For Its Decisions on the World Cup: What Is the Impact of Qatar's Review of Its Investments in London?

A vehement campaign led by several groups in Britain against the World Cup in Qatar, on top of which is the announcement of the capital, London, to boycott the international sporting event, and the refusal of the London transport authority to display Qatari ads on its means of transportation.

The recent measures angered Qatar and prompted it to threaten to review its investments in the British capital, London, according to a report by the Financial Times on November 26, 2022.

This is the first time that Doha has publicized the investment card since it was subjected to a fierce campaign that preceded the World Cup and continued during it.

This development indicates that Qatar has moved from defense to offense in the face of any criticism of its human rights record and the extent to which it can go in arm-twisting battles with its critics from Western countries.

Threatening to review its investments in London is a strict Qatari message to Western partners saying that Doha is capable of putting economic pressure on those who target and criticize it a lot.

Qatar has billions of dollars in investments in Britain, and London relies heavily on Doha to secure its energy imports of liquefied gas, which is likely that the British side will suffer great losses if this review takes place.

It is not clear exactly what impact Qatar’s decision might have on its investments in London, but over the past two decades, Qatar has become one of the largest investors in London through the Qatar Investment Authority, which has a value of about $445 billion.

The tension between Doha and London comes at a time when Britain is facing a state of financial and political turmoil and struggling to get out of the impasse left over from the 44 days of the shortest rule in its history led by Liz Truss.

 

Ads Crisis

The London transport operator recently implemented a ban on ads promoting travel to Qatar or portraying Qatar as a desirable destination on buses, taxis, and trains, according to a decision taken in 2019 in response to Doha’s laws related to the LGBTQ community.

Prior to the start of the World Cup, the Transport for London (TfL) had advised advertising partners and brands that ads promoting ticket sales encouraging people to attend matches in person or encouraging people to attend other events in Qatar would not be considered acceptable at this time, according to what was reported by the Financial Times.

In 2019, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, asked TfL to review how it handles ads and sponsorships from countries with anti-LGBTQ laws.

The request led to the suspension of new ads from 11 countries, including Qatar, Pakistan, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

However, TfL said on November 25 that “some ads for Qatar had been shown on its means of transportation since then, despite the decision.”

However, TfL decided to completely ban the ads after banning European teams at the Qatar World Cup from wearing badges in support of the rights of LGBTQ people.

Regarding the London Municipality's handling of the World Cup in Qatar 2022, lawyer Zaid Al-Azem said in a statement to Al-Estiklal: "Why didn't the London Municipality prevent propaganda for the World Cup in Russia in 2018?"

He added that "Russia also criminalizes homosexuality, in addition, the Russian regime committed an international crime in the UK before the World Cup in Moscow, attempting to liquidate the Russian dissident Skripal and his daughter in the middle of the British lands, as well as the human rights file in Russia is at rock bottom.”

 

Qatari Discontent

The position of the Transport for London (TfL) angered Qatar, which was mainly disturbed by Western criticism directed at it as the host country for the FIFA World Cup, to reconsider its investments in the British capital, as revealed by the Financial Times.

The newspaper quoted a source participating in the Qatari review of investments in London as saying: “This week, TfL contacted the World Cup’s governing body, the Qatar Tourism Authority, to inform them of banning ads for the Qatar World Cup.”

“TfL’s ban on Qatar ads was interpreted as a message from the office of the Mayor of London (Sadiq Khan) stating that Qatari businesses are not welcome in London,” the source added.

“In response, Qatar began reviewing its current and future investments in London and studying investment opportunities in other British cities and other UK countries,” he said.

The source described the ban as another blatant example of double standards, adding that “TfL accepts ads from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and it has many commercial interests in China; there is no indication that these agreements with these countries have been withdrawn.”

The London municipality launched a campaign of widespread criticism of the World Cup, which Qatar is hosting these days, and even the capital city announced its boycott of the competition.

According to Bloomberg, a spokesperson for the mayor said: “The mayor was clear in his repeated condemnation of Qatar’s human rights record, but he believes fans in London should not be denied the opportunity to watch and support England and other teams at this year’s World Cup.”

Last month, the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, expressed his dissatisfaction with what he described as an unprecedented campaign against his country, pointing out that “it included fabrications and double standards that were so fierce. Unfortunately, it prompted many people to question the real reasons and motives behind the campaign.”

In a previous report, The New York Times said that “many Qataris are concerned and resentful about what they see as the double standards associated with the start of the World Cup.”

It added that the Qataris believed that the coverage included double standards, and they wondered why the Europeans buy natural gas from Qatar if the country is so hateful in their opinion that they cannot watch football there.

 

What Can London Lose?

London is one of the most important global investment destinations, as it ranked at the top of these destinations for the year 2021.

The value of the foreign direct investment in the British capital amounted to about $800 billion in 2019, representing 42% of the total volume of foreign direct investment in the UK in that period.

On the other hand, Qataris are considered one of the most prominent foreign investors in the city, either as individuals or within the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, and their investments target several areas, on top of which are real estate and shops, in addition to health, education, and transportation, which suggests that great losses will occur to the British capital in the event of the withdrawal of Qatari investments from it.

Qatar is among the ten largest property owners in Britain, owning 2.1 million square meters of real estate in Britain.

Qatari investments in London real estate are witnessing a continuous increase, as the number of properties owned by Qatari individuals in London increased between 2018 and 2021 by about 50%.

Qatar has invested, in total, about £40 billion in areas that affect the lives of millions of Britons, as reported by the BBC in a report on November 24, 2022.

In 2010, the Qatari sovereign wealth fund led a huge acquisition of the prestigious London Harrods department store in a deal worth $2.3 billion.

The fund also owns the $2.42 billion Shard skyscraper, the Canary Wharf financial complex in the Docklands, the Chelsea Barracks, Savoy and Grosvenor House hotels, and the Severn Trent water company.

In addition, the fund owns a 20% share in Heathrow at a value of $1.57 billion, a 6.4% share in Barclays Bank worth about $2.4 billion, a 15% share in Sainsbury’s stores at a value of $882 million, and a 7% share in the London Stock Exchange.

The energy sector in Qatar plays a pivotal role in meeting the UK’s needs for liquefied natural gas (LNG), as Doha secures 20% of Britain’s consumption of this vital energy source, whether at the level of individuals or companies, according to the BBC report.

Britain comes at the forefront of countries cooperating with Qatar, which owns the South Hook station in Wales, where LNG is unloaded in special containers. The site can accommodate a fifth of Britain’s daily gas needs, and the Qatari government is investing millions to increase this capacity by a quarter by 2025.

Doha is the second supplier of LNG to Britain, as it provides it with about 9% of its energy imports, which is the percentage required to operate the heating of about one million British homes. British imports from Qatar increased by 286% during the second quarter of 2022 to a value of about $5 billion.

Relations between Britain and Qatar have improved in recent years. In May, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a strategic partnership that will see Qatar invest in key sectors of the British economy over the next five years, including financial technology, life sciences, and cyber-security.

Downing Street announced that the deal would create new jobs in London, amounting to £10 billion.

Days later, the Ministry of Defense announced that it would fund counter-terrorism training for the Qatari army before the World Cup.

During the tournament, the British Air Force formed two joint squadrons, one of which patrolled the skies above the World Cup stadiums.

Last September, Qatar acquired 24 fighter jets built in Lancashire as part of a £5 billion deal with BAE systems, the British defense industry.