Qatar: Norway's sovereign fund invests in QLM
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Mar 2021
Norway’s $1.3tn sovereign wealth fund has acquired shares of QLM Life & Medical Insurance Co, the first Qatari firm to list on the local stock market since 2019, reported Bloomberg.
Norway’s central bank, which oversees the world’s biggest wealth fund, purchased a stake just shy of 5% in January, according to data from the Qatar Stock Exchange. The holding is worth about $17m at the current market capitalisation. In total, foreign shareholders have snapped up 11.5% of the firm.
QLM counts Qatar’s government pension fund as an anchor investor. Share purchases in its IPO were restricted to Qatari nationals or corporate investors incorporated in the country.
QLM, the largest health and life insurance company and the only specialised company in this field in Qatar, went public in January. M