Chinese regulators have approved the sale of a 10% stake in China Asset Management (ChinaAMC) to the Qatar Investment Authority, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds with $526 billion in assets.

The deal was officially approved on May 22, after the China Securities Regulatory Commission raised no objections. The buyer is Qatar Holdings, a subsidiary of the Qatari fund. Once completed, Qatar will become the third-largest shareholder in ChinaAMC, behind China’s Citic Securities (62%) and Canada’s Mackenzie Investments (28%).

Qatar Holdings will acquire the stake from Tianjin Haipeng Technology Consulting, which is controlled by Hong Kong-based Primavera Capital.

Founded in Beijing in 1998, ChinaAMC manages 471 investment products. As of March 31, 2025, its assets under management totaled 1.9 trillion yuan ($264.6 billion), ranking it second in China after E Fund Management.

The Qatari fund continues to expand its presence in the Chinese economy. In December 2023, it invested $200 million in Chinese IT firm Kingdee. Experts believe the closer ties between the Middle East and China are driven by a mutual interest: the Gulf nations want to reduce dependence on the US, and China is seeking new trade and investment partners.

As Huichen Asset Management fund manager Dai Ming put it: “The Middle East has the money, and China needs partners. It’s a mutually beneficial alignment.”