunistic. If there is an opportunity in France, we will go to France. If there is an opportunity in Rwanda, we will go to Rwanda.
"We have no asset allocation or geographic allocation. After the financial crisis, all that went in the garbage. Today, it is very difficult for us to see forward. We cannot see more than three months forward."
QIA has also been slowly buying into London-listed miner Xstrata. Its holding in Xstrata, which is planning to merge with commodities trader Glencore, is about 6.3 per cent.
However, Abdullah declined to comment on the rationale for the stake buy and whether the fund would support the merger.
Qatar surprised many observers by passing on the Glencore initial public offering last year as rival Aabar bought into the flotation.
