Destination Doha
When it comes to sovereign wealth funds, Gulf countries, along with China, are dominant players. Carlo Gelfo, 35 years old and a Bocconi Graduate in Economics and Management of Public Administrations and International Institutions who also holds a CEMS Master Degree, works in Doha as director of foreign direct investment for the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Investment Company (QADIC), a joint venture between the two sovereign wealth funds of Qatar (QIA) and Abu Dhabi (Mubadala).
➜ Qatar and Abu Dhabi. What is the combined size of their sovereign funds? And in what industries do they invest?
In terms of wealth management, our shareholders control assets for hundreds of billions of dollars, while QADIC has a few billion on its own. The sectors concerned are diverse: ranging from retail and consumer industries, to business services, real estate, infrastructure, and natural resources.
➜ In which countries do you operate?
Our mandate is global, but we invest in particular in North America, Asia and Europe. As for the latter, our shareholders in the past were more focused on Great Britain, but now the portfolios have been re-balanced.
➜ About Britain: do you fear the consequences of Brexit?
We are waiting to see what happens; everything will depend on the final agreement with the EU.
➜ Are your investments also targeting Italy?
Yes, Qatar invested in the Porta Nuova real estate development in Milan, for example, but also in the coastal area of Sardinia which was built by Aga Khan in the 1960s, places like Porto Cervo and Porto Rotondo. In addition, QADIC has considered Italy with due regard with respect to the quality of the country's SMEs and the commitment of the shareholders of Italian firms, which, with the help of new capital, are often able to significantly speed up their growth and expansion.
➜ How is your financial sector evolving in general?
It is increasingly becoming institutionalized and specialized. In financial teams, more and more are the professionals coming from the various industries that attract investment, who are then recruited by wealth funds and major investment banks.
➜ How is it working for a sovereign fund in Doha?
It's an experience that gives you a global view, as our investments are spread across the whole world. Unlike a normal fund, a sovereign fund can have a longer investment horizon that allows greater investment flexibility and a kind of vision that is more aligned with that of entrepreneurs and active shareholders. There is clearly greater complexity in the fact that, since we are investing public money, control procedures are necessarily more laborious than those in private funds.