22nd Jul 2014 11:17
LONDON (Alliance News) - Qatar Investment Fund PLC Tuesday backed Qatar's economy whether or not the country loses its rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the wake of corruption allegations in relations to the bidding process.
The fund, which holds 17 of its 27 holdings in Qatar, with smaller interests in the UAE, Oman and Kuwait, said that its investment adviser, the Qatar Insurance Company SAQ, thinks that although the 2022 World Cup is an "important catalyst" for growth, it is not the sole driver.
"The investment adviser believes that while the 2022 World Cup remains important in providing a timing discipline on infrastructure plans, it's worth remembering that most of this infrastructure spend, e.g. road/rail transport infrastructure, expansion of air/sea ports, healthcare/education investments, was already planned prior to the 2022 World Cup hosting decision and is likely to go ahead even if the World Cup is moved elsewhere," the fund said in a statement.
However, the fund did caution that some of those projects might be put on hold or cancelled altogether, the bulk of which would be stadia and related facilities, if the rights to hosting the tournament were to be removed
"The investment adviser believes that with or without the World Cup, Qatar's economy will continue to prosper on the back of double digit non-hydrocarbon sector growth in coming years. The country would continue with its massive infrastructure development program," the fund said.
The fund's backing for the Qatari economy came in a statement reporting that the fund's net asset value per share increased 13.6% in the first six months of 2014, as the Qatar Exchange Index rose 10.7% over the same period.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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