Qatar plans $35B in US investment over next five years

From the New York website: Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund plans to invest $35 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, and it’s opened a New York office to “better access new and existing investment partners.”

The Qatar Investment Authority, which controls more than $250 billion in funds, said Monday that it plans to target various sectors of the U.S. economy, though it declined to provide details on potential investments.

The Doha-based fund has deployed Qatar’s riches on assets ranging from British bank Barclays to commodities trader Glencore, with most of its investments confined to Europe so far, according to Bloomberg. In January, it led a group of investors who agreed to buy London’s Canary Wharf financial district in a deal valued at $3.94 billion.

Qatar has invested in New York and Miami’s real estate market in recent years. In South Florida, Qatar’s largest development company acquired the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort for $213 million in 2014.

In New York, Vornado Realty Trust also entered negotiations with the Qatar Investment Authority last year on hundreds of millions of dollars in financing for the company’s 220 Central Park South condo tower. Earlier this year, a Qatari buyer looked to combine multiple apartments at the skyscraper into a single, $250 million penthouse, as The Real Deal reported. [Bloomberg] – Rey Mashayekhi