QIF : Good year for Qatar Investment Fund
Qatar Investment Fund’s net asset value rose by 21.6% over the year to end June 2014, lagging the Qatari stock market which rose by 23.9%. The total return to shareholders over the year was 29.1%, this includes a 3.2 cent dividend. A 3.5 cent dividend is proposed for the current year.
The investment adviser’s report says the banking sector (including financial services) remains its most favoured sector with a weighting of 43.5% of NAV. Qatar National Bank is QIF’s largest single holding (15.1% of NAV), followed by Commercial Bank of Qatar (8.6%). Qatar’s banking sector growth continues. Total assets grew 5.0% between December 2013 and June 2014, driven by a 6.1% expansion of the loan book. The outlook is good with additional lending growth as a result of increased investment spending and rising population. Lower provisioning and efficient cost management should also improve profitability.
The industrials sector remains the Company’s second largest weighting at 16.7% (Q1 2014: 17.8%). Real estate increased to 12.1% (Q1 2014: 11.3%) of the Company, with telecoms decreasing to 6.7% from 7.8%. The insurance sector increased from 5.3% to 6.3% at the end of Q2 2014. Weighting in the transportation sector reduced marginally to 4.7%. Services and consumer goods sector weighting increased to 2.3% from 1.8%.