Norway’s decision to have its $890 billion sovereign wealth fund boost investments in frontier markets will probably attract more institutional investors to the asset class, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.
The sovereign wealth fund, which is the world’s largest, said in a strategy report yesterday that it will target more frontier markets and include additional currencies to generate higher returns. MSCI Inc.’s gauge of stocks in the smaller developing nations has gained 16 percent this year, more than triple the 4.5 percent return on its emerging markets Index………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Having learned last week that the world’s central banks are their sovereign wealth proxies have secretly pumped over $29 trillion into markets in the last few years, it is not entirely surprising to hear from one of the largest - Norway $888 billion oil fund - that it is buying stocks with bond hands and feet.
As The Financial Times reports, Yngve Slyngstad, chief executive of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, is hiring aggressively to manage its real estate portfolio and while the oil fund already owns 2.5% of every listed European company on average, it plans to go above 5%. Phew, bagholder found………………………………………….Full Article: Source

Russia should take all of the money from a fund earmarked to cover future pension deficits and invest it in profitable infrastructure projects to generate good returns, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told the Vedomosti business daily in an interview published Wednesday. The government earlier this month raised the cap on spending from the National Welfare Fund, which collects revenue from oil and gas sales, the country’s biggest exports.
It now allows 60 percent of the fund to be spent on domestic infrastructure projects, up from an earlier 40 percent. The fund, designated to cover the future pension deficit of the country’s rapidly aging population, was $87 billion at the beginning of the month………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Replacement of the State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) allocations with the loans from foreign markets promises to provide a financial benefit for Azerbaijan. According to the informed sources, Azerbaijan’s government plans to take advantage of such loans’ benefits.
“Today the markets demonstrate profitable financial conditions and this effect is enhanced by Azerbaijan’s financial stability and solvency. Many lenders and investors are ready to provide finances to Azerbaijan. In this regard, governmental experts believe that today it’s quite possible to get foreign loans at the rate of LIBOR level or LIBOR +0…% and we should take this opportunity”, - the source said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) can change the system of relations with the state budget, known as the system of annual transfers. The new format of SOFAZ ties is still considering by government experts.
The article is disseminated only on condition of close subscription. If you are interested, contact with marketing service of news agency Fineko………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singaporean SWF joins with private equity firm Warburg Pincus to buy half of Santander’s custody business - giving the Spanish bank’s balance sheet a welcome boost. Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek has partnered with private equity firm Warburg Pincus to buy 50% of Santander’s custody business in Spain, Brazil and Mexico, in a move set to make the Spanish bank “a leader in the custody business”, Santander said.
Santander already looks after €738 billion in assets under custody in the three countries. The transaction values the business at €975 million and will generate a net capital gain for the Santander Group of approximately €410 million, which will be used to strengthen the balance sheet, the bank said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Looking to attract larger inflows from sovereign wealth funds and foreign pension funds, central government and financial sector regulators have renewed their efforts to make Indian markets, especially government bonds, much more appealing to such investors.
The government and regulators are of the view that overseas investments by sovereign wealth funds, multilateral agencies, endowment funds, pension funds, insurers and foreign central banks are much more stable in nature, as compared to institutional investors and hedge funds………………………………………..Full Article: Source

KKR & Co. bought an skyscraper in downtown Seoul, within walking distance from blocks owned by wealth funds of Azerbaijan and Singapore, as falling bond yields and a revived economy spurs a search for higher returns.
The private-equity firm run by Henry Kravis and George Roberts acquired the K Twin Towers in Seoul this month, after Azerbaijan’s state oil fund spent $447 million for a building in April. Seoul office prices rose 11 percent in the year to April 30, with yields of 5.67 percent, according to Real Capital Analytics Inc. Five-year sovereign yields fell almost half a percentage point to 2.9 percent in 12 months………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Oman’s sovereign wealth fund held talks with the Bulgarian government and central bank on Tuesday about recapitalising Corporate Commercial Bank (Corpbank), Oman’s honorary consul in Sofia told Reuters on Wednesday.
Bulgaria plans to nationalise the bank, which suffered a run on deposits last week and was subsequently taken over by the central bank, if talks with shareholders including Oman fail. That prospect looked the most likely outcome after Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski said on Tuesday that shareholders were “unlikely” to rescue the country’s fourth-largest lender………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The International Monetary Fund is recommending that Government delays the introduction of the Sovereign Wealth Fund saying it will add more fiscal stress to already strained accounts as the institution warned that fiscal under-performance remains the highest risk facing the economy.
In the full Article IV Concluding Statement seen by this paper, the IMF directors recommended delaying the introduction of the Sovereign Wealth Fund. “Although such a mechanism might be helpful over the medium term, the present situation of fiscal stress requires that the Government avoid imposing on itself new administrative and managerial challenges. The mission encourages the authorities to re-examine the fiscal regime for extractive industries before launching any SWF.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

As a result of its investment strategies, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has revealed that it earned N1.2 billion as at the end of the first quarter of 2014 by investing only 20 per cent of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF).
The agency stated that its first quarter 2014 performance was wholly in line with its projections. The Managing Director, NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji, who revealed this while briefing the media in Lagos also said that the agency’s audited net profit for the period stood at N1.2 billion. He pointed out that with the changing interest rate landscape in key global markets, the NSIA would be adjusting its asset allocation strategies to take advantage of inherent benefits………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Buoyed by its humble performance at the end of its first full year of operation, the management of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) at the weekend announced a net profit of N1.2 billion for its operations in the first quarter of 2014, which is more than double the N525 million reported for the whole of last year.
The NSIA, which started out with seed funding of $1 billion from the federal and state governments, reported the 2013 profit on the back of a total investment income of N1.466 billion………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Buoyed by oil prices above $100 a barrel and a growing confidence in the global economy, sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East expect to receive more funding this year, providing them with extra financial firepower to raise their investments into emerging markets and asset classes such as private equity and real estate, according to an Invesco study.
Latin America, Africa and China are likely to be the main beneficiaries of the continuing shift towards emerging markets by the world’s sovereign funds despite their historical preference for developed markets such as the United Kingdom, Invesco said in its survey of 52 sovereign investors who collectively manage $5.7 trillion in assets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Middle East sovereign wealth funds will remain focused on emerging markets as they seek long term growth from India, Africa and Latin America, a new study has found. Alternative investments, including property and private equity will also figure largely, according to the Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management Study from the US-based investment management company.
About 54 per cent of Middle East sovereign investors, which includes sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), state pension funds, central banks and government ministries, will increase their funding levels this year, driven by strong country surpluses and government support………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Invesco first Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management Study, an in-depth report offers insight into the complex investment behaviour of sovereign investors across the globe.
The unique study, which provides a framework to help understand the investment preferences and strategy of these funds, shows that the biggest growth story among global sovereigns today is an increase in a so-called ‘public-private partnership’ investment approach. An approach, which sees commercially, minded sovereigns seeking direct strategic investment in private companies to support GDP, job creation and skills transfer………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Alberta’s Heritage Savings Trust Fund stands as an excellent example of how governments waste opportunity, fritter away money and undermine the long-term interests of taxpayers, even as they claim to be working in the public interest.
On Tuesday the Fund revealed it earned $2.1 billion last year, a record 16% return on investment, and now has $17.5 billion in the kitty. This was treated as a triumph by provincial leaders………………………………………..Full Article: Source