The total worth of all Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) in the world jumped by $955 billion to $6.46 trillion in the first quarter of 2014 compared to same period last year and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) is ranked second globally with $773 billion assets, revealed Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute in its latest update.
According to the Institute, an American organisation that tracks SWF performance, Adia made $7.93 billion of deals last year, behind only funds from Norway, which has $838 billion assets. Adia is one of the longest-established and largest sovereign wealth funds in the world………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sovereign wealth fund GIC has tied up with private equity firm Insight Venture Partners to buy iParadigms, which provides cloud-based educational technologies to prevent plagiarism, verify content, and evaluate student learning.
GIC and Insight Venture Partners will pay US$752 million (S$944 million) for California-headquartered iParadigms, the company said on Tuesday. iParadigms’ flagship product is Turnitin, which is used by over 24 million students and 1.6 million educators at 10,000 institutions worldwide. It has also created iThenticate, a content verification service for research, corporate and government users………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Penang Development Corp (PDC) has signed an agreement with Singapore’s Temasek Holdings to establish a RM11.3 billion gross development value shared services hub in Bayan Lepas and Batu Kawan, according to InvestPenang director Datuk Lee Kah Choon.
Lee said PDC will make way for the setting up of a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Prime office building at the current 2.7 hectare site (ha) and the Penang International Technology Park will be developed on a 80ha site at the mainland………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The increase in Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency’s (SAMA’s) net foreign assets to a record high of SR2.732 trillion in April shows the level of growth in the monetary system accelerated in tandem with the fiscal expansionary policy.
The challenge with using central bank assets for driving economic development is the fact they typically have to be held in liquid, relatively low-risk assets. The best example globally is US Treasuries — a large, deep, liquid market. The range of comparable assets in Saudi Arabia is limited. Part of the challenge here is the underdevelopment of the fixed income market and the near-absence of secondary trading………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Luxembourg-based developer and investment manager Freo, backed by a unit of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADIA, has joined with Zurich-based property firm Halter to start construction of the CHF450m (€369m) Mall of Switzerland near Lucerne.
Halter took over a stake in the project in the town of Ebikon from Swiss lift builder Schindler, plus an associated 73,000 sq.m. land reserve, enabling the building start, said Halter………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company could be set for a multi-million dollar windfall as rumours gather pace that British breakdown firm RAC is about launch a listing which could double its value to around $3.35bn.
RAC was bought by US-based private equity firm Carlyle Group for £1bn ($1.67bn) in 2011 and it was reported by the Express newspaper that the firm was currently in the process of hiring investment banks ahead of a forthcoming listing………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Russia is ready to increase investments in the Azerbaijani economy. Today in Baku Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev has stated that Russia is going to invest in Azerbaijan in such projects as wagon-production, oil production and oil transportation equipment, creation of logistics centers.
“From the Azerbaijani side investments are planned in the logistics sector, in particular, in the logistics center in Yekaterinburg. We’ve already discussed the use of the opportunities of sovereign funds, in particular the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) and the National Welfare Fund of Russia, Azerbaijan Investment Company and the Russian Direct Investment Fund for co-investing in mutually beneficial projects, opening in Azerbaijan,” the Russian minister said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Azerbaijan and Russia are viewing opportunities in the sphere of co-investment in mutually beneficial projects, Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told reporters in Baku on June 2.
“During a meeting with my Azerbaijani counterpart, Shahin Mustafayev, we discussed a wide range of issues, including the possibility of co-investing by Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) and Russian National Welfare Fund, as well as Azerbaijan’s investment company and Russian Direct Investment Fund in projects of mutual interest,” the minister said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The minority coalition, in office since October, is Norway’s first in almost a decade to rely on opposition parties to push through laws. Those include how to manage the nation’s $880 billion sovereign wealth fund and how to develop key offshore oil projects.
Norway is facing lawsuits from investors in the nation’s gas pipelines, including Allianz AG and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund. They are seeking to reverse the previous government’s decision to cut gas transport tariffs………………………………………..Full Article: Source