Qatar plans to invest billions more in the UK

Qatar >already owns more of London than the Queen, but it's planning to invest even more in the United Kingdom ... billions more. 

The Gulf state has announced that it will put in some $5 billion in the UK over the next three to five years, Financial Times reported. The emirate has already invested around $40 billion in the kingdom through its sovereign wealth fund.

In the wake of the British vote to exit – or Brexit – from the European Union, the plan for continued investment is seen as an important vote of confidence in the future of the UK economy. Since the surprise Brexit vote, the UK has wooed Qatar and other Gulf countries for expanded economic ties moving forward.

Despite political uncertainty in Europe and the West, Qatar remains confident that the UK is a solid place to buy into. 

"Currently the UK is our first investment destination and it is the largest investment destination for Qatari investors, both public and private," Ali Shareef al Emadi, Qatar's finance minister, told the BBC. 

"Mainly this [added] investment will focus on infrastructure sectors, technology, energy and real estate," he said.

While the value of the British pound has fallen and experts have said that the UK economy will suffer from its official break with the EU, foreign investors actually appear to be attracted to UK assets at the moment.

"The way we look at our investment in any market, and especially in the UK, it is a very long term investment, so we don't look at any cycles up or down," Emadi said.

The finance minister pointed to Qatari investments in Europe made during the continent's economic crisis, saying "we will do what we think is good for us."

Earlier this month, >UK-based business magazine Property Week revealed that Qatari investors own three times more of London than Queen Elizabeth II.

According to the data released, the co-owned Qatari company Canary Wharf Group Investment Holdings owns 21.4 million square feet of property - making it the capital's largest. 

The joint-owned company also possesses more property in the capital than The City of London itself - which holds the second-largest portion with 17.4 million square feet of space.

For perspective, the queen owns just under 7.3 million square feet.

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, >owns 95 percent of The Shard, a 95-storey skyscraper in Southwark, London.

The UK's high end department store chain Harrods was purchased for a whopping $2.3 billion by Qatar Holding in 2010. 

In 2009, Qatari Diar also purchased the United States' former embassy building in London, known as the Chancery Building. 

The amount of the sale is unclear, however the prominent 600-room building in Mayfair's Grosvenor Square definitely wasn't cheap.

Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al thani, Qatar's former prime minister, owns half of the "world's most expensive apartment block." 

In 2007, the Qatar Investment Authority bought 20.86 percent of the London Stock Exchange. But shares were later sold to reduce the stake to 15 percent and were slashed by a further third in 2014. 

Nonetheless, Qatar is one of the biggest and most enthusiastic investors in the UK. With continued efforts, this confidence appears to be holding firm.