May 25, 2022 | less than a minute read

How will the UK NSI Act be applied in practice?

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Mark Dorff

Partner

Get in touch

Mark Dorff

Partner

It has been announced that Qatar has pledged to invest £10 billion in the UK. Last year, the UK signed a similar deal with Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. The target sectors for investment include critical technologies and areas such as cleantech and health tech. There appears to be a clear link between these deals and the critical energy supplies (including natural gas) coming from the Gulf states to the UK.

Hopefully the UK government will be able to execute on its "net zero" strategy and mitigate risk attached to reliance on traditional energy sources. Those risks are painfully clear at the moment given the current geopolitical situation. Against that backdrop, it will be interesting to see how the UK government applies and enforces the recently enacted National Security and Investment Act in this context. Are these deals with Gulf states effectively broad-based carve-outs from the NSI Act?

Qatar has pledged to invest £10bn in the UK, including in the technology, healthcare, infrastructure and clean energy sectors, as the British government steps up efforts to woo sovereign wealth fund investment from oil-rich Gulf states. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, the Gulf state’s foreign minister, told the Financial Times that the funds would be channelled through the Qatar Investment Authority over the next five years. “Especially in the areas of technology, fintech, sustainability, there’s great potential with zero-net happening,” he added, referring to the UK’s plans to cut the UK’s net carbon emissions to zero by 2050. UK prime minister Boris Johnson welcomed the deal with Qatar as a vote of confidence in British business. “The new UK-Qatar strategic investment partnership will create quality job opportunities across the country in key sectors, delivering on our vision of eco...