Qatar plans to invest in the German automotive industry, making it the second Gulf Arab state to cast a friendly eye on the country's carmakers this week, Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani told a German magazine.

'But we have to find the right time and the right price,' the emir of Qatar said in an interview to be published in Der Spiegel on Monday.

Abu Dhabi's state-controlled IPIC said earlier this week it bought a 9.1 per cent stake in Daimler for almost Dh2 billion euros ($2.7 billion) via exchange-listed investment vehicle Aabar.

But the move was facilitated by Daimler being one of the few car giants in the world without a protective shareholder.

BMW is controlled by the Quandt family, which holds a combined 46.6 per cent stake, while the Porsche and Piech clans own both Porsche and a majority in Volkswagen.

Sheikh Hamad told Der Spiegel he was also interested in German high tech companies. He did not name any companies in which Qatar may want to invest.-Reuters