Qatar's Al Faisal eyes hotel acquisitions globally

Qatar's Al Faisal Holding is shifting its focus to the hospitality sector, including buying hotels mainly in Europe, North America, and big Arab cities as it expands its hotel business globally, the company's chairman said. The family run firm, holding company for businesses ranging from information technology, entertainment and construction, is among a raft of Gulf Arab investors eyeing assets globally after valuations plummeted in the global financial crisis. "We will buy and build hotels depending on the opportunities," Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani told Reuters in an interview late on Sunday. "We are looking at the US, UK, Paris and Canada as well as the big capitals of the Arab World."