Qatar's sovereign fund has pumped 82.78 billion rupees ($1 billion) into the fast-growing retail business owned by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani.

The Qatar Investment Authority has bought a 0.99% stake in Reliance Retail Ventures, the Mumbai-based company said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that it values the company at about $100 billion.

The deal comes at a time when the Ambani group is considering taking the retail unit public as well, and has begun buying back shares in the unit and giving them to its employees as stock options.

The subsidiary headed by Ambani's daughter Isha has made a raft of acquisitions as it challenges global rivals struggling to make a mark in India's highly competitive retail sector dominated by convenience stores.

Isha Ambani described QIA's investment as a strong endorsement of the Indian economy and Reliance's retail business.

Bet on India

The deal represents the latest foray by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund into a family-led Indian conglomerate this year. The Qatar Investment Authority increased its bets in the South Asian country after it acquired a 2.7% stake in the green energy business of fellow Indian billionaire Gautam Adani after it was subjected to a devastating attack from the short-selling research firm Hindenburg in January.

Reliance Retail raised more than $6 billion three years ago from a series of major investors, including the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, along with KKR and Silver Lake Partners.

The retailer reported a 34% jump in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to Rs 51.5 billion in the quarter ended June compared to the same period last year.

Capital expenditures

however; The retailer accounts for just over a tenth of the oil group's profits, and currently consumes more than a third of the group's capital expenditure, ICI Securities analysts wrote in a report published earlier on Wednesday. Reliance's retail revenue growth has not kept pace with this particularly impressive spending, they added.

Qatar Investment Authority is committed to supporting innovative companies with high growth potential in India's fast-growing retail market, CEO Mansour Ibrahim Al Mahmoud said. We look forward to adding the retailer, with its strong vision and impressive growth trajectory, to our growing and diversified portfolio of investments in India.