QIA to continue long-term investments in tech, renewable energy post-pandemic

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Lani Rose R Dizon | The Peninsula

Doha: The Qatar investment Authority (QIA), one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, will continue to grow its diverse portfolio with long-term investments in technology and renewable energy – two sectors which have seen massive growth in funding during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the Doha Forum yesterday, Chief Investment Officer at QIA (Americas) Mohammad Saif Al Sowaidi (pictured), who was also a panel speaker during the event, said the Qatari sovereign wealth fund's recent investments mirror the changes in consumer behavior in the last two years.

“QIA as a sovereign fund has a very big diversified portfolio that touches upon different spectrums of the industries, the economies, and investment themes. And whenever big events like the pandemic happen, which result in potential changes in consumer behavior, preferences and lifestyle, as an investor you want to invest in businesses that you believe are the net beneficiaries out of these changes. Technology has always been a big area of investment for QIA. Post-pandemic, we will continue investing in technology, renewable energy, healthcare, education, as well as in other areas such as retail and real estate,” Al Sowaidi said.

Some of the QIA's recent tech investments during the pandemic include its funding for cloud kitchen Indian unicorn Rebel Foods, which is dubbed as the world's largest internet restaurant company, as well as in Swiggy, a leading Indian online food ordering and delivery platform.

This year, QIA has also committed $1.5bn to the 'Bodhi Tree' investment platform, which was designed to invest in media and consumer technology opportunities in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on India. The new venture is expected to positively impact millions of consumers across the region.

In early March, marketing technology unicorn Insider has announced its successful $121m Series D round led by QIA. With the funding milestone, the company has become one of a few female-led SaaS unicorns in the world, with plans to create 2,000 more jobs over the next four years.
As for green investments, almost 50 percent of QIA's infrastructure power generation projects are said to have been zero-emission investments as of 2021, with plans to continue to shift further towards greener assets.

“Our CEO has previously announced QIA's intention to invest further on renewable energy, and to avoid traditional sources of fuel energy. Another example of this is our investment in Fluence, a US-based business with a global operation whose objective is transitioning businesses from conventional energy sources to renewable energy sources and energy storage. We've been one of the ambassadors for this kind of business, and we support the management team directly,” added Al Sowaidi. Fluence, a Siemens and AES Company, is considered as the global market leader in energy storage and technology solutions and services.

More recently, the QIA, which is one of the six founding members of the 'One Planet Sovereign Wealth Fund', also announced its joint venture partnership with Enel to build and operate renewable plants in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Doha-based sovereign wealth fund also invested in Rolls Royce Group last year on a new low carbon nuclear power business.
Earlier during a panel discussion on 'Reimagining Business Models in a Post-Pandemic Era', Al Sowaidi reiterated that while business models may change all the time, QIA aims to be a long-term investor to its partners.

“A lot of investments at QIA come with a very high level of overlay which covers long-term demand. We enable businesses to be transformed, and we're trying to be long-term investors that add value and guidance to businesses,” he added.

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