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Qatari Diar plans Vietnam, Cyprus projects, deputy chief says |
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04-NOV-2009 Intellasia | Bloomberg |
4 Nov, 2009 - 7:00:00 AM |
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Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co., part of the country's sovereign wealth fund, will sign an agreement on a mixed-use project in Vietnam in the coming weeks and also plans a hotel in Cyprus, the company's deputy chief executive officer said.
"We are almost done with the deal," in Vietnam, Hassan Alfadala said in an interview today in Yemen's capital, Sana'a. "It will be in the next couple of weeks or months."
Diar, chaired by Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Jaber Al-Thani, has invested $60 billion in projects in more than 18 countries including Morocco, Oman, Egypt, Syria, the Seychelles and the U.K. Alfadala today attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the Al Rayyan Hills development in Sana'a, which is set for completion in 2014 and will include a five-star hotel, homes and retail space.
"The opportunities we see now may not be available in two years," Alfadala said. In 18 months to two years, large financial institutions that curtailed investment during the credit crunch will step up spending again, he said.
A joint-venture agreement on a planned hotel in Cyprus is "under way," he said without providing further details. The company plans to invest $300 million to $400 million on its Mushaireb development in Sudan, he added.
"Its not totally commercial," Alfadala said about the company's investment in developing countries. "Our government is looking to support those local communities and governments."
Diar this month said it secured a 4 billion riyal ($1.1 billion) syndicated loan from Qatar Islamic Bank SAQ. The company asked Qatar Islamic to raise the loan in September to fund European investments. The company has a stake the project to build in the Shard in London, which will be Western Europe's largest skyscraper. This year, Diar also began work on its Mushaireb development in Sudan and announced a $180 million project in Tajikistan.
'Pushing Forward'
Qatar has "been pushing forward in the past couple of months," said Rachel Ziemba, an analyst at New York's RGE Monitor, which researches sovereign wealth funds. "Qatar has more new revenue because of the stabilization of the oil price but also because of the increase in natural gas output."
As the world's largest producer of liquefied natural gas, Qatar is using growing petroleum revenues to invest in real estate projects and companies around the world even as some sovereign funds curtail spending.
The company's stake in French construction company Vinci SA will rise to a "maximum" 8 percent, Alfadala said. Vinci purchased engineer Cegelec SA from Diar for 31.5 million shares in August and its due diligence process will help determine the size of Diar's stake. He said the company has no plans to increase the Vinci holding further.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aWiR4BzsaNMQ
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