Qatar set to invest £5bn in UK over next five years

LONDON:Qatar will invest £5 billion in Britain within five years in a boost for the post-Brexit economy, Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani announced Monday.

"Over the next three to five years Qatar will invest £5 billion ($6.23 billion, 5.8 billion euros) in the UK economy through various investment funds and relevant parties in Qatar -- which will constitute another addition to its already successful investments in the UK," he said at the Qatar-UK Business and Investment Forum in London.

The investments will focus on energy, infrastructure, real estate and services, Sheikh Abdullah announced shortly after appearing at the investment forum, which brings together over 400 British and Qatari business leaders and senior politicians.

Qatar has already invested more than £40 billion across Britain, including in iconic real estate such as London's Shard and Canary Wharf buildings and the Harrod's department store, while the country also bought the Olympic Village following the London 2012 Olympics.

It also plans to turn the current US embassy in London into an exclusive hotel after the US moves to a new base.

British trade minister Liam Fox was also present at this week's event, which moves to the central England city of Birmingham on Tuesday for its second and final day.

Fox was keen to show the world that Britain is open for business despite leaving the EU, and said that Qatar made an ideal post-Brexit trading partner.

"We have to stop viewing things through the prism of Brexit," he told the forum.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Press), 2017