Qatar Holdings To Invest In Greek Gold Mining
Qatar Holdings on 1 October signed a deal to purchase a 10% stake from the 25% equity held by the Greek building firm Ellaktor in London-based European Goldfields, the CEO and Managing Director of Qatar Holdings Ahmad al-Sayyid announced. Last July Greece had granted European Goldfields a permit to mine gold in the north of the country. Qatar Holdings has also agreed to lend $750mn to European Goldfields to fund the development of its two Greek gold mines. The deal was reached during the visit of the Amir of Qatar Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to Athens, where he met with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou. Greece, which is currently going through a severe recession, is trying hard to attract Qatari capital in private and public companies. Mr Sayyid also said that overall investment in European Goldfields could rise to $1bn.”Our latest investment helps to further diversify our investment portfolio in the commodities sector, with a specific position in gold reserves and another long term partner secured for the future. We see the transaction as one that will create significant value for all shareholders,” he added.
Last year Qatar and Greece signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the investment of up to $5bn in a number of sectors in the debt-ridden Greek economy, including infrastructure and tourism (MEES, 4 October 2010). It is not clear if the latest Qatari investment in the Greek mines is among projects proposed last year.
Copyright MEES 2011.
