Qatar wealth fund to buy remaining 10% of bank shares

Qatar Investment Authority, the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund, will complete its purchase of a 20 percent stake in certain Qatar banks by the end of the first quarter, state-run Qatar News Agency reported.

The wealth fund will purchase up to 20 percent of shares in certain banks, the agency said, citing

Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Jaber Al Thani, without specifying the lenders.
The fund has already raised its stake in banks by 10 percent, the news agency reported, in a bid to prop up lenders damaged by the economic crisis.

The stake buy would not cover any dividends resulting from the bank's activities in 2010.

QIA began buying bank shares in December 2008 after announcing it planned to inject $5.3bn in local banks – including Commercial Bank and Doha Bank - to shore up investor confidence and sustain project financing during the downturn.