Qatar Investment Authority is awarded $1 billion in QFII quota, beating the previous high of $700 million, as China’s foreign exchange regulator hands out $2.5 billion to 11 firms in its latest batch. China’s foreign exchange regulator has smashed its record high for a single QFII quota as part of a fresh batch of awards amounting to almost $2.5 billion.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) has handed $1 billion to Qatar Holding, a subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund QIA, to invest in China’s domestic securities market………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Investors in BTA Bank (BTAS), Kazakhstan’s third-largest bank by assets, accused its controlling shareholder, the Central Asian nation’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, of defrauding them.
The investors claim in a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court that BTA Bank, which isn’t named as a defendant, defrauded them by inducing them to buy debt securities as part of a 2010 restructuring. The bank did so, the investors claim, by promising that virtually no dividends or distributions would be paid to X1Q6MH7D9182, which is a defendant………………………………………..Full Article: Source

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The taxation of Sovereign Wealth Funds in the United States is outmoded and due for reconsideration. Offering a tax exemption to the billion dollar investment funds owned by foreign governments is both unfair and fails to achieve the goals of the foreign sovereign tax exemption.
Founded in the principles of sovereign immunity, the foreign sovereign tax exemption, codified in I.R.C. §892, fails to satisfy the Congressional goals that motivated its creation. This Article explains the current taxation of foreign sovereigns and, by extension, Sovereign Wealth Funds. ……………………………………..Full Article: Source

The number of double taxation treaties signed between the UAE and other countries has surged by more than 40 per cent in the past four years, and tax experts expect the trend to continue. Tax matters are growing in importance for regional sovereign wealth funds that deploy billions of dollars overseas in typically long-term investments that by their nature carry future taxation-related risk.
“As sovereign wealth funds want to expand to other places around the globe they need to have some certainty as to what the tax rules are between the two countries,” said Greg Wiebe, the global head of tax at KPMG………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A new audit to be conducted by the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative will cover the administration and application of excess crude oil accounts, 13 per cent derivation, allocation to states and local governments as well as ecological funds operations, NEITI has said.
A statement issued by Director of Communication at NEITI, Mr. Ogbonnaya Orji, in Abuja on Sunday, said the objective of the national audit was to establish how the funds were distributed and received by the three tiers of government………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singapore commodities firm Olam International Ltd, , part owned by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, launched a vigorous defence on Wednesday against short-seller Muddy Waters’ attacks on its accounting practices and acquisitions, emphasising it is not at risk of insolvency.
Olam said in a 45-page report it has enough liquidity to pursue its current business and future investments. The rebuttal focused on major issues raised by Muddy Waters in its own report: Olam’s solvency, accounting-related assertions, business model, acquisitions and capital spending………………………………………..Full Article: Source

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Jin Liqun, the man at the helm of China’s $410 billion sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC), has emerged as a standard bearer for libertarian free-market principles.
In a delicious twist of irony, yesterday he slammed the US government and regulators for imposing useless, destructive and counter-productive regulations on the financial world. These new regulations, he believes, are the biggest threat to global growth………………………………………..Full Article: Source

After months of intense horse-trading between the Federal Government and governors of the 36 states of the federation on the possibility of reaching a consensus over plans by the Federal Government to transfer $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account to a new account to be known as the “Sovereign Wealth Fund,” the parties, yesterday, told the Supreme Court that the out-of-court settlement option failed to yield any dividend.
The governors had in a suit they filed before the apex court on October 23, 2011, sought an order declaring the planned creation of the “Sovereign Wealth Fund”, as illegal and unconstitutional………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The out of court settlement between the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Government over the battle on the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) has again suffered a set back. The parties were expected to report to the Supreme Court on Thursday, but could not do so because no agreement had been reached.
The Federal Government, through its counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun told the court that they were yet to agree to the terms of settlement. He, therefore, prayed the court for an adjournment so as to enable them reach a formidable settlement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

States Thursday told the Supreme Court that they have lost confidence in the ability of the Federal Government to reach an amicable settlement with them on the dispute over illegal spending of the funds in the Excess Crude Account and other revenues which ought to be shared among the three tiers of government.
They are therefore calling on the Supreme Court to proceed with definite hearing of the case. Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN who represented the states told the court that his clients wanted the case decided on the merit since the parties had not been able to come up with am amicable settlement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singapore commodities trader Olam International Ltd took its battle with short-seller Muddy Waters to a Singapore court on Wednesday as it fought off criticisms of its accounting practices and debt levels that have battered its share and bond prices.
Olam, partly owned by the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, has filed suit against Muddy Waters LLC and its founder Carson Block in the high court of Singapore, alleging libel, slander or malicious falsehoods for statements Block made at a London conference on Monday, a company spokeswoman said. She said Olam was seeking damages but gave no details………………………………………..Full Article: Source

France said on Monday it was ready to start releasing almost $2 billion in frozen assets belonging to Libya’s sovereign wealth fund, as it looks to secure investment from the oil-producing nation.
France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius made the announcement during a visit to Tripoli, the latest in a series of high-level French political and business delegations to the OPEC member. France spearheaded efforts to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi last year and, as part of wide-ranging international sanctions, froze about $8-9 billion in assets held in France………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A lawyer for Abu Dhabi Investment Authority urged a U.S. judge on Thursday to overturn an arbitration panel’s ruling favoring Citigroup Inc in a dispute over a $7.5 billion investment in Citi during the subprime meltdown.
The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund last year lost the arbitration case, which sought $4 billion in damages from what it said were the fraudulent representations by Citi leading up to the deal. At a hearing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, a lawyer for the fund said the arbitrators applied the wrong law to come to its decision………………………………………..Full Article: Source

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China’s securities regulators are considering speeding up Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) approvals and facilitating the operation of the QFII program to attract more long-term overseas investment.
Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) received China’s QFII status in December last year, becoming the second qualified Middle Eastern fund after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Green Party is urging all other parties to support changes to the responsible investment criteria used by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund following their Climate Change (NZ Superannuation Fund) Bill being drawn from the members’ ballot.
The Bill requires the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to consider climate change and the broader environmental impact of the companies in which they invest. “The super fund is about long-term economic thinking. My bill will ensure environmental considerations are an integral part of that thinking,” said Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Slovenia’s Parliamentary Speaker Gregor Virant rejected a move by opposition lawmakers to call a referendum on the government’s bank stabilization plan, easing concern the nation may be forced to seek a bailout.
Thirty legislators filed a motion on Oct. 30 to call a plebiscite on the plan to recapitalize the nation’s banks and create a wealth fund meant to ease the sale of state assets, saying they are a “bad solution.” Virant said proponents failed to follow the rules when they filed the motion on Oct. 30. The wealth fund motion was valid and a referendum will probably be held in January, Virant said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The “Samruk-Kazyna” Board of Directors has approved the offering price for KazTransOil notes within the “People’s IPO” at 725 tenge per share. The order book for people’s shares of KazTransOil closes on November 6.
According to the approved IPO procedure for KazTransOil, priority will be granted to filling orders of the market-maker in order to maintain prices for buying and selling the shares. Among investors, priority will be given to retail investors – the citizens of Kazakhstan – followed by the acceptance of orders from domestic pension funds………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Future Fund will follow the lead of superannuation funds including First State Super and reviewing its multi-million investments in tobacco companies. Mark Burgess, chief executive of the $80 billion fund announced the governance committee had agreed to consider removing some or all of the fund’s $219 million in tobacco investments from its portfolio.
A letter from Attorney-General Nicola Roxon urging the Future Fund not to invest in cigarette manufacturers is said to have played little or no role in the decision………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A proposal by Israel’s Finance Ministry to create a sovereign wealth fund similar to Norway’s to safeguard billions of dollars in windfall natural gas revenue received initial approval from a government panel.
The proposal was approved by the ministerial legislative committee but still needs to be passed in parliament, the ministry said on Tuesday. The discovery of some of the world’s largest offshore gas fields has given Israel decades of energy independence and paved the way for it to become a natural gas exporter………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Every year for five years, corruption in Angola has become steadily worse, according to Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index of 182 nations. In 2007, the oil-rich southwest African country was 32nd from the bottom. By last year, it had plunged to the 14th most-corrupt nation on the Earth.
That’s not surprising. Oil and corruption have gone hand in hand since the industry was pioneered a century and a half ago. But more recently, experts have added a corollary—that an oil-producing country that channels some of its wealth into an independently run sovereign wealth fund is likely to rank better on the corruption scale than one that does not………………………………………..Full Article: Source

According to the decision of the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers, gold imports into the country for the needs of the State Oil Fund of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOFAZ) are exempt from VAT and customs duties, SOFAZ told Trend.
SOFAZ has begun a weekly purchase of 10,000 ounces of gold since Feb. 1, 2012. As of July 1, 2012, the investment portfolio included 6,847 kilograms (220,146 ounces) of gold. “The decision was made to exempt gold imported into the country by SOFAZ from VAT and customs duties,” SOFAZ said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China’s Central Bank has recently granted a 6.5 billion Yuan ($1 billion) license to Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) to invest in the domestic interbank bond market, KIA Managing Director Bader Al-Saad said Thursday.
Kuwait’s news agency (KUNA) quoted Al-Saad as saying that the KIA has also fully invested an initial quota of $300 million in the Chinese securities market after Beijing’s approval in March. He added that the investment authority will request for the balance of $700 million allocation from the Chinese authorities shortly, hoping the request would be approved by China at an opportune time………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The House of Representatives yesterday declared Nigeria’s excess crude account illegal and in clear breach of the constitution that provides for all government’s funds to be remitted to the country’s consolidated federation account.
Also, the House declared its intention to reduce the recurrent expenditure and increase the capital expenditure contained in the recently presented 2013 budget estimates………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Bill on State Budget 2013 has been introduced into Milli Majlis (parliament of Azerbaijan) and was published in accord with regulations of legislation. The President offered to establish a transfer from the State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) to the state budget at the level of AZN 11.35 bn, and transfer from the state budget to the budget of the State Social Protection Fund at AZN 1.077 bn.
Defense spending is proposed at the level of AZN 1.528 bn and investment at AZN 6.915 bn………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is not allowed to put up a sovereign-wealth fund even with its ballooning gross international reserves, since its charter does not allow it to. This is what BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in reaction to calls from analysts and other investors that the BSP create such a fund to make equity investments and allow it to diversify its sources of income, thus safeguarding its “nest egg.”
A sovereign-wealth fund is what countries awash with dollars put up to serve as a form of nest egg. China has four such funds, while Singapore has two, including the Temasek Holdings that has investments in some listed Philippine issues………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Standard Chartered Bank PLC said Thursday that Temasek Pte. Ltd., its largest shareholder, misinterpreted U.K. corporate governance rules when it abstained from voting at a May meeting to re-elect some bank board members.
The statement from Standard Chartered represents a rare disagreement between the U.K. bank and the Singapore state investment body. It also comes a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that Temasek, which owns an 18% stake in the U.K. bank, has expressed discomfort to the bank with the its governance and is pressuring it to appoint more independent directors, according to people familiar with the investment company………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A possible referendum on Slovenia’s sovereign wealth fund would delay the formation of the body meant to put state assets under its control by two or three months, Finance Minister Janez Sustersic said in an interview with public broadcaster TV Slovenija.
The threat by the opposition Social Democrats to call a plebiscite on the fund, which was approved by Parliament on Sept. 28, “would not be an optimal way to move forward,” Sustersic told the broadcaster………………………………………..Full Article: Source

It’s a big day on Tuesday for investment banker Uche Orji and, potentially, for Nigeria’s future fiscal stability, too. Orji, who has worked at JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and most recently UBS, in New York, starts on Tuesday as CEO of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority.
His job will be to establish and manage the country’s proposed $1bn sovereign wealth fund, which is meant to safeguard some oil revenue for later use. Given the many billions of petrodollars squandered or stolen by senior officials in recent decades, few dispute that the SWF is a good idea. But it has not been welcomed by all………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Slovenian lawmakers probably will approve the creation of a sovereign-wealth fund and pass legislation on bank stability as the former Yugoslav republic intensifies efforts to avoid an international rescue.
Lawmakers gather in Parliament today to approve creation of a wealth fund designed to manage assets valued at more than 10 billion euros ($12.8 billion). They will also vote on a plan to exchange as much as 4 billion euros worth of state-backed bonds for banks’ non-performing loans, while banks would get an additional capital boost of as much as 1 billion euros from the government, according to Finance Minister Janez Sustersic………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The National Pensions Reserve Fund was overcharged of more than €3 million by London-based financial services firm State Street Bank Europe, the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General has revealed.
The State body, which comes under the remit of the National Treasury Management Agency, discovered the overcharging offence, which took place between February and May last year, last October. It has since recouped the €3.2 million owed to it. The NTMA learned of the incident after reading media reports of the departure of two SSBE executives in October………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Governors of the 36 states of the federation, yesterday, returned to the Supreme Court to challenge what they termed “massive illegal deductions” from the Excess Crude Account by the Federal Government.
The governors are, among other things, contending that “the establishment and operation of, and unilateral deductions from the Excess Crude Account during the period 2004-2007, were inconsistent with the provisions of section 162 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Supreme Court yesterday fixed Nov. 21 for the federal and state governments to brief it on the out-of-court settlement option over the one billion dollars (N5.5 trillion) Sovereign Wealth Funds controversy. Justice Christopher Chukwuma-Ene gave the date after parties had briefed the court on the latest steps toward amicable settlement of the matter.
“The court shall for the last time indulge parties with the application for adjournment filed by the defendant. This matter is, therefore, adjourned to Nov. 21 for parties to brief the court on the finality of the settlement option. The court shall, however, commence hearing of the case if agreement was not reached on that date,’’ he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, gave the Federal Government and the 36 state governments more time to resolve the legal tussle which arose from the decision of the Federal Government to transfer the sum of $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account to the recently created Sovereign Wealth Fund.
The apex court consequently fixed November 22 for reports of settlement. The 36 states of the federation had, through their counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo SAN, instituted a suit challenging the legality of the Federal Government’s action………………………………………..Full Article: Source

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States are demanding a sweeping change in the way the Federal Government has been handling monies accruing to the central purse as part of their condition to drop their suit challenging the legality of the Excess Crude Account (ECA).
They have proposed new conditions to resolve the lingering dispute between them and the Federal Government over illegal deductions from the Federation Account………………………………………..Full Article: Source

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Nigeria’s state governors vowed on Thursday to go to court to stop the government putting oil revenues into a sovereign wealth fund. Africa’s top crude producer has been moving closer to joining its OPEC partners in creating a sovereign wealth fund for long-term investment of its oil cash.
The governors, who enjoy luxurious lifestyles and wield huge patronage, had been opposed to the fund because they feared it would reduce their share of the oil money………………………………………..Full Article: Source

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The governors of Nigeria’s 36 states will go ahead with their law suit challenging the legal standing of the country’s $1 billion sovereign wealth fund.
The operation of the fund by the federal government violates a constitutional provision that all government revenue must be shared among that states and the center, the governors said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Nigeria’s state governors vowed on Thursday to go to court to stop the government putting oil revenues into a sovereign wealth fund. Africa’s top crude producer has been moving closer to joining its OPEC partners in creating a sovereign wealth fund for long-term investment of its oil cash.
The governors, who enjoy luxurious lifestyles and wield huge patronage, had been opposed to the fund because they feared it would reduce their share of the oil money………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The people of Alabama will vote Tuesday to borrow money from the Alabama Trust Fund in order to bolster our state budget for the short term. This is exactly why the trust fund exists, and this is exactly the type of crisis this fund was created to remedy.
I know this to be an absolute fact, because as a former member of the Alabama Legislature, I was the chief sponsor of the legislation that created the Alabama Trust Fund and campaigned vigorously for the passage of the legislation………………………………………..Full Article: Source

About 50 people gathered on the steps of the Alabama Capitol to urge residents to vote “no” Tuesday on a constitutional amendment to allow the transfer of $437.4 million from the Alabama Trust Fund to be used for Medicaid, prisons and other state services.
Holding signs urging voters to not “bust” the trust fund, the demonstrators Thursday listened to representatives of grassroots groups who said the principle from the fund, established by former Gov. Fob James, was never meant to be spent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Head of Korea Investment Company ( KIC), South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund, said last week that the fund planned to lift its investment into the private market, while watching for opportunities to invest in bad assets in advanced nations, a press release by the fund showed Monday.
“Opportunity to invest in bad assets is given as advanced economies become distressed. KIC plans to increase investment into the private market such as the real estate market and the strategic investment field,” KIC’s chief executive Choi Chong-suk was quoted as saying at the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Fund (IFSWF)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Russia-China Investment Fund (RDIF), a sovereign fund formed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund with the China Investment Corporation, has announced its first investment, awaiting regulatory approval.
The Russia-China fund was formed this summer with an initial seed amount of $1bn from each side.The goal is to double the total size of the fund to $4bn. About 70% of the assets will be invested in Russian companies, with the remainder in Chinese enterprises………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sebi relaxed the Know Your Clients (KYC) norms for various overseas entities including foreign institutional investors, and has done away with in- person verification requirements for non-individual clients. The market regulator has given the clarifications on KYC norms for FIIs, sub-accounts and Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs).
In a circular, Sebi said that foreign entities such as Sovereign Wealth Fund and overseas government agencies would not be required to provide residential and photograph, among others, to meet KYC norms…………………………………….Full Article: Source

John Varley, Barclays Bank PLC’s (BCS) former chief executive, is among four current and former employees being investigated by the U.K. Financial Services Authority over payments made in 2008 to Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Sunday Telegraph reports without citing sources.
The paper says the FSA probe is likely to reduce Mr. Varley’s chances of becoming governor of the Bank of England, a post with which he has been linked, and, if found to have broken regulatory rules, could lead to a ban from working in the financial services sector………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Qatari sovereign wealth fund, the second-largest shareholder in Xstrata behind Glencore, said yesterday it will block the mega-merger between the two commodity giants.
Qatar has been fighting for an improved ratio on the 2.8 shares for every one existing Xstrata share offered by Glencore in February. It said in June that a ratio of 3.25 would better reflect the benefits of the merger. Glencore has so far resisted calls to up the share ratio, with chief executive Ivan Glasenberg calling the 2.8 ratio a “fair” deal………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Barclays Plc (BARC) faces a criminal probe into fees it paid in 2008 to Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund as the bank sought to raise money to avoid a government bailout.
The Serious Fraud Office, which prosecutes bribery and white-collar crime, told the London-based bank it has “commenced an investigation into payments under certain commercial agreements between Barclays and Qatar Holding LLC,” the lender said in a statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is taking on a new role as a bankruptcy lender, Singapore’s sovereign-wealth fund is forcing an auction of four resorts owned by John Paulson’s hedge fund and Pergrine’s CEO is set to be arraigned Friday on fraud charges.
Singapore’s sovereign-wealth fund is forcing an auction of four massive luxury U.S. resorts, setting up the fund for a confrontation with the existing owners: a group led by hedge fund Paulson & Co. and Boston-based Winthrop Realty Trust……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) condemned the aggressive clamour by the Federal Government to set up the so called Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), describing the fund as illegal, unconstitutional, fraudulent and anti-federalism.
In a statement issued in Abeokuta, Ogun State, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said no argument can justify the creation of the SWF, pointing out that any governor who supports its creation does not understand what federalism is all about and risks impeachment………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) initiative, which Nigeria embarked upon early last year, is designed to help the country achieve a turn-around in fiscal attitude and help address our needless tendency to profligacy by setting aside some critical fund for the future. With the enabling legislation in place NSIA, 2011, Nigeria should truly be seen to have taken the right step forward just waiting for the fund to become fully operational.
Basically, SWF are funds of investable foreign currency owned by sovereign entities, usually managed separately official exchange reserve of the country. The practice and management of SWF have captured ample scholarly attention and a growing body of literature from the perspectives of legal, policy, finance, management to politics, all of which now exist on the subject matter………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Barclays Plc is being investigated over whether it adequately disclosed fees it agreed to pay to the Qatar Investment Authority as it sought to raise money from investors including the sovereign wealth fund, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
“The bank entered into an agreement for the provision of advisory services by Qatar Investment Authority to Barclays in the Middle East,” the lender said in a June 2008 statement detailing the fundraising. Britain’s Financial Services Authority is probing whether that disclosure was adequate, said the person, who declined to be identified because the terms of the investigation are private………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) saw its stake in Italian firm ENI unfrozen by an Italian court. LIA held the shares on behalf of the family of former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
The 0.58% stake was seized earlier this year, together with a series of other Italian assets, at the request of the International Criminal Court. At the time of the seizure the assets held by LIA were worth an overall $1.58 billion………………………………………..Full Article: Source