China and Qatar share their wealth

I hear that China’s sovereign wealth fund, the China Investment Corporation, is looking to Qatar. CIC’s Chairman, Lou Jiwei, was in Doha two weeks ago to sign a memorandum of agreement with Qatar Holding, the investment arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The memorandum apparently facilitates joint-investments in China, the Middle East, and the rest of the world.

There is good reason to assume the memorandum is more than ink on paper. First, the two sovereign wealth funds bailed-out the UK property developer, Songbird Estates, in August. The developer owns 60% of London’s Canary Wharf development and had almost collapsed under the weight of its debts. Second, Qatar Holding plans to open an office in Shanghai, according to this Financial Times article.