Kazakhstan plans almost to double the size of its National Fund to collect windfall oil revenues to $101.8 billion by 2015 from $54.3 billion as of Aug. 31, the Economy Ministry said in a document circulated on Tuesday.
Kazakhstan is the largest former Soviet oil producer after Russia and holds about 3 percent of the world’s recoverable crude reserves………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The delegation led by Executive director of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) Shahmar Movsumov attended the 4th International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds on 5-7 September in Mexico.
The objectives of the forum included exchange of views on matters relating to the interests of sovereign wealth funds, promotion of their activities, guided by the principles of Santiago………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The ambassadors of the OSCE member states have visited State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan, where they met Executive Director of the Fund Shahmar Movsumov.
Mr. Movsumov briefed the ambassadors on the activity of the Fund, its projects, as well as the leading role of the Fund on managing of the resources, implementation of the Extractive industry transparency initiative in Azerbaijan……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Progress Party (FrP) is willing to make use of oil fund money, if they are in the coalition after the elections. FrP published the first draft of the new party program. Accordingly, they will use money from the Government Pension Fund (Oil Fund) to invest in road and railway building.
The party’s deputy Per Sandberg said they are not at all focused on other parties’ standpoint and they shape their program from the party’s founding principles and ideology………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar said it has not yet made up its mind on whether to accept Glencore’s $36 billion (£23 billion) takeover bid for mining giant Xstrata. The sovereign wealth fund which is Xstrata’s second-largest backer and had planned to block Glencore’s original lower offer, said it had been asked to clarify its position by the Takeover Panel.
It added that it would “make its decision in due course after giving careful consideration to the implications of the proposed management changes, the other elements of the revised proposal and the views of Xstrata’s board”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Glencore International, the world’s biggest commodities trader, will have to wait a bit longer to see whether its increased all-share offer for the mining giant Xstrata will be backed by one of that company’s largest shareholders.
The sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding, which owns a 12 percent stake in Xstrata, said on Tuesday that it had yet to decide about the revised offer from Glencore, which raised its bid to 3.05 of its own shares for each share in Xstrata………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Glencore International Plc Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg is still waiting for a decision from Qatar on whether it will support this year’s largest takeover, five days after a late-night meeting with the emirate’s prime minister bought more time for the deal.
Sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding LLC hasn’t reached a conclusion on Glencore’s revised 22 billion-pound ($35 billion) offer for Xstrata Plc, the fund confirmed……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Swiss based commodities giant Glencore recently upped its merger offer for mining company Xstrata to $36 billion, in an attempt to convince sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding to halt its opposition.
Qatar is still mulling it over, but the fact that the deal still exists highlights the importance of a new intermediary, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Algeria’s foreign exchange reserves increased by 2.2 percent to $186.32 billion in late June of 2012, compared to the end of 2011, local media reported Tuesday. Quoting Governor of Algeria’s Central Bank Mohamed Laksaci, APS press agency said the reserves, excluding gold, was $182.22 billion in late December 2011, while the external debt which was around $4.4 billion at the end of 2011, was reduced to $3.99 billion in June 2012.
During the presentation of monetary and financial trends in first half of 2012, Laksaci told media that the external current account, key element of the balance of payments, recorded a surplus of $10.8 billion in the context of relative improvement in trade balance and net inflows in title transfers………………………………………..Full Article: Source

One of Singapore’s sovereign wealth funds confirmed Monday that it will boost its stake in a Chinese insurer after announcing a shift in focus from developed markets to emerging economies. The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) will up its stake in China Pacific Insurance (CPIC) to 10.61 percent from 2.30 percent, according to a statement from CPIC.
GIC is to purchase more than half of the 462 million new “H” class shares that will be issued by the Hong Kong-listed insurer, the statement said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singapore-based Temasek, Piramal Group and Bain Capital are leading the race to acquire private equity firm TPG’s 20% stake in India’s largest commercial vehicle financier Shriram Transport Finance Corp (STFC), according to two people familiar with the negotiations.
The deal is likely to go through next month once the court approves the merger of holding company (Shriram Holding, Madras) with itself. The holding company owns 41.26% in STFC, while TPG holds 49% in the holding company………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Public Enterprises, Ben Micah, says he will look at the way Singapore manages its State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and investments, as a possible role model for Papua New Guinea. Micah is particularly interested in the structure, and operating processes of the Singapore government’s investment company, Temasek Holdings.
He says, the relationship between Temasek, the government’s incorporated sovereign wealth fund, Singapore Investment Corporation, and the Central Bank, the monetary authority of Singapore, has some aspects that can be adopted in Papua New Guinea………………………………………..Full Article: Source