DUBAI - The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and fund manager Ashmore Group have launched a fund aimed at encouraging foreign investors to buy into the Gulf country's stock market, the sovereign wealth fund said on Tuesday.

The $200 million Ashmore Qatar Equity Fund was set up with QIA as an anchor investor by re-allocating shares in listed Qatari companies.

The fund will provide foreign and local investors with exposure to the country's economy and access to Ashmore's investment expertise, QIA said in a statement.

QIA said that, under a broader initiative, it will establish partnerships both with leading global asset managers focused on Gulf countries and with local asset managers that meet all the investment considerations for a QIA investment.

Qatar, the world's top LNG exporter and host of the FIFA World Cup 2022, is trying to diversify the economy away from gas while attracting foreign investment.

It missed an IPO boom that swept neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates last year and market insiders attribute the lack of deals in Qatar to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the country's focus on organising the World Cup.

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni and Hadeel El Sayegh Editing by David Goodman)