“We are very much focused on sustainable investments whether it’s in technology, infrastructure, education, healthcare, and those sectors prevailed even during the (Covid-19) pandemic,” he said during a discussion titled “West Asia and North Africa: Paths Towards Stability and Prosperity” with CNBC news anchor Hadley Gamble.
“And one important element we are looking at is to apply it to our matrix which should have any economic impact for the country that we are investing in and for Qatar… and its environmental impact for the globe,” said HE Sheikh Mohamed, also the QIA chairman.
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the landscape of the global economy, creating a lot of opportunities but also ended some of the businesses which were rising in the previous years, he observed.
“We are very much focused and determined even with the pandemic. I believe most of the sovereign wealth fund has done very well in terms of investments in the last year, and we hope that we continue like this.
“It is very important to keep our strategy very dynamic given the change in the dynamics in the world, (it) is getting much faster than before,” HE Sheikh Mohamed said.
He cited the importance of technology and digitalisation, especially in terms of allocating assets, saying that QIA – historically, has been into financial services, real estate and other traditional assets – has redirected its strategies and focused on these sectors in the past few years.
About digital and cryptocurrencies, HE Sheikh Mohamed said: “For us, as a sovereign wealth fund, we look very carefully how risky is the investment… because we believe that we are managing funds for our children, our grandchildren, for the next generations to come, not for ourselves to enjoy for a short term.”
“Digital currency is still unclear there is no certainty about it, maybe in the coming years it will be strengthened, it will be something more popular and it will get much better value and this will be good for the early investors but we would rather have less return but be on a solid ground,” he said.
HE Sheikh Mohamed stressed that they have no plans to get into the crypto space anytime soon, but instead to have a balanced portfolio. “Diversification in terms of sector and geography is key for us.”
