Why Qatar Holding is Ramping Up China Exposure at Golden Networking's China Conference

Aug. 28, 2012 - PRLog -- (August 16, 2012, New York) The Wall Street Journal’s Isabella Steger reported that Chinese fund manager Citic Capital Holdings said that Qatar Holding LLC had bought over a fifth of the firm as the entity owned by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund ramps up its exposure to China. Is there something that Qatar Holding sees that other investors don’t see? Answers to these questions will be proposed at China Leaders Forum 2012, "Will the Chinese Tiger Come Roaring Back After the Crisis?", New York, October 2nd  http://chinaleadersforum.eventbrite.com/).

In a statement, state-backed Citic Capital said Qatar Holding, the fund that has been buying shares in miner Xstrata recently, bought a 22.22% stake by purchasing new shares. After the share enlargement, Citic Pacific Ltd. and Citic International Financial Holdings, both part of conglomerate Citic Group, will jointly have 42.78% in Citic Capital, while sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. will have 31.11%.
Qatar Holding has a stake in one of China's biggest banks, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. after subscribing to $2.8 billion worth of shares in the bank's 2010 initial public offering. As at the end of 2011, Qatar Holding had a 22.18% position in AgBank's Hong Kong-listed shares, representing 2.1% of the Chinese bank's total issued shares, according to AgBank's annual report. Qatar Holding also has an 11.95% stake in Xstrata and is pushing for better terms in the miner's merger with Swiss commodities trader Glencore International PLC.

By investing in Citic Capital, Qatar Holding will increase its exposure to a number of sectors in the Chinese economy. For example, Citic Capital said earlier this year it is looking to make heavy investments in Chinese residential and retail property, targeting returns of 15% to 18%.
Citic Capital is also a strategic investor in state-owned China Cinda Asset Management Co., which is preparing for an initial public offering. Cinda is one of four asset management companies that Beijing set up more than a decade ago to clean up the balance sheets of its major state-owned banks. The Chinese funds group is also part of a consortium of investors in U.S.-listed Focus Media Holding Ltd. that has announced plans to take the company private in a $3.7 billion deal early this month.

China Leaders Forum 2012, "Will the Chinese Tiger Come Roaring Back After the Crisis?", October 2nd, New York City, will provide attendees with the responses to the above-mentioned questions and the most up-to-date review of where the Asian giant stands and the challenges and opportunities for businessmen looking to expand their business with China when others only see growth contraction. Recognized experts, regulators, and strategists, will return to China Leaders Forum 2012 in its fourth edition to provide the information practitioners are looking for in an open and unbiased environment, highly conducive to the most efficient and effective networking.

China Leaders Forum 2012 is produced by Golden Networking, the premier networking community for business executives, entrepreneurs and investors. Panelists, speakers and sponsors are invited to contact Golden Networking by sending an email to info@goldennetworking.net.