Qatar is creating a new division within its sovereign wealth fund dedicated to domestic investments, signaling a shift toward using state capital to strengthen local companies, deepen capital markets and reduce the economy’s reliance on overseas investments.
Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced the creation of Doha Investment on Sunday at a special edition of the Qatar Economic Forum in New York. The move comes as Qatar faces mounting financial pressure from the US-Israeli war on Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted the country’s ability to reliably export liquefied natural gas, its main source of income.
“We aim to expand the role of the private sector in driving Qatar’s economic growth,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
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The annual Qatar Economic Forum had been cancelled in May following weeks of Iranian missile and drone attacks on Gulf states, including Qatar.
The new division will operate as the dedicated manager of the Qatar Investment Authority’s domestic portfolio. It will initially oversee 45 state-owned enterprises representing roughly one-third of the sovereign wealth fund’s total assets, according to Sheikh Faisal bin Thani Al Thani, Qatar’s minister of commerce and industry.
Sheikh Faisal will serve as managing director and vice-chairman of Doha Investment.
“It will support our strongest companies, help emerging businesses grow, deepen capital markets and attract international capital and expertise to contribute to this effort,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
QIA Turns Toward Domestic Growth
The creation of Doha Investment marks a new organizational focus for the Qatar Investment Authority, which was established in 2005 with a mandate centered largely on investing Qatar’s energy wealth abroad.
The QIA does not publish comprehensive data on its holdings, but research firm Global SWF estimates that it manages about $580 billion in assets.
Sheikh Faisal described Doha Investment as a consolidation of existing domestic investment activities rather than an entirely new initiative, saying the move had been under consideration for more than a decade.
QIA has expanded its domestic footprint in recent years by building companies that have become major players in the Qatari economy. Its portfolio includes Qatar Airways, lender QNB, telecoms company Ooredoo, property developer Qatari Diar and hospitality group Katara Hospitality. The new division will have a broader mandate covering the development of national champions, support for privatization, greater private-sector participation and economic diversification.
The shift comes as Qatar seeks to build sources of growth beyond hydrocarbons. The country’s non-hydrocarbon economy expanded 4.8% in 2025, compared with overall real GDP growth of 2.9%, according to data from the Qatar Central Bank and National Planning Council.
Non-hydrocarbon activities accounted for 65.5% of real GDP in the third quarter of this year.
That expansion provides a foundation for Qatar’s effort to give domestic businesses a larger role in economic growth. Doha Investment is expected to use the sovereign wealth fund’s capital and investment expertise to help established companies expand while providing support for emerging businesses.
Hormuz Disruption Raises Urgency
The timing of the restructuring also highlights Qatar’s vulnerability to disruptions in the energy trade.
Qatar is one of the world’s largest LNG exporters, and its hydrocarbon industry remains the country’s primary source of income. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has made LNG exports less reliable, exposing the fiscal and economic risks associated with dependence on a narrow maritime route.
That disruption increases the importance of developing domestic sources of economic activity that can generate growth independently of hydrocarbon exports.
Doha Investment’s mandate therefore extends beyond simply reallocating QIA assets inside Qatar. The division is intended to support a broader economic transition by increasing private-sector participation, encouraging capital-market development and helping companies expand into areas where Qatar can develop competitive businesses.
The emphasis on attracting international capital and expertise also indicates that the government wants domestic investment to bring in external partners rather than rely exclusively on state funding.
For Qatar, the new investment structure creates a more direct link between the country’s vast sovereign wealth and its domestic economic-development objectives. The QIA can continue deploying capital internationally while a dedicated unit focuses on companies and sectors inside the country.
The approach also gives Qatar a mechanism for recycling more of its sovereign wealth into the domestic economy at a time when geopolitical risks are complicating its traditional energy-export model. The immediate economic pressure comes from the disruption to LNG exports, but the longer-term objective is broader: build stronger domestic companies, increase private-sector participation and make non-hydrocarbon activity a larger source of economic growth.
Doha Investment’s establishment marks a formal step in that direction, giving the QIA a dedicated vehicle to manage a substantial share of its domestic assets and potentially making the sovereign wealth fund a more active force in Qatar’s own economic development.