Daily Telegraph: Over the past three months, Qatar – a state no bigger than Yorkshire – has embarked on the financial equivalent of a £7bn supermarket sweep.
It has snaffled up key stakes in mining giant Xstrata, luxury goods group LVMH, French media group Lagardere and oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and Total.
Some have speculated that the departure of Anthony Armstrong – ex-M&A chief at the emirate’s investment arm Qatar Holdings (QH) – has propelled others with a bigger thirst for acquisitions to the front of the queue, not least chief executive Ahmad Mohamed Al-Sayed.
Whatever the spark, Qatar Holdings shows no signs of slowing down. It has an $80bn (£50bn) cash pile that is burning a hole in its very deep pockets, and it has pledged to spend another £13bn this year alone, with much of it earmarked for eurozone or UK listed companies.
“They believe in Europe,” says one insider. “They are long term investors and they are very sanguine about what is going on right now.”
It is their right to invest their cash properly and wisely.