Qatar Investment Authority is the world’s ninth largest sovereign wealth fund, standing at $450 billion.

Qatar is mulling a proposal to expand its $450 billion sovereign wealth fund, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Officials are contemplating a plan to make Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) the money manager for large state-run companies. It would mean combining the country’s assets under one institution, according to sources, who asked Bloomberg to remain anonymous as the information isn’t public.

Maximilian Mahringer, a QIA executive and former McKinsey & Co. consultant, is assisting in the project’s development.

There have been no final decisions made, and it is unclear which state enterprises will be included. Bloomberg was unable to reach a  spokesperson for the QIA for comment.

According to data by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI), the approach might help Doha minimise costs while considerably increasing the overall assets under QIA, which is presently the world’s ninth-largest sovereign wealth fund.

A sovereign wealth fund is a collection of funds set aside by a government to assist the economy and residents of that country. The money in a sovereign wealth fund originates from a country’s reserves, which have accumulated as a result of budget surpluses, trade surpluses, and earnings from natural resource exports.

Following years of significant investment in Europe, the fund has pledged to put more money into Asia and the United States as part of Qatar’s economic diversification strategy.

QIA has advanced in the wealth fund rankings over the last year, aided by rising gas prices, the country’s principal export, and Qatar’s improved ties with Saudi Arabia. It has shares in the London Stock Exchange Group Plc, Volkswagen AG, and Glencore Plc, among other major corporations.

The government also expects the World Cup, which will be hosted later this year, to bring in $20 billion in revenue.

The country’s investment authority was founded in 2005 and now has $450 billion in assets. It has investments in real estate, infrastructure, telecommunications, media, and technology (TMT), healthcare, financial institutions, retail, and consumer.

Based on reports by SWFI, QIA is the world’s ninth biggest sovereign wealth fund and the fourth largest in the Middle East region, trailing Kuwait Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

The Norway Government Pension Fund Global is the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, according to SWFI data. The value of its assets currently stands at $1.34 trillion.

“No further investments in Russia”

Last month, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar’s Foreign Minister, stated that the government will not make any new investments in Russia until there is “clarity on the stability of the situation” in Ukraine.

In an interview with CNN on the sidelines of this year’s Doha Forum, Qatar’s Foreign Minister said that investment in Moscow is presently “under a lot of review,” and that the country will not consider increasing its investments until it sees “a better environment and more political stability.”

QIA’s present and extensive investments in Rosneft, the Russian gas giant, are based on ‘commercial assessment’ and are still ongoing.