Qatar builds 2% stake in Total

The sovereign wealth fund of Qatar has built up a 2 percent stake in France’s oil major Total since last summer, according to newspaper Les Echos.
The stake is now worth more than 2 billion euros, the paper wrote in its Wednesday edition without citing its sources.
The oil-rich state of Qatar is now among Total’s top five shareholders, after the company’s employees, and Belgian investor Albert Frere.
Its stake is approximately the same size as the one held by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, which bought into Total’s shares in 2008, according to the paper.
Qatar has already bought stakes in several French companies, including media-to-aerospace conglomerate Lagerdere, infrastructure player Vinci, and environmental services group Veolia.

Reuters, 13.03.2012