Aje Saigal, a consultant at sovereign wealth fund Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) , is setting up Nuvest Capital that targets capital growth of 4 to 5 percent per year above inflation, a fund document seen by Reuters shows.
GIC is seeding Nuvest Capital which will manage the global multi-asset Nuvest Global Fund with an emphasis on emerging markets, the document showed. The Singapore-based fund will be launched in early July, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Norwegian sovereign-wealth fund Norges Bank Investment Management has cut its stake in three Indian infrastructure companies including IVRCL Ltd. and Lanco Infratech Ltd. in the past two weeks, stock exchange filings showed Tuesday.
Norges Bank Investment has reduced its holding in IVRCL to 6.39% from 7.61% by selling shares on the open market and in Lanco Infratech to 4.93% from 5.97%, the fillings showed. It has also marginally cut its stake in NCC Ltd. to 5.51% from 5.57%……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The major federal political parties have dismissed the Australian Greens’ proposal to pursue a sovereign wealth fund, while providing themselves the opportunity to attack each other.
Greens MP Adam Bandt put forward a motion in parliament on Tuesday that would instruct the Productivity Commission to undertake an inquiry into the merits of sovereign wealth funds and how best one would suit Australia………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it welcomed the establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), stressing that a rule-based approach to setting the oil-price benchmark will strengthen the budgetary process and operation of the Fund.
The IMF also stated that growth would be robust this year but with inflation rising temporarily due to the increase in prices of fuel. It however pointed out that the main downside risks to the short-term outlook were “a further deterioration in the global environment and an exacerbation of current violence in northern Nigeria.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The head of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund quit over differences of strategy with the board, disappointed by its lack of deal-making as it focuses on reviving loss-making domestic assets, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Talal Al Zain, the urbane former investment banker, told Reuters on Monday he would leave his job as chief executive of Mumtalakat, the $9bn sovereign fund, to set up a new investment firm in the Gulf island kingdom………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Paula Treneer, former senior portfolio manager for the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, will launch an alternatives investment consulting firm within the next couple of months, Ms. Treneer said.
The new company, Idun Partners, will target institutions and family offices in structuring hedge fund and other alternative strategies, excluding private equity, Ms. Treneer said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi investment and development company, is part of a Sony-led investment group which has applied for European Union approval for the $2.2bn purchase of EMI Group’s publishing unit, it was confirmed on Wednesday.
“The proposed acquisition of EMI Music publishing by Sony and an investor group including Mubadala has been notified to the European Commission………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sovereign wealth funds from the oil-rich Middle East have doubled their investment in central London property from six percent in the period 2000-2007 to 12 percent in 2008-2011, property consultants CBRE said.
Increasing interest from regional SWFs and Asia’s cash-positive pension funds in London-based real estate is expected to remain high but could depress yields at the very prime end of the market, the firm warned………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kanat Dosmukametov appointed to the post of the Managing Director of Kazakh National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna, the Fund reported. “Kanat Dosmukametov was appointed as the Managing Director upon the order of Samruk-Kazyna’s Chairman of the Board,” the Fund said.
Dosmukametov will be responsible for the Corporate Finance and Treasury Department and the Directorate for the financial institutions management………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Russian foreign direct investment soared to $18.4 billion last year, a 33 percent increase from 2010, with finance and manufacturing receiving the most capital. The Kremlin set up the Russian Direct Investment Fund to co-finance international investment and in October won $1 billion in backing from China’s sovereign wealth fund, the first foreign commitment to the private-equity vehicle.
The government expects inflows to reach between $60 billion and $70 billion soon, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Brazilian government could use its sovereign wealth fund to buy dollars in the spot foreign-exchange market, but for now will leave it to the central bank to intervene, Brazil’s National Treasury Secretary Arno Augustin said on Tuesday.………………………………………Full Article: Source

Brazil’s government doesn’t plan at the moment to use the country’s sovereign wealth fund to purchase dollars, Treasury Secretary Arno Agustin said.
While the fund can be used to intervene in the currency market, “we haven’t carried out that possibility yet,” Augustin told reporters in Brasilia today. “We continue with a currency policy that is concentrated at the central bank.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The chief executive of Bahrain’s $9 billion sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, told Reuters he has resigned to set up a new investment firm in the Gulf Arab island kingdom.
“I’m leaving Mumtalakat after four years of helping set up an institution of the best international standards and corporate governance,” Talal Al Zain, 52, said in a phone interview from Manama on Monday. “I’m staying in Bahrain and will always be part of the system here.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Barring any unforeseen hitches, the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) will commence operation in May this year as the Federal Government is concluding arrangements for its effectual take-off.
Already, the Federal Government is recruiting the chief executive officer, chief investment officer and the chief risk officer through KPMG - one of the world’s leading management consultancy firms - it appointed to hunt for the key officers that will manage the fund under the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The global landscape for Sovereign Financial Institutions (SFI) connected with their structure, safeguarding their sovereign tax exemptions and their compliance requirements have remained key issues for the state-owned funds.
In that light, Deloitte hosted an SFI Tax Forum in Abu Dhabi on February 27, 2012, bringing together an international team of experts, along with investment authorities from the Middle East to discuss the latest developments in these fields………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Ewart Williams, Director of Investments at the Heritage and Stabilization Fund, Trinidad and ­Tobago, runs the Caribbean nation’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) in addition to being governor of its central bank.
“Trinidad and Tobago had two episodes of high oil prices in the 1970s and early 1990s, and on both occasions there was the view that the proceeds were not efficiently used. There was a significant increase in government expenditure and all the classic indicators of Dutch Disease………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Australian Greens want to a establish Productivity Commission inquiry into the merits of sovereign wealth funds and how best one would suit Australia.
Greens MP Adam Bandt will pursue a motion in parliament on Tuesday that would instruct the commission to undertake an inquiry and respond in October………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar Investment Authority, the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, increased its stake to 8.4 percent in Iberdrola SA, raising its investment in Spain’s largest electricity provider to 2.27 billion euros ($3 billion).
The fund based in Doha has surpassed all other stockholders except for Spanish construction company Actividades de Construccion & Servicios SA, which holds about 19 percent of Iberdrola, according to the utility’s annual corporate governance report covering 2011 activities………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) could be a terrific alternative source of capital for primary insurers and reinsurers around the globe.
At least that was the hypothesis we here at Deloitte offered about four years ago in a June 2008 special report on this potential new supplier of financing for insurance carriers, titled “Insurance Firms: The Missing Link in the Sovereign Wealth Fund Acquisition Spree.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Colin Barnett’s plan for a sovereign wealth fund has been attacked by a conservative think tank as a waste of money that would short-change West Australians in the long run.
The Centre for Independent Studies says the rate of return on the assets held in such a fund would be poor compensation for not using the cash now to invest in productivity-lifting infrastructure, lowering taxes or cutting the State’s debt………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) has acquired a 5% stake in multinational grain producer Bunge, the company said. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bunge said the city-state’s sovereign wealth fund had acquired 7.31 million of its shares.
The filing did not give a value for the acquisition but Dow Jones Newswires said it was worth $495.5 million, based on the closing price of Bunge shares in New York on Thursday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Papua New Guinea Government anticipates that a staggering K100 billion (US$30 billion) will be initially deposited into the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF).
“We are talking in excess of some US$30 billion, at current exchange rate, that works out to about K100 billion. That is a lot of money,” Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

What do Malcolm Turnbull, the International Monetary Fund and Bob Brown have in common? All tout the wisdom of sovereign wealth funds, increasingly the motherhood statement of economic policy.
Western Australia’s Premier Colin Barnett joined the throng this week, promising his state, flush with cash from mineral royalties, would set up such a fund to ensure “future generations have a legacy” from the “finite resources available at present”. A political panacea, too, they are meant to curb the severity of recessions and take the wind out of soaring currencies that hobble local manufacturers………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Government of Singapore Investment Corp, one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds, has taken a 5 per cent stake in commodities trader Bunge Ltd, according to a regulatory filing.
GIC has bought 7,305,865 shares of the New York-listed agricultural trading firm, the fund said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission dated Feb 23, valuing its stake at US$496 million (S$621 million)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Citic Capital Holdings Ltd., part- owned by China’s sovereign wealth fund, said it raised $60 million in a first closing for a growth-investment fund from investors including a Temasek Holdings Pte unit.
The Citic Capital Venture Partners will focus on high- growth, small- and medium-sized enterprises in clean-technology, consumer and new emerging industries in China, Citic Capital said in an e-mailed statement today. The fund targets a size of $150 million, Citic Capital said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Committee chair Moshe Gafni: If the government doesn’t stipulate that the fund will only be for social purposes, we will. Knesset Finance Committee members oppose recommendations of the inter-ministerial team, headed by National Economics Council chairman Eugene Kandell, which will review the management of the state’s revenues from oil and gas resources.
During yesterday’s discussion, committee members said that the team’s recommendations violate the spirit of the Sheshinski Committee to use revenues from natural gas discoveries for social purposes………………………………………..Full Article: Source

France’s largest listed bank BNP Paribas is said considering the sale of all or part of its 51% stake in shopping centre REIT/SIIC Klépierre to the Norwegian Pension Fund run by a division of the central bank, Norges Bank Investment Management.
Business publication La Lettre de l’Expansion and Les Echos newspaper said that the French bank is in discussions with the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund on the possible purchase………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. will continue lending out stocks in its $40 billion-plus portfolio, despite the losses some other funds have had with the practice.
It’s called securities lending, but it may be more aptly called securities “renting” due to the income the permanent fund receives………………………………………..Full Article: Source

As Israel prepares to start a sovereign wealth fund that would put it at number 13 in the rankings of the world’s largest wealth funds, we look at the top 20 as they stand today, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.
The rankings also include their scores on the Linaburg-Maduell Transparency Index, which was developed by the Las Vegas-based wealth institute and awards points based on a fund’s disclosures about topics such as its history, investment strategies, returns and ethical code. Click through to see the top 20 largest sovereign wealth funds and how they rank in terms of transparency………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Parliament passed the Bill to establish the Sovereign Wealth Fund for Papua New Guinea unopposed. The first vote on the Bill presented by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill was 80-0 while the second result was 78-0, surpassing the absolute majority vote of 73.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill thanked Members of Parliament for passing the bill to establish the sovereign wealth fund. “The establishment of the fund is very important for our nation’s development. The fund gives us the opportunity to protect and grow surplus wealth from the export of our mineral resources, and our oil and gas,” Mr O’Neill said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The government of Western Australia has said it is planning to launch its own sovereign wealth fund in a bid to invest earnings from its mining boom. The state, which has large deposits of minerals such as iron ore, has seen mining revenues rise in recent years.
The surge has been driven by increased demand from China and other emerging economies in Asia. State Premier Colin Barnett said it was necessary to ensure the resources-led boom led to long-term benefits………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The CME Group, the world’s largest futures exchange owner, and Oman Investment Fund will raise their respective stakes in the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) to support expansion at the Middle East oil bourse.
CME Group’s Nymex division will double its holding to 50 per cent, while Oman’s sovereign wealth fund will own 29 per cent of the Dubai exchange………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Mubadala Development Company is close to securing a financing deal for extension work at one of its landmark projects amid growing demand for debt issued by Abu Dhabi.
The state-backed investment fund hopes to secure a financing package by mid-2012 for a new $4.5 billion (Dh16.5 billion) construction phase at Emirates Aluminum (Emal) that will almost double the smelter’s production capacity………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) Wednesday deducted N187.090 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to make up for the shortfall in revenue for the month of January.
The gross revenue of N666.324 billion in the month under review was lower than the N892.705 billion realised in the previous month. That difference was N226.381 billion. Meanwhile, a total of N614.4 billion was Wednesday shared among the three tiers of government for January………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Western Australia state’s plan to set up a form of sovereign wealth fund, or SWF, has caught the eye of bankers here but it could stir up a hornet’s nest in Canberra.
The new fund could prove a boom for wealth managers and bankers hungry for new opportunities, but it’s early days yet. Among those in line will be existing managers to the Australian government-backed Future Fund including local and global institutions across equities, private equity, property, infrastructure and timberland, debt, alternatives, cash and overlay strategies………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Colin Barnett has revealed his Government will create a future fund this year to quarantine the benefits of the “finite” resources boom for future generations of West Australians.
The Premier flagged the idea of a sovereign wealth fund in December, saying it would be on the agenda if the Government won another term………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Australia’s wealthiest state in terms of resources is set to create its own sovereign wealth fund, despite criticism that the country’s superannuation system does not need the backup.
Western Australia’s premier Colin Barnett said that the investment vehicle will be comparable to the existing 73.07 billion Australian dollar (US$78 billion) Future Fund set up by the Commonwealth government in Canberra, the Wall Street Journal initially reported……………………………………….Full Article: Source

There has been growing debate as to whether Australia should make greater use of Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, to manage fluctuations in the federal budget balance due to commodity price cycles and the business cycle.
It has also been argued that Australia needs a sovereign wealth fund to better manage the macroeconomic consequences of the “terms of trade” boom, such as the rising Australian dollar and the so-called “Dutch disease”. A sovereign wealth fund has also been advocated as a mechanism for sharing the revenue from the global commodity price boom with future generations………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sovereign wealth funds and pension funds are pruning their exposure to alterative assets such as private equity amid the economic downturn, cutting underperforming managers from their rosters - another window for secondaries.
GIC, the Singapore sovereign wealth fund, is selling $750 million of private equity and other funds it no longer wants to invest in, and will redeploy the money to other better-performing managers, according to sources familiar with the matter………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the government investment arm, is aiming for a bigger stake in companies with green credentials. Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said the sovereign wealth fund was committed to green growth adding that it had made investments in such industries.
He cited investments in toxic waste management and carbon development as examples of the country’s strategic investors’ portfolio for investments………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Socio-political website Temasek Review Emeritus (TRE) this morning issued an apology to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for an opinion piece and comments posted on its website which it admitted “contained words that are defamatory”.
In the apology, Mr Richard Wan - one of TRE’s five editors, but the only one based in Singapore - acknowledged that the offending post entitled “PAP-government is full of ironies”, dated Feb 16, had meant that Mr Lee was instrumental in securing the appointment of his wife, Madam Ho Ching, as chief executive officer of Temasek Holdings for nepotistic motives………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Øystein Olsen, governor of Norwegian central bank Norges Bank, has repeated a warning against assumptions of return from the country’s sovereign wealth fund - the so-called oil fund.
He used a briefing for journalists in Oslo today to repeat his view on reducing the proportion of the oil fund’s revenues that can be used for government spending………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sweden’s central bank said it has decided to borrow the equivalent of 10 billion kronor ($1.5 billion) in foreign currency through the Debt Office to restore reserves.
Participation in loan arrangements from the International Monetary Fund in recent years has entailed the use of funds from the foreign currency reserve, the Stockholm-based bank said in a statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The government’s proposed sovereign-wealth fund must be used to finance social projects rather than security needs, Knesset Finance Committee MKs said Tuesday.
The government must explain clearly which social projects it will finance using the fund, and if it fails to do so, the committee will draft its own clause to be sent to the Knesset for approval, committee chairman Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Israel’s planned sovereign wealth fund will be managed by the Bank of Israel, rather than a third party manager as recommended in a December report, according to a draft plan reviewed by the Israeli cabinet on Sunday.
The draft is an initial step towards outlining the country’s long-discussed sovereign wealth fund, establishing its management and funding source………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Oman Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund of the Sultanate of Oman, and CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, announced that they will increase their investments in the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) to enable it to continue growing its business.
As part of the restructuring of the DME’s equity shareholding, a recapitalisation arrangement will increase the stake in DME held by Oman Investment Fund to 29 per cent, and CME Group’s NYMEX division from 25 per cent to 50 per cent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Cabinet recently approved a project to establish a shareholding company to replace local domestic worker agencies which hire and provide job opportunities to these labor forces in Kuwait. The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) was assigned to coordinate with the Ministry of Interior and the Fatwa and Legislation Department to carry out a comprehensive study on the project with a month’s deadline.
This is mentioned in a report published by a local daily which indicates that this project aims to maintain human rights of domestic workers in the country; a subject of concern for many governmental and non-governmental organizations worldwide………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign-wealth fund, bought Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN)’s London headquarters and leased the building back to the Swiss lender.
The property at One Cabot Square in the Canary Wharf financial district has 546,114 square feet (50,736 square meters) of space, Qatar Holding LLC, the wealth fund’s foreign investment unit, said in a statement on its website. Zurich- based Credit Suisse agreed to lease the building until 2034, Qatar Holding said. It didn’t disclose the transaction value………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Ministry of Finance feels it should manage the sovereign wealth fund for Israel’s oil and gas tax revenues. A power struggle has erupted between the Bank of Israel and the Ministry of Finance over the management of the sovereign wealth fund for Israel’s oil and gas tax revenues.
Cabinet decision handed management of the fund to the Bank of Israel. “The principles of the sovereign wealth fund were formulated months ago, but it has been held up by the war between the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Israel over its management,” a top official involved in the process told “Globes.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Alex Salmond could have stashed away £5bn from North Sea revenues already if he had really wanted to, but the opportunity has been squandered. The idea of an “oil fund” is once more at the forefront of the SNP’s economic case for independence. In his speech to the London School of Economics last Wednesday, Alex Salmond proposed putting aside £1 billion a year from North Sea oil revenues to build up a fund of £30bn over 20 years.
In these pages on Friday, George Kerevan made an elegant case for such a nest egg. Oil revenues could build up a Scottish sovereign wealth fund, invested in long-term assets to perpetuate the windfall from the North Sea………………………………………..Full Article: Source