Nigeria’s Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) on Wednesday night shared N721.51 billion among the three tiers of government for April while N89.74 billion was added into the Excess Crude Account. The April allocation decreased by N9.628 billion or 1.3 per cent against the N731.133 billion shared in March.
A breakdown of the distributions showed that N531.332 billion was shared from statutory sources, N54.571 billion and N92.436 billion were allocated to the governments from Value Added Tax (VAT) and the augmentation sources. The augmentation was due to shortfall in projected revenues for the month………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A proposed constitutional amendment to issue up to $50 million in bonds to be repaid from the Alabama Trust Fund could pass the Legislature on the final day of the session Monday.
The proposal would be the latest of several moves since the economic downturn to take money from the ATF, although it would be on a smaller scale than others. The money would go to the Armory Commission of Alabama for plans, construction and maintenance of Alabama National Guard armories……………………………………Full Article: Source

East Timor’s Oil Fund grew by US$1.2 billion in the first quarter of the year to US$13 billion at the end of March, said the East Timor Central Bank in Dili Monday.
According to the bank’s statement, gross monies paid into the Fund from royalties and taxes totalled US$946 million, and no funds were transferred to the State’s general account in the period………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A recalculation of payments from the Alabama Trust Fund has left local governments with extra money to spend. The trust is fueled by royalties paid on sales of offshore oil and natural gas from state lands. A portion of those payments each year goes into the County and Municipal Government Capital Improvement Fund. Local governments receive payments from the fund each April based on population.
The higher payments to local governments are the result of a recalculation of prior payments and will be in place for this year only, said Daria Story, assistant state treasurer. The Alabama state treasurer’s office administers the trust……………………………………Full Article: Source

China Investment Corporation (CIC), the country’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, has returned to the debt markets to seek to leverage last year’s acquisition of Winchester House in the City seeking around £160m in senior debt. CIC acquired the 310,000 sq ft Winchester House from KanAm, the German open-ended property fund manager, for £245m last November with agreed financing term sheets from Wells Fargo and Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (PBB).
At the 11th hour, CIC dropped the Wells Fargo-led circa £150m five-year ticket, opting instead to hold the asset on an all-cash basis, given the sovereign wealth fund’s low cost of capital………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Pula Fund has gained P3.15 billion in the six months since the Bank of Botswana drew down P21 billion in order to replenish the country’s import cover as well as meet external debt obligations.
Bank of Botswana (BoB) data published yesterday pegged the Pula Fund at P41.99 billion in February, about eight percent higher than the P38.84 billion it was left at after the drawdown last September.The Pula Fund is a sovereign wealth fund comprising both national savings built from historical budget surpluses and mineral revenues as well as foreign reserves in excess of the country’s medium-term requirements………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Future Fund has released its portfolio update for March and overall it is an impressive result, with the fund gaining 3.4% for the quarter and increasing 10.6% for the nine months to 31 March 2013. Since being created by the Howard government in May 2006, the Future Fund has returned a respectable 5.7% per annum.
Over the period since its establishment the Future Fund also achieved a more balanced allocation of assets compared with what was initially a significant skew to domestic equities. This was partially due to the fund’s seeding with Telstra shares………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) said on Tuesday its fiscal year 2012 net profit rose to a whopping Dh6.4 billion from Dh164.1 a million year earlier on the back of robust operational performance of Cepsa, Nova Chemicals, and Borealis along with the recovery of certain listed equities held by Aabar.
“Total comprehensive income reached Dh6.0 billion for 2012, an increase of Dh15.3 billion from the previous year. Consolidated revenue increased from Dh126.0 billion to Dh190.6 billion in 2012 while operating profit increased from Dh9.2 billion to Dh11.7 billion for the same period,” Ipic said in a statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Norway’s most expansionary budget since the height of the global financial crisis in 2009 won’t put any pressure on the central bank to tighten monetary policy, Finance Minister Sigbjoern Johnsen said.
Western Europe’s largest crude exporter will use 3.3 percent of its $740 billion oil fund to plug deficits this year, representing a 19 percent increase from 2012, the Finance Ministry said yesterday. That will deliver the biggest fiscal boost to Europe’s second-richest economy per capita in four years, it said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sovereign wealth funds will be a major LP group in 20 years’ time, according to a panel at the Guernsey Funds Forum 2013. “Over the next two decades, we will see the vast sums of money in the Asian markets come into the western markets, and certainly into private equity,” said Eric Warner, head of investor relations at Altius Associates.
“Speculation is high that the sovereign wealth fund of Japan is looking into private equity. And to put that in context, the fund size is $1.14trn.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Global bond returns are low and will be low for a long time, Yngve Slyngstad, the head of Norway’s $735 billion sovereign wealth fund said on Tuesday, making it more difficult for investors to earn high enough returns.
The fund, which invests Norway’s surplus oil revenue, has to keep between 35 and 40 percent of its assets in fixed income products and has shifted away from European assets towards Asia and emerging markets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Russia’s second largest bank VTB yesterday announced that a group of sovereign wealth funds has backed a $3.3bn (£2.13bn) fundraising that will take the government’s stake in the lender down from 75 per cent to 60 per cent or less.
In a surprise to investment bankers, VTB used Citi and its own investment banking department to advise on the deal rather than UBS, which had been expected to win the mandate. Andrea Orcel, head of the UBS investment bank, has previously enjoyed a close relationship with VTB and most bankers expected him to get a role………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sovereign wealth fund Government of Singapore Investment Corp. Tuesday said that it has raised US$250 million through sale of convertible bonds of Glencore International AG. The 5% guaranteed convertible bonds 2014 issued by Glencore Finance (Europe) S.A. were guaranteed by Glencore International and Glencore AG, GIC said in a statement.
GIC intends to use part of the net proceeds from the sale of the bonds to acquire ordinary shares of Glencore International………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC is seeking to swap a $250 million portion of its holding in Glencore International Plc convertible bonds into shares in the company, in a vote of confidence as the commodities trader wraps up its takeover of miner Xstrata Plc .
Just days ahead of a May 2 completion date for Glencore’s tie-up with Xstrata, GIC, a shareholder in both, said it wanted to sell part of its investment in Glencore’s 2014 bond via an accelerated bookbuild………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sovereign wealth fund Government of Singapore Investment Corp. Tuesday said that it has raised US$250 million through sale of convertible bonds of Glencore International AG.The 5% guaranteed convertible bonds 2014 issued by Glencore Finance (Europe) S.A. were guaranteed by Glencore International and Glencore AG, GIC said in a statement.GIC intends to use part of the net proceeds from the sale of the bonds to acquire ordinary shares of Glencore International.
The Singapore sovereign wealth fund, which according to analysts manages assets worth US$300 million, had subscribed to the convertible bonds of Glencore ahead of its IPO multbillion-dollar initial public offering in 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

VTB Bank, Russia’s second largest lender by assets, has secured firm commitments from three sovereign wealth fund investors for its Secondary Public Offering (SPO) worth 102.5 billion rubles ($3.3 billion), the lender said on Monday.
“VTB Bank has received firm and binding commitments from a group of investors comprising existing and new shareholders, including three prominent sovereign wealth funds: Norges Bank Investment Management (the Kingdom of Norway); Qatar Holding LLC (the State of Qatar); and the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan, SOFAZ (the Republic of Azerbaijan), to subscribe for the entire amount of the offering,” VTB said in a statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Norway’s $728 billion Government Pension Fund Global, the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, grew by 219 billion kroner ($37 billion) during the first quarter of 2013, due to unprecedented stimulus from central banks trying to boost economic growth.
The fund, which generates money from taxes on oil and gas, ownership of petroleum fields, and the government’s 67% stake in Statoil ASA, experienced returns of 5.4 percent over the first three months of the year, with stocks returning 8.3 percent, and bond investments climbing 1.1 percent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd said on Thursday it was comfortable with Olam International Ltd’s credit position and its longer-term prospects.
The statement came after Olam, whose biggest shareholder is Temasek with 24 percent, announced a new strategic plan to halve its capital spending between 2014 and 2016, cut its stake in a urea plant in Gabon and reduce its debt levels………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Olam International Ltd , propped up by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings after worries mounted over its high debt, said it will halve its capital spending in 2014 to 2016, cut its stake in an urea plant in Gabon and reduce its debt levels.
The Singapore-based agricultural commodities company, which came under attack from short-seller Muddy Waters last November and was forced to raise cash as its stock and bond prices tumbled, has been under pressure from investors to rein in its expansion plans………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is looking into selling off shares in oil firms that work in Equatorial Guinea, where oil revenue does nothing to relieve abject poverty, the fund’s ethics council said, a list that includes Exxon Mobil. The Norwegian Pension Fund Global was Exxon Mobil’s tenth-largest shareholder at end-2012 with some 16 billion crowns ($2.7 billion) worth of shares, or a stake of 0.81 percent.
The fund, whose investments totalled $725 billion on Wednesday, invests Norway’s revenues from oil and gas production for future generations. Exxon Mobil was its tenth-largest equity holding at end-2012, according to its annual report………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) forecasts its total assets by the end of 2013 will remain at the level of last year, CEO of the Fund, Shahmar Movsumov, told journalists on Tuesday. “If oil prices on the world markets remain unchanged, we can keep the assets at the level of the beginning of the year, although the budget has been prepared with a deficit,” Movsumov said.
In 2012, the revenues of SOFAZ amounted to about 13.674 billion manat with expenses at 10.574 billion manat. SOFAZ budget revenues were approved for 2013 to the sum of more than 11.482 billion manat and expenditure more than 13.403 million manat. In the first quarter, the revenues comprised over 3.523 million manat, and expenditure about 2.930 billion manat………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The city of Albertville has an additional $477,918.48 in its coffers, the City Council announced Monday at its work session. City Clerk/Treasurer Phyllis Webb told the council it had received a check for that amount from the Alabama Trust Fund.

The Alabama Trust Fund is a wealth fund established in 1985 in response to a major offshore natural gas discovery in 1978. The fund is funded by royalty payments that are received each month from oil and gas companies. Its assets total about $2.5 billion………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China’s banking system remains safe and sound despite growing concerns over shadow banking, according to a senior executive of China Investment Corporation (CIC), the country’s sovereign wealth fund that manages US$200 billion of its foreign exchange.
“As long as the economy sustains its healthy growth and macro policy remains consistent, we can solve some of these banking issues,” says Jin Liqun, chairman of the firm’s board of supervisors, in a Beijing forum organized by Pioneer Investments………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Government-owned investment agency Khazanah Nasional Bhd is expected to announce the buyer of its entire 45 per cent stake in TIME Engineering Bhd next month.
A source said Khazanah is in the final lap of evaluating the three shortlisted companies, which are Skali Group, Censof Holdings Bhd and MyEG Services Bhd………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Federal Ministry of Works is to partner with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NS on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and an additional 39-kilometer road linking the Second Niger Bridge.
The Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, an architect, disclosed this when a delegation from the organization led by its Managing Director, Mr. Uche Orji paid him a courtesy call, in his Mabushi Office. The Federal Government owned authority established Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) with an initial funding of US$1 billion………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Audit firm Ernst & Young Holdings (CIS) BV has made audit of consolidated financial statements of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) for 2012 on the consolidated balance sheet.
The audit report says that SOFAZ net operating income before taxation for 2012 amounted to AZN 790.345 million and after payment of profit tax AZN 787.137 million. Fund’s total assets for 2012 were confirmed at the level of AZN 26.89 bn, including foreign assets for AZN 26.01 bn and non-foreign exchange assets for AZN 877 million. SOFAZ total financial assets were confirmed at AZN 24.127 bn……………………………………..Full Article: Source

For the 1st quarter the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) had budget net surplus at AZN 593.8 million or 16.85% of revenues for the reported term.According to SOFAZ, in the 1st quarter it received AZN 3.5 bn of revenue and made AZN 2.929 bn of expenditures. Due to that, SOFAZ assets for the quarter increased by 0.6% - from $34.129 bn up to $34.325 bn.
The basis of revenue for the quarter were proceeds from oil and gas production PSA contracts for AZN 3.413 bn, including revenue from sale of profit oil and gas for AZN 3.410 bn. Another AZN 110.4 million were brought to Fund’s budget by revenues from the management of its assets. Transit fee provided AZN 2.1 million, bonus AZN 200,000, sale of assets transferred by foreign companies AZN 10,000…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund, known as Sofaz, expanded its assets 0.6 percent to $34.3 billion as of April 1 from the end of last year. Sofaz’s gold holdings have increased to 18.4 metric tons by the end of the first quarter, according to an e-mailed statement today from the fund, which was established in 1999 in Baku, the Azeri capital, to manage the Caspian Sea nation’s income from the sale of oil and natural gas.
The fund started investing in gold, as well as in the Australian dollar, Russian ruble, Turkish lira and real estate last year to diversify holdings. It plans to increase its gold reserves to 30 tons by the end of the year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Budget revenues of the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) for the period of January-March, 2013 reached 3 523.4 million manats, while budget expenditures constituted 2 929.6 million manats.
Revenue of 3 413.0 mln. manats was received from implementation of oil and gas agreements, including 3 410.7 mln. manats from the sale of profit oil and gas, 2.1 mln. manats as transit payments, 0.2 mln. manats as bonus payments and 0.01 mln. manats from sale of assets received from foreign companies………………………………………..Full Article: Source

DBS Group Holdings Ltd’s bid to buy Indonesia’s PT Bank Danamon from Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd may go ahead next month, Indonesia’s central bank chief said on Monday.
The US$7.2 billion deal has been stuck for a year because of regulatory obstacles with Bank Indonesia capping ownership stakes in local banks and politicians calling for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to grant greater access for Indonesian banks in Singapore………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Excess Crude Account (ECA) is now $7 billion, as the Federal Government, states and the 774 local government councils in the country shared N731.13 billion.
The allocation, which is for March, was shared by the three tiers of government after a stormy session at the meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in Abuja, occasioned by the face-off of state commissioners of finance with the Minister of State for Finance, Lawan Yerima Ngama………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Australians could be sitting on a $300 billion sovereign wealth fund to rival the oil-rich nation of Kuwait if we had banked the budget windfall of the now deflating mining boom. Instead, exclusive modelling for News Limited reveals successive federal governments have squandered the lot - and then some - in tax cuts, handouts and stimulus spending.
Most economists are tipping Labor’s fifth budget will reveal a budget still deep in deficit - by as much as $10 billion in 2013-14 - as revenues continue to disappoint. This is despite the mining boom delivering a $290 billion boost to the budget bottom line between 2003/4 to 2016/17, according to modelling by Canberra-based forecasting group Macroeconomics………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kotak Mahindra Bank will make a preferential allotment of 2 crore equity shares to Singapore-based Heliconia for Rs 1,296 crore. The proposed investment will be at a price of Rs 648 a share.
The preferential equity issue is subject to shareholder and other necessary regulatory approvals, the bank said in a statement. Post-allotment, Heliconia, an affiliate of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd, will have approximately 2.6 per cent shareholding in the private sector bank………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi state investment fund Mubadala swung back into profit in 2012 as losses on its financial investments halved and revenues rose across its broad portfolio of companies.
Mubadala, which has a mandate to diversify the capital of the United Arab Emirates’ oil-reliant economy, reported net profit of Dh455m ($124m), compared with a loss of Dh3.2bn in 2011, when the fund was hit by impairments caused by declining financial and property markets………………………………….Full Article: Source

Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi investment fund with a mandate to boost the emirate’s local economy, swung to a net profit in 2012, helped by improved margins at some of its core businesses and lower impairments. Mubadala, which has stakes in General Electric and private equity firm Carlyle, made a profit of AED455m ($123.88m) for 2012.
Unlike other regional sovereign wealth funds like Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) or Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Mubadala’s main goal is to engage in investments which enhance development of the local economy, a theme which has gained greater consensus since the wake of the Arab spring…………………………………..Full Article: Source

Mubadala Development Company’s total comprehensive income posted a strong surge to Dh1.4 billion from a negative Dh4.2 billion in 2011, on the back of bumper gains from chip-making, hydrocarbon, aerospace and satellite businesses.
The rise in the Abu Dhabi-based investment and development company’s comprehensive income is a result of a 12 per cent year-on-year surge in revenues, which rose to Dh31.3 billion compared to Dh 27.9 billion in 2011…………………………………..Full Article: Source

Shareholders of Indian wind and hydro developer Greenko have supported plans for a £100m ($151m) equity investment from the Singaporean government. The company held a special shareholder meeting where investors voted yes to the investment proposal by the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).
AIM-listed Greenko has previously said that the funds will be used to accelerate the construction of attractive power opportunities in India by deployment of utility scale wind farms and Himalayan run-of-river hydro projects………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The volume of funds held in the state oil fund SOFAZ — an entity that accumulates and manages Azerbaijan’s oil and gas revenues — is currently equal to half of the country’s gross domestic product, SOFAZ head Shahmar Movsumov told a meeting of the World Economic Forum (Davos Forum) in Baku on Monday.
In early March, the State Statistics Committee reported that Azerbaijan’s GDP increased by 3.2 percent in January-February compared to the same period of last year and hit 8.344 billion manats (nearly $10.63 billion). According to Movsumov, the funds accumulated in the state oil fund are mainly invested outside the country and mostly directed to infrastructure projects………………………………………..Full Article: Source

DBS Group Holdings’ agreement to buy 67.4 per cent of Indonesia’s PT Bank Danamon from Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd has been extended by another two months, as approval of the deal languishes in Jakarta.
The so-called “long stop date” or the last date of the agreement expired last week, sources said. “DBS confirms that we have extended the long stop date to June 2 or such other later date as the parties may agree,” a DBS spokesman said. Temasek now owns 29 per cent of Singapore-based DBS. That will rise to about 40 per cent if the Danamon deal goes through………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singapore’s DBS Group Holdings Ltd.has secured a two-month extension for its US$7.3 billion acquisition of PT Bank Danamon, a deal that has languished for a year as it awaits approval from Indonesia’s central bank.
DBS’s acquisition of a 67.4% stake in Danamon from Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. has been stuck, even after the Indonesian central bank made changes to bank ownership rules in July that analysts said would permit the deal to go through. Temasek controls 29.4% of DBS, Southeast Asia’s largest bank by assets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Qatari Sovereign Wealth Fund-backed Doha Global Investment Company is to offer shares to the public in May, as part of a plan to share the tiny Gulf state’s assets with local citizens and institutions.
The Qatari investment firm will have a total capital of QR45 billion ($12.36 billion), half of which will be in the form of paid-up capital, according to a statement from Hussain Ali Al Abdulla, chairman of Qatar Exchange’s board. The other half will be owned by the private sector, giving Qatari institutions and individuals the chance to invest around the world alongside the state………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A new 8 billion pounds Qatari investment firm, backed by assets from the sovereign wealth fund, will offer shares to the public in May as part of plans by the tiny Gulf state to share its riches with local citizens and institutions.
Doha Global Investment Co, will have a total capital of 8.1 billion pounds, 50 percent of which will be in the form of paid-up capital, according to a statement from Hussain Ali Al Abdulla, chairman of Qatar Exchange’s board………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A new sovereign wealth fund backed Qatari investment fund worth US$12 billion would undertake an initial public offering by May. This is part of the Gulf kingdom’s plan to share its wealth with its citizens and institutions.
The fund is Doha Global Investment Co and would have a total capitalization of Eur9.6 billion, where 50% would be paid up capital. This was confirmed by Hussain Ali Al Abdulla, the chairman of Qatar Exchange’s board of directors………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A new $12 billion Qatari investment firm, backed by assets from the sovereign wealth fund, will offer shares to the public in May as part of plans by the Gulf state to share its riches with local citizens and institutions. Doha Global Investment Co, will have a total capital of 45bn riyals ($12.36bn), 50 per cent of which will be in the form of paid-up capital, according to a statement from Hussain Ali Al Abdulla, chairman of Qatar Exchange’s board.
Qatar unveiled plans to create the investment firm in February and said its sovereign fund arm, Qatar Holding, will transfer $3bn worth of assets into the new firm, with a similar amount raised in an initial public offering on the Qatar Exchange. Qatar Holding owns stakes in high-profile global firms such as German sports car maker Porsche and British bank Barclays and has been one of the most aggressive investors globally in recent years………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Another blow to the palm oil industry came on March 11 when JP Morgan Asia Pacific Equity Research revealed that the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) had disposed of its stakes in 23 Asian palm oil companies in 2012, including several Indonesian companies committed to the sustainability movement.
The GPFG, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, was reported to have divested out its stakes, citing concerns about unsustainable palm oil production. The divestments appeared to be a blanket sell-down of the sector without due consideration of company-specific plantation management practices. Some of the companies are publicly known to have progressively been adopting sustainability standards and certifications………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Indian based Karuturi Global Ltd., the world’s largest rose grower, sold its firs produce from its plantation in Ethiopia. The company is also going to solicit funding from sovereign wealth fund for further investment in East Africa.
Karuturi has produced more that 20,000 metric tons of corn in the last quarter of 2012 that sold for USD 6.5 million in Ethiopia, Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, Managing Director told Bloomberg. The harvest from its plantation in western Ethiopia, showed the project was “not a disaster” after floods destroyed a 60,000- ton corn crop in September 2011, he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, which made a $575 million secondary loan, and invested as much as $200 million in equity, stands to lose all of that.
This is not the only time Singapore’s sovereign wealth funds have lost money; plenty more have been written off through failed investments like in Wall Street banks. In 2008, Temasek Holdings – the country’s other sovereign wealth fund – admitted to losing over US$46 billion in just eight months, from March to November. GIC is expected to have lost at least the same amount………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The expected annual yield of 4% for Norway’s $700 billion oil fund is uncertain in the long-term, the fund’s Chief Executive Yngve Slyngstad told a parliamentary committee Wednesday. “The estimated 4% real yield is uncertain, also for long time horizons,” Mr. Slyngstad told the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, which is holding hearings on the funding needs of the Norwegian welfare state as the population grows older.
Mr. Slyngstad was invited to comment on a government white paper outlining the long-term financing of the generous Nordic welfare state. Like many European countries, Norway has an aging population and welfare spending is set to grow faster than tax revenues………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Eight Democratic legislators filed legislation to protect the Permanent Fund Dividend by placing the current dividend formula in the Alaska Constitution. With GOP leaders pushing an oil giveaway that is likely to cost Alaskans upwards of $1 billion or more a year, future legislators are likely to start cutting the Dividend to fund state revenue.
To protect against attempts to spend the Dividend in tight economic times, former Governor Jay Hammond proposed an initiative in 2002 that would have enshrined the Dividend in the Constitution, but Lt. Governor Loren Leman rejected it as not able to be done by initiative………………………………………..Full Article: Source

More than 26,000 people pledged $2.4 million this year from their permanent fund dividends to Alaska non-profits through the Pick. Click. Give program — a new record, the agency announced Tuesday.
The program allows recipients to donate a portion of their permanent fund check to qualifying charities. Total contributions were up 10 percent from last year, and about 3,000 more people participated in the program than in 2012, the agency said in an announcement. Overall, about 4.7 percent of online PFD applicants this year participated in the program. The deadline for applying was Saturday………………………………………..Full Article: Source