Qatar, the natural gas-rich Middle Eastern state which has stakes in Barclays as well as Sainsbury's, might invest in Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland, the banking groups part-nationalized at the peak of the financial problems.

The Treasury owns about eighty three per cent of RBS and about forty per cent of Lloyds, with the stakes managed by UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the body made after the two were rescued by the taxpayer.

Addressing a press conference to mark a trade visit by David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, the Qatari prime minister and head of the nation’s Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, stated that he had discussed investment ideas with his British counterpart.

When he was asked about RBS and Lloyds, he stated that Qatar is very open to any investment in Britain and they have discussed some. They are capable of being engaged and will continue to be engaged in discussions.

Sheikh Hamad further stated that Qatar was interested in any kind of investment in the state- or partly state-owned banks.

The former chairman of HSBC Stephen Green, who at present is serving as the Coalition's Trade Minister, said Qatar had shown an interest in British financial services companies. They like and respect what Britain offers, he said.

Qatar helped Barclays boost its balance sheet participating in a capital rising in 2008, ending up as the institution’s biggest shareholder. It sold part of its interest in 2009, but is still the biggest investor in the bank having almost seven per cent of Barclay’s shares.

Qatar's interest is shown in a time when the market is waiting for news on UKFI's plans to dispose of its holdings. There has been significant pressure and strong logic for US and European governments to come out of their commitments to financial firms made during the crisis, as stated by Steffen Kern, a Deutsche Bank's economist.