Glencore International, the world’s largest commodities trader, has already lined up a group of key institutional investors to take as much as a quarter of its $9 billion to $11 billion public offering next month, say people familiar with the matter.
As part of its “pre-marketing” period, which began about two weeks ago and is now winding down, Glencore bankers have lined up so-called cornerstone investors from a variety of sovereign wealth funds, these people say……………………………………….Full Article: Source

China Investment Corporation (CIC), Temasek of Singapore, and Korea Investment Corporation have agreed to underpin the Glencore IPO, say City pundits.
Glencore has lined up a number of Asian sovereign wealth funds as “cornerstone investors” for its flotation on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges next month, with the commodities company looking for a market price tag of up to $73bn (£44bn)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Australia’s environmentalist Greens party said Friday it plans to push the government to establish a sovereign wealth fund to lock away the proceeds of the current mining boom.
The left leaning Greens are hugely influential in Australian politics, helping to prop up the minority Labor government and from July 1 the party will hold the balance of power in the upper house senate……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The International Monetary Fund has signalled the federal government should consider saving the revenue boost from higher commodity prices in a sovereign wealth fund.
In its Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific, released yesterday, the IMF says that for economies benefiting from higher commodity prices, such as Australia and New Zealand, some of the boost to government revenues could be saved……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Chinese government is looking to increase diversification in its foreign exchange reserve management and may provide its sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (CIC), with another US$100-US$200 billion worth of investment, according to an April 26 report on Financial Times, which cited anonymous sources.
The China Investment Corporation was established in 2007 with the issuance of special bonds worth RMB1.55 trillion by the Ministry of Finance (MoF)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

At the Reform Party’s rally on Thursday evening, its Secretary-General Kenneth Jeyaretnam said the party is pushing for the privatisation of Temasek Holdings and GIC. He said this would make these entities accountable to Singaporeans.
Mr Jeyaretnam also said the party wants to reform the Central Provident Fund, so that Singaporeans have greater control over their own savings, by deciding the proportion they want to contribute……………………………………….Full Article: Source

At the DowntownDC Business Improvement District’s “State of the Market” media briefing Thursday morning, Executive Director Rich Bradley said that in the wake of the CityCenter deal he and other economic development officials had a sense that offshore money, namely sovereign wealth funds similar to Qatar’s, could be interested in large-scale projects with multiple uses such as McMillan Reservoir, St. Elizabeths — even streetcars.
“We are on their radar,” after the CityCenter deal, Bradley said. The question moving forward, he added, is,” can we produce a project that they need and want?”………………………………………Full Article: Source

Along with the oil and gas beckoning the imperialists in Libya are that country’s sovereign wealth funds — capital invested abroad. The Libyan Investment Authority, the Central Bank and other bodies manage more than $150 billion on five continents.
Once the U.S. and the E.U. lifted the embargo in 2004 and the big oil companies returned, Libya maintained a yearly trade surplus of about $30 billion, used largely for foreign investments. Before launching a military attack on Libya, the U.S. froze the $32 billion the LIA had deposited in U.S. banks and the E.U. froze around $60 billion……………………………………….Full Article: Source

In a similar move to attract a greater level of investment abroad among institutional investors, the Australian government revealed earlier this week that it may consider tax breaks on sovereign wealth funds that have passive investments in Australian assets.
As sovereign wealth funds rise in financial clout — with an estimated worth of $4.2 trillion, or almost double that of private-equity assets — the tax breaks reflect a sense of competition that is brewing among countries to obtain a greater level of foreign investment……………………………………….Full Article: Source

China Investment Corp plans to offer $4 billion of loans for investors in Indonesian infrastructure projects, an Indonesian government official said on Thursday.
“CIC plans to provide about $4 billion in the form of loans to Indonesia’s infrastructure projects…and the loans are supposed to be for Indonesian firms,” Gita Wirjawan, Indonesia’s investment chief,said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Conditions are basically right for capital account convertibility for the yuan, the Financial News reported Thursday, citing Xie Ping, vice president of China Investment Corp., the country’s sovereign-wealth fund.
China already meets the main criteria for convertibility, such as steady economic growth and sufficient foreign exchange reserves, the report cited Xie as saying at a financial seminar in Beijing. Xie suggested that China could start by liberalizing bond investment under the capital account, and then move on to more risky stock and derivatives, according to the report……………………………………….Full Article: Source

If CIC invests more in the United States, that may help the U.S. add more jobs. But then you may naturally think of another question — will the U.S. be happy to take so much money from China yet restrict its investment to some “boring” sectors?
I support the idea of further empowering CIC. If Beijing wants to reduce its exposure to U.S. debt, expanding direct investment worldwide is a very workable solution. Will Beijing make a formal statement on its ambition to boost CIC’s shopping power abroad during the Labour Day holiday?………………………………………Full Article: Source

The China Investment Corporation has been mandated to help diversify the Chinese state’s $3 trillion-plus reserves away from US Treasurys and is expected to focus much of this capital on private equity and other alternative asset classes, according to a February report by Chinese consultancy Z-Ben Advisors.
The fund, which has in the past made large commitments to many of the biggest private equity firms including Blackstone Group, Apax Partners, 3i Group, and JC Flowers, is one of a number of pools of capital which have entered the buyout market in recent years……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Norway’s got one, so does Chile. For decades, the oil-rich Gulf states have also squirrelled away their export revenue into a public savings pool, known as a sovereign wealth fund. Now, there are growing calls for Australia to develop a fund of its own to make the most of the resources bonanza.
Backing from the likes of Commonwealth Bank chief Ralph Norris and Liberal MP Malcolm Turnbull has increased pressure to save more of the boom……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Lots of people have argued in favour of the mining tax and a sovereign wealth fund in recent years. Paul Bloxham in the SMH on Sunday makes a useful additional suggestion (others may have also proposed this): include our (extractable) natural resources as assets on the government’s balance sheet to help quantify the value of the foregone earnings (or opportunity cost).
To be clear, we already tax miners for monetising these resources through Australia’s royalty system. At its simplest level, the argument goes that these royalties are sub-optimal. I think much more could be done to explain to the public why this is the case……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna provided cash to debt-laden local banks in return for sizeable packages of their stakes during the crisis. The fund has repeatedly said that it wants to sell its shares in the nationalised BTA, Alliance and Temirbank.
Samruk-Kazyna now owns 67 percent of preferred and common shares in Alliance Bank. The bank’s former creditors and current shareholders hold the remaining 33 percent……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Leveraged buyouts have been a popular private equity strategy for numerous sovereign funds, especially in 2007 and 2008. It proved to be so popular that sovereign wealth funds have been investing in buyout firms.
The latest was a sovereign investment in TPG, a well known Texas private equity firm. Sovereign funds firmly understand that buyout funds are struggling to raise capital……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) is a state-owned investment fund composed of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, or other financial instruments funded by foreign exchange assets. These assets can include: balance of payments surpluses, official foreign currency operations, the proceeds of privatizations, fiscal surpluses, and/or receipts resulting from commodity exports.
Sovereign Wealth Funds can be structured as a fund, pool, or corporation……………………………………….Full Article: Source

India Chief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu, recently, called for a sovereign wealth fund saying it would expand the country’s role as a global player. India — which has foreign exchange reserves of $303 billion — and Japan are the only two Top 7 countries (by size of foreign-exchange reserves) that do not have a sovereign fund.
It’s uncertain, however, that there’s enough political traction for such a fund and not much has changed since August, when India’s policymakers abandoned a proposal to establish a sovereign fund of $5 billion to finance acquisitions of foreign companies……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The move will generate goodwill with foreign investors but unfairly creates a special category of exemption. The proposal by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to create a specific exemption for sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) from the open offer provisions in terms of their aggregate stake going up to 20 per cent stems from the government’s obligation under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) signed with Singapore in 2005.
Under the CECA, India had undertaken to treat the investment arms of the Singapore government (GIC and Temasek) as independent and separate for all regulatory purposes……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Singapore government, which runs sovereign funds Temasek Holdings and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation or GIC, will be the sole beneficiary of a recent relaxation in takeover rules for sovereign funds, said a person familiar with the Sebi board’s decision.
Other funds from countries such as China, Oman and Malaysia will not be entitled to such benefits, said the person who did not want to be identified……………………………………….Full Article: Source

China Investment Corp or CIC, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, is expected to obtain capital injection between US$100 billion and US$200 billion from the Chinese government, the Financial Times reported, citing insiders familiar with the situation as saying.
The Chinese government is seeking to cut its exposure to U.S. government debts and would seek to channel its investable funds to CIC which has completed offshore investments worth US$110 billion……………………………………….Full Article: Source

China Investment Corp (CIC), the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, will soon receive $100-$200 billion in new funds from the central government to address the country’s rapidly increasing foreign reserves, the British newspaper Financial Times reported on Tuesday citing unnamed sources.
China Investment Corp, reportedly having fully allocated the $110 billion it had available for offshore investments, is said to be getting the new money and reduce Beijing’s exposure to investment losses associated with US government debt……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Qatar is still studying investments in Spain’s savings banks but has not yet found the right opportunity for investment, the chief executive of the investment arm of the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Holding, said on Tuesday.
Following are details of recent investments in Spain by Gulf government-backed investment funds:………………………………………Full Article: Source

With phone lines and Internet connections down, Mustafa Zarti, vice chairman of Libya’s $65 billion sovereign-wealth fund, couldn’t buy an airline ticket in advance. As mobs of travelers at the airport jostled for seats on packed flights, Zarti scored a spot in business class on Austrian Airlines and flew to Vienna, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its June issue.
“It was catastrophic that day,” Zarti says. “I’m very sad for Libya.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

Brazil’s refusal to allow higher gasoline prices is cutting into returns of its sovereign wealth fund, whose main holdings are shares of state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA. (PETR4).
The fund, set up in December 2008 with 14.3 billion reais ($9.1 billion) in capital, lost 7.4 percent this month through April 20, marking the biggest monthly decline since October, data from Brazil’s regulator show……………………………………….Full Article: Source

China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp, is about to be armed with as much as $200 billion in additional cash by the country’s treasury. The previous size of the fund was $332.4 billion, according to the SWF Institute.
The goal of the fund is to take some of China’s foreign reserves and invest them abroad, thus diversifying the country’s holdings……………………………………….Full Article: Source

China’s central bank is planning to set up a variety of new funds that will make use of the country’s massive foreign-exchange reserves, including special-purpose investment funds and a foreign-exchange stabilization fund dedicated to forex interventions, a local news website reported Monday, citing unnamed sources.
“Relevant authorities” are studying a proposal by the People’s Bank of China to create funds using some of the forex assets from the PBOC’s balance sheet that could invest in sectors such as energy and precious metals, as well as a fund that will allow the central bank to influence foreign-exchange rates, Caixin Media said, citing a source close to the PBOC……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The central bank is planning new investment funds to diversify holdings in the nation’s $3 trillion foreign exchange reserves, to hedge against depreciation and inflation risks, according to a news report.
The proposed funds will invest some of the foreign reserves in energy and precious metal markets, the New Century Weekly said on Monday, citing unnamed sources close to the People’s Bank of China……………………………………….Full Article: Source

An overwhelming majority of stakeholders believe India should have a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) to service the needs of a fast growing economy, according to a recent study by India’s leading apex industry body Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( ASSOCHAM).
Those contacted while conducting the study included leading organisations representing different sectors and groups having diverse business interests like HDFC, HSBC, PNB, Religare, Mahindra & Mahindra and IIFCL besides corporates like Larsen & Toubro, Tata Services, Essar Group and Adani Group as well as government institutions……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines , the world’s sixth biggest container shipping firm, said current CEO Ron Widdows will retire by the end of 2011 and will be replaced by a senior executive from state investor Temasek Holdings.
Widdows, an industry veteran who pulled back from a potential acquisition of German rival Hapag-Lloyd in 2008 and then steered the company through the global financial crisis, will remain a senior adviser after he steps down this year……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Temasek Holdings senior executive Ng Yat Chung will take over as group president and chief executive officer (CEO) of container shipping giant Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) next year. He will succeed Ron Widdows, 57, who will retire from the posts at the year end but remain as a senior adviser.
Ng, 49, spent 28 years in key leadership roles in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), including a stint as Chief of Defence Force, before joining Temasek in 2007 as portfolio management managing director……………………………………….Full Article: Source

In an effort to bring Australia closer in line with international practice, the government may consider tax breaks on sovereign wealth funds that have passive investments in Australian assets.
As sovereign wealth funds rise in financial clout — with an estimated worth of $4.2 trillion, or almost double that of private-equity assets — the tax breaks reflect a sense of competition that is brewing among countries to obtain a greater level of foreign investment. Already, France, Canada, Japan, and Belgium provide tax exemptions for certain foreign investments……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Sovereign wealth funds have enjoyed a meteoric rise, shrugging off the global financial crisis thanks to soaring commodity prices. The value of assets held by these government-controlled monoliths leapt 11 per cent to $US4.2 trillion last year - almost double all private equity holdings. The sector’s value is tipped to hit $US5.5 trillion next year and $US10 trillion by 2015.
Among the countries that have gone down this path there is a recurring theme - commodity wealth. From the $US38.6 billion Kazakhstan National Fund to the $US627 billion Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the trend was led by oil-rich states from the 1950s……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The objective of the war against Libya is not just its oil reserves (now estimated at 60 billion barrels), which are the greatest in Africa and whose extraction costs are among the lowest in the world, nor the natural gas reserves of which are estimated at about 1,500 billion cubic meters. In the crosshairs of “willing” of the operation “Unified Protector” there are sovereign wealth funds, capital that the Libyan state has invested abroad.
The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) manages sovereign wealth funds estimated at about $70 billion U.S., rising to more than $150 billion if you include foreign investments of the Central Bank and other bodies. But it might be more……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Oman Investment Fund (OIF), a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) owned by the Omani government, may buy close to 5% in upcoming Universal Commodity Exchange (UCX), making it the first investment by an SWF in a local commodity bourse and reflecting the growing interest of foreign investors in India’s nascent commodity futures market.
The deal, if completed, will value the yet-to-be-launched UCX at Rs 400-500 crore, around 30% lower than that of NCDEX, India’s second-largest commodity exchange (commex), promoted by Delhi-based broker Jaypee Capital Services and leading sugar refiner Shree Renuka Sugars………………………………………Full Article: Source

If a proposal put forth in SEBI’s recent board meet goes through, Sovereign Wealth Funds will score on foreign institutional investors. An FII is allowed to purchase an up to 10% stake in a listed company and the holdings of an FII group are counted as holdings of a single FII. But Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreements or CECAs signed by India treat multiple investment vehicles of a Sovereign as independent of each other.
And so, prompted by a government request, SEBI may allow sovereign investment vehicles, of a treaty country, to hold shares in an Indian listed entity beyond specified threshold limits without attracting the open offer obligation……………………………………….Full Article: Source

China’s central bank is considering setting up new investment funds to diversify holdings in the country’s swelling foreign exchange reserves, the world’s largest stockpile, local media reported on Monday.
The proposed funds include one or more to invest a part of China’s foreign reserves in energy and precious metal markets and another that could intervene in foreign exchange markets, the New Century Weekly said, citing sources close to the central bank……………………………………….Full Article: Source

China Investment Corporation (CIC), the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, is planning to further expand its overseas investment in developing economies, said Lou Jiwei, the company’s chairman.
Lou said that the rate of return from CIC’s investments in 2010 was almost the same as the 11.7 percent figure posted in 2009, and higher than the average rate of China’s other big investment companies. However, Lou declined to reveal the exact figure until the publication of CIC’s annual report, although the release date has yet to be publicly announced……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Australia should have a mining tax and a sovereign wealth fund. Both of these would allow better management of our national wealth.
Australia is converting part of its vast resource wealth - the ”rocks” in the ground - into cash. The lion’s share of this cash is flowing directly to the mining companies, while only a small part is being retained by the Australian people (by flowing back into the general fiscal accounts)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

India Inc has favoured the country setting up a sovereign wealth fund to service the needs of fast growing economy, especially the infrastructure sector, says a survey. A majority of the respondents surveyed pegged the size of sovereign wealth fund (SWF) at USD 50 billion, the survey by industry body Assocham said, adding that the fund structure should be based on a public-private-partnership model.
Over 80 per cent said that it may be used to acquire assets globally for India’s long-term energy and resource needs……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A total of 94.6 per cent respondents said the sectors to be benefited from acquisitions made by SWF will pertain to oil and gas, coal and infrastructure. An overwhelming majority of stakeholders believe India should have a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) to service the needs of a fast growing economy, according to a recent study conducted by apex chamber ASSOCHAM.
Those contacted while conducting the study included leading organisations representing different sectors and groups having diverse business interests like HDFC, HSBC, PNB, Religare, Mahindra & Mahindra and IIFCL besides corporates like Larsen & Toubro, Tata Services, Essar Group and Adani Group as well as government institutions……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Sovereign Wealth Funds has attracted some attention this week. A sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is a state-owned investment fund composed of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, property, precious metals or other financial instruments.
Sovereign wealth funds invest globally. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) from countries having Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA) with India to buy up to a maximum of 20% stake in any listed company without making the mandatory public offer……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Managers of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) gathering for their annual meeting in Sydney this week will likely note real progress on implementing the Santiago Principles—a voluntary code of conduct for SWFs designed to promote good governance, transparency, and accountability.
In fact however implementation is highly uneven. There is still far to go if SWFs are to be responsible members of the global economy, concludes a paper by Sven Behrendt……………………………………….Full Article: Source

And had not Xie Ping, a senior official of the China Investment Corp (CIC), a big sovereign wealth fund, spoken to Zapatero of the €9bn ($12.9bn) available to spend on restructured banks and Spanish sovereign debt?
But in the cold light of the next day, the CIC denied any concrete plan to invest, and Madrid had to confess to “an error of communication”. It turned out that the CIC would never have considered such a big investment and that Xie was not quite as important in the fund as the Spanish believed……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A leveraged buyout of oilfield services company Frac Tech Services Inc by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund and an Asian private equity fund will likely push back the company’s planned initial public offering, analysts said on Wednesday.
Frac Tech, a Texas company, on Tuesday agreed to sell 70 percent of the company to a unit of Singapore’s Temasek and RRJ Capital, a fund run by Richard Ong……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s state investment arm Khazanah Nasional will start talks to sell its 30 percent stake in Bank Muamalat to financial group BIMB Holdings which could merge the sharia lender with Bank Islam, Business Times reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources.
“Significant discussions on an M&A (merger and acquisition) exercise, with a view to a merger between both banks, is expected to start very soon,” a source familiar with the plan was quoted as saying……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Khazanah Nasional Bhd will make an announcement on the winning bidder for its 32.21 per cent stake in Pos Malaysia Bhd in due course.
“We will make an announcement on the winning bidder once its internal processes and governance procedures relating to or in connection with the said bid process are completed,” said Khazanah said in its response to a Business Times report……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The federal government is considering rules that would give foreign government-owned funds a tax break, in a bid to make Australia more attractive to the sector. An options paper from Treasury has suggested extending tax exemptions already enjoyed by some sovereign wealth funds to the entire sector.
The paper, published yesterday, said Australia had treaty agreements with some trade partners that gave these countries’ sovereign funds tax exemptions on their investments……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has returned 23.04% since the start of its fiscal year in July. Figures show assets increased to NZ$18.82bn ($15bn) at the end of March, up from $16.4bn in July.
The return for the month of March alone was 0.41% and was due to a “mild positive contribution from private market assets”, the fund said……………………………………….Full Article: Source