Gulf real estate investments usually revolve around prime properties in cosmopolitan cities, but Qatar’s latest deals are a bit downmarket.
The Qatar Investment Authority, Doha’s sovereign wealth fund, has joined private equity firm Warburg Pincus and other investors to buy a $141 million stake in Indian affordable housing specialist Truhome Finance.
And Qilaa International Group, another Qatari investor with links to the ruling Al-Thani family, agreed to build 1 million affordable homes in Indonesia, with housing minister Maruarar Sirait saying that city-dwelling lower-middle-class locals would benefit.
Affordable housing is a priority for many governments, but securing foreign financing can be challenging.
Some governments have been offering incentives such as land grants and tax benefits to boost profitability, and these types of projects are often substantial enough to attract the large-scale investments that sovereign wealth funds would have historically deployed in a luxury skyscraper.