Qatar Investment Authority, the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, has increased its stake to 8.4 percent in Iberdrola, boosting its investment in Spain’s largest electricity provider to 2.27bn euros ($3bn). The fund based in Doha has surpassed all other stockholders except for Spanish construction company Actividades de Construccion & Servicios, which holds about 19 percent of Iberdrola, according to the utility’s annual corporate governance report covering 2011 activities released on Thursday. The Qatari fund bought its initial 6.2 percent holding in March and acquired the additional shares in a year Iberdrola fell 16 percent. That was its worst market performance since 2008, as the global economic slowdown damped demand for power and Spain slipped toward a second recession in four years. Iberdrola, which on Thursday said it may miss a 2012 profit target, fell 0.4 percent to 4.52 euros on Friday in Madrid. That compared with a 0.5 percent gain in the 20-member benchmark Euro Stoxx Utilities Index. Business.com

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