Opalesque Sovereign Wealth Funds Briefing

Oil-centric sovereign wealth funds

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 02:20:03 +0000

Among the largest sovereign wealth funds, oil- and gas-related revenues account for just less than 57% of total assets, including four of the top five funds largest by assets, derive their assets from their energy industry. Norway's Government Pension Fund Global sits atop the list with $885 billion in assets. While Norway is not a member of OPEC, the fund will be directly impacted by the meetin...
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Khazanah Nasional Berhad arm to sell stake in IDFC Bank

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 02:19:47 +0000

A unit of Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional is selling around USD80 million worth of shares in Indian private lender IDFC Bank, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Sipadan Investments (Mauritius) Ltd, the Khazanah arm, is selling about 80.4 million shares in IDFC Bank in a block trade, with a price range of 68.25 rupees to 71.10 rupees apiece, the term sheet show...
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NZ Super Fund keeps ILS investments at $200mn

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 02:19:35 +0000

The New Zealand Super Fund's reinsurance allocation remained stable at about $200mn in 2016. In its annual report, the sovereign wealth fund disclosed an NZ$75mn ($53mn) allocation to Elementum Advisors and a NZ$213mn investment with Leadenhall Capital Partners as at 30 June, around the same level it had invested with the funds at the same point last year. The reinsurance and life settlements al...
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QIC and China�s Ping An sign MoU after �long courtship�

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 02:19:19 +0000

Queensland Investment Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding for strategic co-operation with one of China�s biggest asset managers � Ping An Asset Management Company � to tap the rapid growth in Chinese investment capital. This is the first time QIC has entered into a MOU with a Chinese asset manager, although it has led a consortium that includes China�s $200bn sovereign wealth fu...
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GPT fund eyes One One One Eagle Street tower deal

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 02:19:04 +0000

GPT Group�s acquisitive wholesale office fund is in talks to boost its interest in Brisbane landmark One One One Eagle Street with a play that could leave it with a two-thirds stake in the near $900 million tower in train. The project won the backing of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and it, GPT, and its wholesale fund each held one-third stakes. he unlis...
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Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund to Invest in Alabbar-Led Company

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 02:18:53 +0000

Saudi Arabia�s sovereign-wealth fund said Monday that it will acquire a 50% stake in an investment company led by Emirati businessman Mohamed Alabbar. The deal comes after Adeptio AD Investments SPC Ltd. last month completed the purchase of a majority stake in Kuwait�s Americana, one of the Middle East�s largest operators of fast-food chains including KFC, TGI Friday�s Inc. and Pizza Hut. The Pub...
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Saudi fund to buy 50% stake in Adeptio

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 02:18:38 +0000

Saudi Arabia's top sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), plans to buy a major stake in Adeptio, the Gulf-based investment firm which controls Kuwait Food Co (Americana) , the PIF said on Monday. The PIF would buy 50 percent of Adeptio from United Arab Emirates-based billionaire Mohamed Alabbar, who would keep the rest of Adeptio. It did not give financial details of the deal. ...
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Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund to Invest in Alabbar-Led Company

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:04:53 +0000

Qatar�s sovereign wealth fund sees Spain as a gateway to investing in Latin America

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:04:37 +0000

Officials in Qatar and Spain are reportedly mulling the creation of a $1 billion joint investment fund � and a meeting is being scheduled for next year to progress the plans. Spanish ambassador to Qatar, Ignacio Escobar, told Gulf Times in an interview that a bilateral visit by Spanish officials to the Gulf state is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2017, and that the visit could incl...
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QIA is shaping Qatar�s economic future

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:04:25 +0000

Continuing our assessment of Qatar�s economic diversification in Gulf Times, the creation by the Qatari government of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), a sovereign wealth fund, in 2005 is a reflection of Qatar�s strategic view of how to shape its economic future as well as its capacity to operate in the global financial markets. With assets estimated to be around $300bn, QIA�s prime objective is...
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Norway pension fund told to get out of Australian offshore detention business

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:04:12 +0000

Norway's biggest pension fund is under pressure to sell its interest in the Spanish company holding the biggest contract to run Australia's offshore detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru. The Australia Institute claims the pension fund's investment in Ferrovial is at odds with its commitment to high ethical standards and is not widely known in Norway. It is mounting a social media campaign ...
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Singapore�s GIC hires big data expert in quant strategy push

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:03:56 +0000

GIC has hired a big data expert as it expands computer-driven investments through a quantitative group started earlier this year. The Singapore sovereign wealth fund appointed Mr Michael Recce in the newly created role of chief data scientist last month to work in the GIC Data and Analytics Department, according to a spokesman. Mr Recce, a former associate professor at the New Jersey Institute of...
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Taking charge in time of lower returns

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:03:43 +0000

That the announcement of various changes to the leadership team at GIC - including the elevation of Mr Lim Chow Kiat to chief executive - caused barely a stir speaks of the confidence the general public has in the sovereign wealth fund's ability to continue managing Singapore's foreign reserves ably. Yet the leadership changes come at a critical juncture. The global investment climate is challen...
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GIC continues to tap into booming logistics sector with European deal

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:03:31 +0000

Singapore�s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, has completed the largest European property deal of the year so far with the acquisition of warehouse developer, P3 Logistics Parks for 2.4 billion euros (US$2.7 billion). P3 Logistics, based in the Czech Republic, is one of Europe�s largest fully integrated logistics platforms and developers� with 163 �high-quality� warehouses across nine countries on the ...
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Sovereign funds line up to invest post demonetisation in India

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:03:16 +0000

Following the demonetisation exercise and clampdown on counterfeit notes and black money, �Invest India� � the government�s investment promotion & facilitation agency � has been flooded with queries from foreign pension funds and Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) regarding locations and sectors to invest in the country. Encouraged by this trend, �Invest India� has decided to set up a dedicated tea...
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KIC, LOFA to jointly invest $130 mn in 7 U.S. hotels

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:03:01 +0000

South Korea�s sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) will invest 153 billion won ($130.8 million) in seven hotels in major cities in the United States with Local Finance Association (LOFA) on expectations for growth in the U.S. economy under the new U.S. administration in 2017. According to multiple sources from the investment bank industry on Monday, KIC and LOFA, a provider ...
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Alaska Permanent Fund posts 3.86% return for quarter, above its benchmark

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:02:48 +0000

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., Juneau, returned 3.86% for the quarter ended Sept. 30, ahead of its 3.51% performance benchmark, said a news release from the $54.8 billion sovereign wealth fund. Strong equity returns, particularly in emerging markets, helped drive the overall return, the news release said. International stocks returned 7.86% for the quarter, followed by U.S. stocks at 5.76%; global ...
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Ireland Strategic Investment Fund commits �30m to SME lender

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:02:37 +0000

The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) will invest �30m into the country�s largest non-bank lender, Finance Ireland. The �8bn sovereign wealth fund has �conditionally agreed� to take a 32% stake, according to a statement from Finance Ireland, and will nominate two directors for the lender�s board. Last year, PIMCO bought a similar stake in the company through a private equity vehicle it run...
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SOFAZ to obtain about $100bln in next 20 years

Fri, 25 Nov 2016 01:31:24 +0000

Azerbaijan�s state oil fund SOFAZ, which accumulates and manages oil and gas revenues of the resource-rich country, is projected to get some $100 billion from the sale of oil and gas in the next 15-20 years. SOFAZ Executive Director Shahmar Movsumov, addressing a banking conference in Baku on November 24, said that regardless a significant drop in oil prices, the country continues production and...
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Saudi fund hires HSBC for potential purchase of ACWA Power stake

Fri, 25 Nov 2016 01:30:48 +0000

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has hired HSBC to advise it on a potential purchase of a stake in ACWA Power, a developer and operator of power and water plants, sources close to the matter said. Riyadh-based ACWA Power has chosen JP Morgan to advise it on the process, the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the information is not public, said...
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