DUBAI, June 25 (Reuters) - The Qatar Investment

Authority and Canadian asset manager Fiera Capital ( FRRPF ) have

launched a $200 million fund to boost foreign and local

investment into the Gulf state's stock market, QIA said on

Wednesday.

The fund was announced just days after a major escalation in

tensions in the Middle East after Iran on Monday fired missiles

at a U.S. military base in Qatar in response to U.S. attacks on

Iranian nuclear sites.

The Fiera Qatar Equity Fund will be structured as a

daily-dealing mutual fund, and QIA - the country's $500 billion

sovereign wealth fund - will be its anchor investor, it said in

a statement.

"Attracting overseas asset managers to invest in Qatar

equity will fuel market participation and help to diversify and

broaden the market," QIA Chief Executive Mohammed Saif

Al-Sowaidi said.

Qatar is one of the world's biggest exporters of liquefied

natural gas. Like other Gulf oil and gas exporters, it is trying

to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons, and attract

increased foreign investment.

While neighbours Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

have experienced an IPO boom in recent years, market insiders

have attributed the lack of Qatari deals to the impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic and the country's focus on the 2022 World Cup.

The tie-up with Toronto-listed Fiera Capital ( FRRPF ), which had $117

billion in assets as of March 31, is part of the QIA's broader

initiative to establish partnerships with global asset managers

who have a Gulf focus, as well as local asset managers.

They include Ashmore Group ( AJMPF ), which has launched a

$200 million fund with the QIA and last month opened a Doha

office.

Following this week's escalation, a ceasefire between Iran

and Israel was announced by Washington.