Qatar sovereign wealth fund to invest $1bn in India’s Reliance Retail Ventures

Qatar sovereign wealth fund to invest $1bn in India’s Reliance Retail Ventures

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is set to invest $1bn in Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s retail unit, valuing the shopping company at $100bn, in the latest sign of Gulf investors’ deepening exposure to India’s fast-growing economy.

The $450bn Qatar Investment Authority would take a 0.99 per cent stake in Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, the Reliance Industries subsidiary announced on Wednesday.

“QIA is committed to supporting innovative companies with high growth potential in India’s fast growing retail market,” QIA chief executive Mansoor Ebrahim al-Mahmoud said in a statement.

He added that Reliance Retail joined the fund’s “growing and diverse portfolio of investments in India”.

The investment will be one of the biggest bets made on Indian retail by the gas-rich Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund, which has also invested in Indian start-ups including online restaurant company Rebel Foods and delivery group Swiggy. The Financial Times reported Qatar was considering the investment last month.

The deal follows a series of other transactions in India by the QIA. This month, a wholly owned subsidiary of the fund spent $474mn on a nearly 3 per cent stake in Adani Green Energy, the renewables unit of tycoon Gautam Adani, market data has revealed.

Ambani has used equity sales to deep-pocketed global investors