The Qatari wealth fund is the fourth largest of its kind globally.
Qatar Investment Authority acquired 32 residential assets in Japan for an undisclosed amount, property firm Gaw Capital Partners announced on Tuesday.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with QIA to create this multi-family portfolio, and will further acquire high-quality residential assets across major cities in Japan,” said Christina Gaw, managing principal and global head of capital markets at Gaw Capital Partners.
Gaw added that her company and the sovereign Qatari wealth fund are planning more acquisitions for other residential assets in major Japanese cities. Most of the assets are located in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama, and Sapporo.
The residential buildings have train and metro access, with stations that are within an average walking distance of six minutes.
“We are pleased to have completed this deal in acquiring a large portfolio of residential assets across major cities in Japan. These high-quality residential assets will provide stable and defensive cash flows for our investors,” said Isabella Lo, Managing Director and Head of Japan at Gaw Capital Partners.
The Qatari wealth fund is the fourth largest of its kind globally.
Qatar-Japan ties
Qatar and Japan have maintained strong bilateral ties for 50 years, especially in the energy sector.
Japan had received Qatar’s first shipment of liquified natural gas (LNG) in 1996. The Asian country has since received more than 3,000 deliveries. The Gulf state also supplies Japan with an average of 7.2 million tonnes of gas on an annual basis.
Doha also became a reliable energy partner during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. At the time, the Asian country needed LNG to make up for the damage its entire nuclear power generators sustained.
At the time, Qatar supplied Japan with up to 17 million tonnes of gas, the equivalent of around 20% of Japan’s total imports in 2013.
Last year, Qatar secured major contracts with Japanese companies for its North Field expansion project. The $28.7 billion project is the largest of its kind in the world.
The main engineering and construction contract for the first phase of its expansion was given to a joint venture of Japan’s Chiyoda Corp and Technip.
In April, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed their cooperation in stabilising energy markets. This came in a phone call between the Qatari leader and Japanese official amid concerns over energy security.
Beyond their business ties, Qatar and Japan have also cooperated in the field of culture.
This was seen in 2012 with the launch of the Qatar-Japan Year of Culture. The programme was initiated by Qatar Museums (QM) at the time to showcase Doha’s ties with other countries.
Last year, Qatar and Japan hosted their first strategic dialogue, chaired by the Gulf state’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and his counterpart at the time Toshimitsu Motegi.
During the high profile meeting, the officials discussed their countries’ bilateral ties and agreed to continue to promote cooperation in a range of fields. They also tapped into the situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of Kabul.
The strategic dialogue came a week after the developments in Afghanistan, with Qatar carrying out mass evacuations of Afghans and foreigners.
