The Russian Direct Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund, launched a Chinese version of its “Invest in Russia” information portal Wednesday. The portal is tailored for Chinese users and contains specific data on Sino-Russian economic, trade and investment cooperation.
In a statement emailed to Xinhua, the fund said the portal provides statistical and analytical data from various industries and regions, as well as a database of potential development sites where production assets could be located. It also includes data on investment opportunities in different regions………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Norway’s huge $890bn oil fund, the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, is one of several large investors urging companies to improve their reporting. It cites what Jan Thomsen, its chief risk officer, has described as “increasing water scarcity and adverse water-related events” that could affect its long-term returns.
The fund is one of 530 investors with $57tn in assets that work with the Carbon Disclosure Project, an international environmental charity. On behalf of those investors, CDP asks large companies each year to disclose the risks and opportunities water poses for their business. Last year 70 per cent of the 180 FTSE Global 500 companies that responded said water was a substantive risk to their business, up from 59 per cent in 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar’s outward foreign direct investment (FDI) flow surged to a huge $8.02bn last year, accounting for 14 percent of the country’s gross fixed capital formation or GFCF compared to 3.4 percent a year ago.
SWFs are also expanding their investment in real estate markets in developed countries. For example, in early 2014, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Singapore’s GIC purchased an office building in New York for $1.3bn, and China’s CIC spent £800m for an office area in London. In December 2013, GIC and Kuwait’s government real estate company bought office buildings in London for £1.7bn………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has received improved rating as sovereign wealth fund (SWF) by Linaburg-Maduell transparency index administered by Sovereign Wealth Institute. In the official statement announcing the second quarter ratings, the Institute singled out NSIA for special mention, stating that the NSIA has been upgraded to nine points out of a possible 10 from a score four in the previous rankings.
This rating translates into a leap from a position of joint 33rd and 2nd; the only African sovereign wealth fund so ranked. With the latest rankings, the NSIA is ranked alongside sovereign wealth funds from the USA, France, South Korea, Brazil, and Malaysia………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatari lender Masraf Al Rayan offered more detail into the sale of its stake in a real estate joint venture to a state fund on Tuesday, after the country’s stock exchange suspended the bank’s shares for a lack of clarity on the deal.
Masraf Al Rayan, which has the largest MSCI weighting of any Qatari stock, said on Sunday it was selling its 50 per cent stake in Seef Lusail Real Estate Development Co to the real estate arm of the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund………………………………………..Full Article: Source