Qatar pondering taking stake in Porsche?
The worst secret in the universe is that there's a lot of money in the Middle East and the Gulf states are looking all over the world for places to put it. Abu Dhabi's Aabar investment spent €1.95 billion on a 9.1% stake in Daimler (around $2.5B USD), and now the state of Qatar is eying what could be a double-digit stake in Porsche. Qatar hasn't floated any potential investment sums, but said one sheikh, "we are looking into this issue."
The deal likely wouldn't be a bad one for Porsche either. The Stuttgart maker has some cash intensive plans on the horizon, including a €3.3 billion credit payment ($4.3B) and upping its stake in VW another 25% to 75%. Porsche refinanced €10 billion ($13.2B) of its debt just last month, and now wants to raise €2.5 billion ($3.3B) to keep things moving. Having gone from a couple of models to five different lines in 28 variations, it is likely that Porsche will be looking for all of the investment monies it can get.
[Source: Auto News, sub req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
nastinupe 4:33PM (4/28/2009)
Great, now we are going to have gold plated Cayman's as standard trim.
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paul34 4:43PM (4/28/2009)
Well, the oil fest is going to end sooner or later, so it makes sense to diversify in many different areas with the money you've got.
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Sea Urchin 5:03PM (4/28/2009)
Well how about education, modernization, human rights, textbooks?
paul34 5:06PM (4/28/2009)
The Arabs don't need government help for education. They want to keep the gravy train running. Not sure how human rights will help them do that. Near slave labor is what built and modernized these countries to the levels they are at now. Qatar is nowhere near the UAE in terms of modernization, but they're not exactly dirt poor either - at least, the Arabs there. The immigrants are in tough shape.
why not the LS2LS7? 4:46PM (4/28/2009)
Qatar is broke at the moment. If they make this investment it'll be because Abu Dhabi loaned them the money to do so.
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greenchile505 5:57PM (4/28/2009)
How could Qatar be broke at the moment? This article was written April 2009. It says they are recession proof and doing better than all of their GCC neighbors.
Is Qatar's economy recession-proof? Ahmed Gad reports from Doha
why not the LS2LS7? 12:43AM (4/29/2009)
Oh well, if they say they're recession-proof, then they're recession proof. No way they'd lie about that.
Mr.TiredOfEconomicDownturn 3:55PM (4/29/2009)
For a country that has a really high GDP, I'm not so sure about your statement.
greenchile505 5:59PM (4/28/2009)
Link:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Is+Qatar's+economy+recession-proof%3F+Ahmed+Gad+reports+from+Doha.-a0198169988
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Tohe 2:45AM (4/29/2009)
Hell no!
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turbotronic 5:07AM (4/29/2009)
Qatar broke? Are you kidding me? Our economy is growing at 9 percent this year. Our GDP per capita rose to 100,000 US Dollars. We are sitting on the third largest natural gas reserve and currently have 15 billion proven barrels of oil. We began diversifying our economy over a decade ago, way before anyone else did in the region. Projects are currently on track to be completed. No one is recession-proof, but there are few places that have been not as gravely impacted by the recession, and those places are Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.
In terms of investing in education, and modernization I advise you to come visit and then make a decision. You can find a copy of Qatar's Vision 2030. Qatar has been pouring billions of dollars into our education system. We have also built state of the art facilities in research as well.
Top global universities such as Carnegie Mellon, VCU, Northwestern, Georgetown, and others have opened a campus in our Education City.
Our infrastructure is modern and ever expanding. Roads have been improved, a metro network is about to begin, the Bahrain-Qatar causeway will be completed in the next four years, and many other projects are in the works.
Yes, we do have our flaws, like any other country, and our human rights record can be better, and that is exactly what we are doing. We know that there are things that need to be improved and that is exactly what we are doing. Trying to fix and acknowledge mistakes is something few countries do.
I believe this would be a wise investment for both parties, and I hope it will go through.
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turbotronic 4:42AM (5/15/2009)
Qatar broke? Are you kidding me? Our economy is growing at 9 percent
this year. Our GDP per capita rose to 100,000 US Dollars. We are
sitting on the third largest natural gas reserve and currently have
15 billion proven barrels of oil. We began diversifying our economy
over a decade ago, way before anyone else did in the region. Projects
are currently on track to be completed. No one is recession-proof, but
there are few places that have been not as gravely impacted by the
recession, and those places are Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.
In terms of investing in education, and modernization I advise you to
come visit and then make a decision. You can find a copy of Qatar's
Vision 2030. Qatar has been pouring billions of dollars into our
education system. We have also built state of the art facilities in
research as well.
Top global universities such as Carnegie Mellon, VCU, Northwestern,
Georgetown, and others have opened a campus in our Education City.
Our infrastructure is modern and ever expanding. Roads have been
improved, a metro network is about to begin, the Bahrain-Qatar
causeway will be completed in the next four years, and many other
projects are in the works.
Yes, we do have our flaws, like any other country, and our human
rights record can be better, and that is exactly what we are doing.
We know that there are things that need to be improved and that is
exactly what we are doing. Trying to fix and acknowledge mistakes is
something few countries do.
I believe this would be a wise investment for both parties, and I
hope it will go through.
Reply
Mutairy 6:03AM (4/29/2009)
such colorful racism (if there is such a thing)
BTW, Kuwait already owns a large share in Austin Martin, since last year I think.
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xmdfmk7x 1:47AM (5/01/2009)
The Middle East has no place interferring with Western business. The only thing that area is good for is oil for the West.
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A. Ramzi 12:12PM (5/02/2009)
Worst kept secret - more like best kept secret!
The GCC is on the rise - powers are shifting, and im gad they are investing money and holding share in the auto industry.
There is no time for racism - priority is to keep the the automobile manufacturers we love from going bankrupt.
And god knows we all love cars!
p.s: a message of peace from the middle east =)
Reply