Qatari investors have increased their stake in Total to 4.8 percent, said news website Wansquare on Monday. According to the news website, investors from Qatar have increased their participation in the past year and notably in recent weeks.
The increased stake follows an initial participation of around 2 percent which Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund accumulated in the oil major over several months in the run-up to spring last year.
With a 4.8 percent stake, Qatar is one of Total’s largest individual shareholders, behind Belgian billionaire Albert Frere and his family, who controlled 5.4 percent of Total at the end of 2012. The company’s employees collectively owned 4.4 percent.
Total and Qatari officials weren’t immediately available for comment.
Qatar’s growing ties with Total were recently underscored when Qatar Petroleum agreed to take a 15 percent stake in the French company’s oil and gas exploration project in Congo last month. Qatar Petroleum International and Total recently announced the signing of a framework of agreement whereby QPI will participate in Total E&P Congo through its subscription to a 15 percent share capital increase of this company.
