From WSJ: Seven sovereign-wealth funds in the oil-rich Persian Gulf region are expected to lose 15% of their value this year due to the drop in global financial markets, Samba Financial Group said in a report Wednesday.

Samba chief economist Howard Handy said in a telephone interview that the losses would likely total around $190 billion, and will cancel out almost all of the rise in the Gulf nations’ oil revenue this year….. Full Article: Source

From Easybourse.com: Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR) has received a financing commitment from a sovereign wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates, Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao said Thursday.

The amount of any loans from the $1 trillion fund will be based on Petrobras’ possible needs, Lobao said upon exit from a Senate hearing. “If its convenient for Petrobras and Brazil, we will take advantage of the financing,” Lobao said. …. Full Article: Source

From Stuff.co.nz: The Government’s Superannuation Fund is set to quit its $14.1 million stake in Rakon and $5.2m Boeing stock because of ethical issues.

Chief executive Adrian Orr said he would next month announce a decision on Rakon, Boeing and other stock that might be involved in delivery systems for nuclear weapons….. Full Article: Source

From Globalpensions.com: National pension fund Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) has been authorised to act as a sovereign wealth fund-like (SWF) vehicle to protect strategic French assets from predatory foreign investors.

The entity, officially known as a strategic investment fund, will be used to invest in developing French small and mid-sized businesses and provide a stabilising effect on the capital of businesses hit by the global economic downturn. …. Full Article: Source

From LSE.co.uk: Russia has already transferred 340 billion roubles ($12.43 billion) to state bank VEB to help fund its crisis rescue plan, and new measures will be announced soon, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Thursday.

VEB has been entrusted with spending 175 billion roubles from Russia’s National Wealth Fund on state purchases of domestic shares and corporate bonds, and distributing a further 450 billion roubles in subordinated loans to banks….. Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Kazakhstan has appointed Renaissance Capital to advise on the creation of its distressed asset fund, the Russian investment bank said on Thursday.

Renaissance Capital said in a statement it will work with Samruk Kazyna, a new state holding which unites Samruk, a firm running large state-owned companies, with Kazyna, an umbrella structure for state-owned financial institutions, and which is charged with distributing Kazakhstan’s crisis rescue package…. Full Article: Source

From Edmontonsun.com: Leo de Bever, CEO of Alberta Investment Management Corporation, says the looming recession presents challenges for AIMCo and the $70 billion it manages.

Originally part of the provincial finance department, on Jan. 1 AIMCo became a Crown corporation tasked with managing Alberta’s public sector pension plans and provincial endowment and special purpose funds, including the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund….. Full Article: Source

From Guardian: The European Commission’s president has voiced caution over French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s suggestion that EU states create sovereign wealth funds, saying protectionism in the bloc should be avoided.

Sarkozy said last month Europe should have its own sovereign wealth funds to take stakes in companies battered by the global financial crisis and protect them from “predators”….. Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg.com:China’s foreign-exchange reserves will “hopefully” reach $2 trillion this year, National Bureau of Statistics chief economist Yao Jingyuan said.

Yao spoke in a telephone interview after earlier being cited in news reports as saying at a Beijing forum that the reserves had already climbed to that level. He said he had been misunderstood….. Full Article: Source

From Timesonline.co.uk: Dubai International Capital (DIC), the $12 billion (£7.8 billion) Gulf investment fund, has confirmed that it is turning its focus away from Western acquisitions to concentrate on local and emerging markets.

Sameer al-Ansari, the chairman and chief executive of DIC, said that the balance of economic power was shifting east and that the fund’s investments would follow….. Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: A planned state investment fund will start buying into the Kuwait bourse before the Eid Al Adha holidays starting on December 8. “We will enter (the market) before the Eid,” Finance Minister Mustafa Al Shamali said, adding that details of the fund would be worked out within two days.

Last week, the government asked the sovereign wealth fund to set up the investment fund aimed at stopping a decline on the bourse on the back of the global financial crisis….. Full Article: Source

From Nytimes.com: Until recently, green investment funds were mostly a niche for individual investors. But now investing with the idea of improving the environmental actions of corporations, not just maximizing profit, is catching on among some big pension funds and foundations, particularly in Europe and even in the United States.

These funds are redirecting investment toward companies that do the least environmental damage and those that try to limit their output of the emissions thought to contribute to global warming….. Full Article: Source

From Theedgedaily.com: The Singapore government’s investment arm Temasek Holdings Private Ltd has emerged a substantial shareholder in local construction outfit WCT Bhd, which has secured significant contracts in the Middle East.

According to a filing to Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, Temasek’s various nominees acquired a 5.04% stake comprising 38.9 million shares in WCT on Nov 20. WCT announced on Monday that it had secured another RM1.2 billion worth of additional works awarded under a contract for the construction of the motor racing circuit in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. …. Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com:The Hedge Funds industry, which could face additional tremors following the financial turmoil in US capital markets, is looking Eastwards both for investing and for getting allocations, according to a survey conducted by Terrapinn, organiser of Hedge Funds World Middle East Conference, now in its 10th year.

The survey, which was conducted amongst more than 820 institutional investors and fund managers from around the world and the Middle East, showed that more than half of international institutional investors, or 53%, are looking to allocate to Middle East-based hedge funds….. Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have a significant role to play at the global economic arena during the next few years thanks to their cash flows, said an official at the World Bank.

Kevin Lu, director of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency at the World Bank Group, stressed that SWFs should play a more positive role in the global economy due to their huge liquidity that would help reduce the impact of the financial crisis….. Full Article: Source

From Irishexaminer.com: If the speculation that Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds are planning to take large stakes in the Irish banking sector is well founded, it will mark another tiny shift eastwards of the world’s financial centre of gravity.

The transfer of power arising from decisive shifts in underlying economic weights is never smooth and steady. The direction of change, however, is relentless and the current global crisis has provided numerous opportunities for the rebalancing to move quite a bit further both in reality and, importantly, in terms of perception….. Full Article: Source

From Variety.com: Singapore has set out its stall as a center of finance for the entertainment industry in Asia, mixing a generous supply of soft-money options with a largely favorable regulatory environment. Now being added into the mix is a series of funds run by private-sector operators.

In capital market matters, the territory often has played second fiddle to Hong Kong, but Singapore has generally outpaced its Asian rival in the fund-management and investment-trust industry….. Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: The cumulative acquisition of foreign assets by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) exceeded $900 billion in the five years ended June 2008.

Traditionally, the US has been the destination for the bulk of GCC capital. According to Samba Financial Group report — Tracking GCC Foreign Investments: How the Strategies are Changing with Markets in Turmoil — interest in the US market has remained strong in recent years, accounting for almost half the foreign assets accumulated during the past five years…. Full Article: Source

From FT: It took demonstrations, litigation, a court-mandated stock market closure, a bank run and a donkey being dragged to the bourse to protest. Yet, in the end, the Kuwaiti government came through for embattled investors with a sweeping rescue package.

Last week, the authorities promised to provide banks with extra liquidity, take unquoted assets off the hands of investment companies and prop up the Kuwait Stock Exchange through the country’s sovereign wealth fund. It is by some distance the biggest rescue package devised by a Gulf government to date….. Full Article: Source

From Thenational.ae: Concerns about Dubai’s debt are overdone, in the view of the head of the Dubai International Financial Centre.

“Ratings agencies say Dubai lacks the financial muscle to cover debt… Dubai is not just built on credit; in the past it’s largely been equity financing rather than debt,” said David Eldon, chairman of the DIFC authority at a conference during DIFC Week. “The reality is we need to distinguish sovereign debt from corporate debt.”…. Full Article: Source

From Nigerianmuse.com: The Presidency may have concluded plans to dump the controversial Excess Crude Account, which currently warehouses more than $22bn of revenues generated from the sale of crude oil in excess of budget benchmarks.

Investigations by our correspondent showed that in place of the contentious account, the Presidency intended to introduce a fund to be known as the Sovereign Wealth Fund….. Full Article: Source

From Neftegaz.ru: Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s second largest, suffered its biggest quarterly decline as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression battered global stock markets.

The Government Pension Fund - Global’s investments fell 7.7 percent in the third quarter as measured by a weighted basket of currencies, Norway’s central bank said today. The fund lost 13.1 percent on stocks and 1.2 percent on bonds, resulting in the biggest quarterly decline since its inception in 1996….. Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Bahraini firms are eyeing deals in Asia and elsewhere to significantly boost their global holding, a senior company executive said.

Mumtalakat Holding, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, aims to significantly boost its global holdings, while the country’s leading investment banks Arcapita Bank is eyeing deals in Asia and elsewhere….. Full Article: Source

From Irishtimes.com: Bank of Ireland has held talks with four parties, including US private equity firms Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), which have expressed an interest in making an investment in the bank.

The parties include the Irish-led Mallabraca consortium, which includes US private equity firms JC Flowers and the Carlyle Group, and two sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East. Another US private equity company is also in talks with the bank….. Full Article: Source

From Koreatimes.co.kr: Korea’s foreign exchange reserves seem to be about to plummet below the psychologically important level of $200 billion this month.

The reserves were around $260 billion earlier this year but fell to $240 billion in September and $212 billion in October as the government used the war chest to cope with the ongoing financial funk….. Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: Gulf oil producers are likely to deploy about $430 billion of new investments into assets in the region and China over the next two years as they face global financial turmoil, a Saudi bank said yesterday.

Saudi Arabia and its five neighbours in the world’s biggest oil-exporting region have acquired about $912bn of foreign assets in the five years to June - including about $450bn in US assets, Samba said in a research note….. Full Article: Source

As part of its intention to meet international standards of investment diligence, corporate governance and risk management, Abu Dhabi Investment Company’s (ADIC) has appointed Royston Armstrong as Head of Internal Audit, Stephen Swanson as Chief Legal Officer, and Stephen Bowey as Head of Communications.

Commenting on the appointments, ADIC CEO Nazem Fawwaz Al Kudsi said, “At ADIC we are committed to the highest standards of transparency and professionalism, with the goal of building our business internationally. The excellent multi-national experience we are bringing to our team will help us to achieve this.”

Royston Armstrong has more than 24 years of internal auditing experience, most recently as Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management at “Alliance Trust PLC”, a FTSE 100 company based in Edinburgh, UK. Prior to this, Armstrong was Vice President: Internal Control at “The Bank of New York” in the UK, following extensive experience in the financial services industry at, among others, “TSB Insurance”, “Abbey National” and “Alliance & Leicester”.

Stephen Swanson brings 15 years of legal experience in corporate finance and capital markets, most recently as Director and Senior Legal Counsel at “Citigroup Global Wealth Management” in New York. Before joining “Citigroup”, Stephen had extensive experience in leading global law firm “Clifford Chance”, and in top US firms “Jones Day”, and “Morgan, Lewis & Bockius” in New York.

Stephen Bowey has 28 years communications experience in the Netherlands, South Africa, and the UK. He joins ADIC from “College Hill”, a leading international financial PR consultancy, where he was Director and Partner. Previously Head of Communications at “Old Mutual” South Africa, he has extensive marketing and strategy experience in the financial services and publishing industries.

Abu Dhabi Investment Company (ADIC) is the first investment company in Abu Dhabi, and one of the leading firms in the Middle East and North Africa.

From Timesonline.co.uk: Sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf are switching their focus away from Western stock markets to shore up ailing economies in the Middle East and protect themselves from losses in the City and on Wall Street.

Investment funds in Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are understood to be changing their investment strategies after losing billions of dollars buying shares in Western companies. Several Gulf-based banks are being propped up with state investment….. Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), which manages the Gulf state’s assets, has withdrawn about 1 billion dinars ($3.66 billion) from abroad as it invests more at home.

Daily Al Qabas said KIA was moving part of its funds back home as it is setting up a government portfolio to invest in the local bourse which has been hit by the global financial crisis. Kuwait’s government asked KIA last week to set up a fund to buy into the bourse as part of measures to restore confidence….. Full Article: Source

From Bi-me.com: The hedge funds industry, which could face additional tremors following the financial turmoil in US capital markets, is looking Eastwards both for investing and for getting allocations, according to a survey conducted by Terrapinn.

The survey, which was conducted amongst more than 820 institutional investors and fund managers from around the world and the Middle East, showed that more than half of international institutional investors, or 53%, are looking to allocate to Middle East-based hedge funds….. Full Article: Source

From Marketwatch.com: As global economic power shifts from the West to the East and recent investments in well-known Western institutions have propelled sovereign wealth funds into the public eye, this new title written by Adnan Hassan, a former Senior Advisor of the World Bank Group, highlights the importance of sovereign wealth funds.

This much-needed practical guide covers everything you need to further your understanding of SWFs and place them in the wider economic and political context. …. Full Article: Source

From CNN: China’s US$200 billion sovereign wealth fund isn’t ruling out investments in mineral assets, but it aims to ensure that risks associated with any investments are controllable, an executive at China Investment Corp. said Tuesday.

“Based on our asset allocation strategy, mineral assets are part of the consideration,” the executive, who declined to be named, told Dow Jones Newswires when asked if CIC is interested in buying stakes in mineral giants such as Rio Tinto PLC (RTP). But he said he had no direct knowledge about any specific deals that CIC is considering….. Full Article: Source

From Rgemonitor.com: Strategic partnerships might only become more important and it may be investors like Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala who take direct stakes and invest in sectors and companies that promote domestic economic development.

One way or the other, these funds may be used for domestic investment and promoting domestic growth, just sooner than some may have thought. But they will have to shy away from high debt levels…. Full Article: Source

From Thenational.ae: Five of Abu Dhabi’s largest companies will launch a home finance company on Wednesday that will fill the void left by the implosion of credit at home and abroad.

Abu Dhabi Finance, as the new lender is to be known, is a joint venture between Mubadala Development, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Aldar Properties, Sorouh Real Estate and the Tourism Development and Investment Company….. Full Article: Source

From Zawya.com: A slump in global equities has inflicted heavy losses on Gulf government funds but such losses have been more than offset by the diversified nature of their investments, according to a key Western financial institution.

The slump, caused by the ongoing global financial crisis, has already prompted GCC countries to repatriate a large part of their Western-based assets for investment at home, said the Washington-based Institute of International Finance (IIF)….. Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Temasek Holdings Pte scrapped the sale of Power Seraya Ltd., the last of three Singapore utilities to be auctioned this year, after the global credit crisis drove down asset prices and froze funding for potential buyers.

Temasek has decided not to proceed with the tender process “in light of the market conditions,” the Singapore government- owned investment company said in an e-mailed statement today….. Full Article: Source

From CNN: The Government of Singapore Investment Corp. won’t buy more shares in Citigroup Inc. (C) and its stake will be diluted following the U.S. government’s investment in the banking giant, two people familiar with the situation said Tuesday.

“They (GIC) are not planning to buy more shares in Citi, at least for now. So their stake will be diluted,” one person told Dow Jones Newswires….. Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Temasek Holdings Pte, the $130 billion group that has almost doubled bank investments since 2004, this week raised its bet on financial companies by agreeing to buy at least $542 million of Standard Chartered Plc shares.

Temasek, owner of a 19 percent stake in Standard Chartered, will take up its share of a 1.8 billion pound ($2.7 billion) rights offer that will shore up the London-based bank’s capital….. Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Dubai International Capital (DIC), an investment firm owned by the ruler of Dubai, urged Gulf Arab investors to boost their influence in global business by seizing bargains amid the financial crisis.

“To become the largest shareholders in the 10 largest companies in the world … (for) $50 billion … that’s actually not a lot of money,” Chief Executive Sameer al-Ansari told a business conference in Dubai on Tuesday….. Full Article: Source

From CFR: Only a few sovereign funds disclose their performance. But it reasonable to think that many sovereign wealth funds – particularly the well-established funds that invested heavily in equities – have had a bad year.

Any sovereign fund overweight emerging economy equities – say those who were seduced by talk of a new Silk Road linking the Gulf to Asia – would have done worse. Ask some prominent US institutional investors….. Full Article: Source

From Livemint.com: With lack of investment in infrastructure holding growth back, experts feel the answer lies in the creation of an infrastructure fund. Poor infrastructure continues to be one of the most significant threats to India’s growth in the immediate future.

Experts say India’s GDP can slow down by 2% if the country does not invest $500 billion in roads, power, ports, water, telecom in the coming 5 years….. Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: The International Monetary Fund this month lent more money to cash-strapped governments than it has in the past five years combined.

The IMF agreed this month to $41.8 billion in loans, approving $16.4 billion for Ukraine, $15.7 billion for Hungary, $2.1 billion for Iceland and $7.6 billion for Pakistan. Financing is in the works for Serbia, Turkey, Belarus and Latvia, turning eastern Europe into a regional ward of the IMF the way Southeast Asia was a decade ago. …. Full Article: Source

From Easybourse.com: Kazakhstan on Tuesday agreed to a $10 billion crisis plan aimed at protecting its once booming economy from the worst effects of the global economic slowdown.

“The stabilization plan for the economy and the financial sector for the years 2009-2010 has been approved,” the office of Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov said in a statement. …. Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s second largest, suffered its biggest quarterly decline as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression battered global stock markets.

The Government Pension Fund - Global’s investments fell 7.7 percent in the third quarter as measured by a weighted basket of currencies, Norway’s central bank said today. The fund lost 13.1 percent on stocks and 1.2 percent on bonds, resulting in the biggest quarterly decline since its inception in 1996. …. Full Article: Source

From gulf-times.com: Dubai International Capital, Dubai Holding’s international investment arm, may have seen as much as $3bn wiped from its investment portfolio amid the world financial crisis, the firm’s chief executive said.

“In the past we talked about $12bn-13bn in assets but now it’s hard to tell. We’ve been affected, it could probably be around $10bn,” Sameer al-Ansari, executive chairman and chief executive of DIC said. ….. Full Article: Source

From Indiatimes.com: Several investors, including sovereign wealth funds, have expressed interest in buying Citigroup’s 12% stake in HDFC. Citigroup is the single-largest shareholder in HDFC with a 11.74% stake.

Citigroup has acquired its stake in two tranches. There is a 9.11% stake which is held by a Citigroup Strategic Holdings Mauritius and another 2.63% is held by Citigroup Holdings Mauritius….. Full Article: Source _stake_in_HDFC/articleshow/3752953.cms

From Newsminer.com: In the recent election, residents of that state considered, but rejected, the creation of a new Alaska-style permanent fund to hold their burgeoning oil wealth. Actually, North Dakota has had an oil trust fund for more than a decade, but it received a lot more attention this year, as oil prices spiked.

That’s understandable — analysts said the new permanent fund on North Dakota’s ballot would have collected $600 million, had it been in place this fiscal year….. Full Article: Source

From Straitstimes.com: The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) held talks with South Korea’s Finance Ministry officials here on Monday over the possibility of investing in South Korean treasury bonds.

Mr Shin Je Yoon, Deputy Minister for International Affairs at the South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance, said the talks were ‘fairly low-level’ with no plans for further talks yet. …. Full Article: Source

From AP: A state fund in Bahrain is aiming to significantly boost its global holdings, while one of the kingdom’s leading investment banks is eyeing deals in Asia and elsewhere, top executives in this tiny Gulf nation said.

The comments, along with the signing of an energy exploration deal by Abu Dhabi government investment arm Mubadala Development Co., are reminders that wealthy Arab investors still have an appetite for dealmaking even as firms struggle elsewhere….. Full Article: Source

From Reuters: The federal government of the United Arab Emirates will provide funds to a new entity that will house troubled Islamic lenders Amlak AMLK.DU and Tamweel TAML.DU, a Dubai government official said.

Mohamed Alabbar, a member of the Gulf emirate’s ruling council and chairman of Emaar Properties EMAR.DU, spoke in reference to a four way tie-up between the two Dubai-based Islamic lenders, the federal government’s Real Estate Bank and Emirates Industrial Bank….. Full Article: Source