Norway’s government, which sets the strategy for the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, signaled it will probably abide by sanctions against Russia agreed by the European Union and the U.S. “In such a situation we have to react,” Foreign Minister Boerge Brende said in a statement today. The government of Norway, which isn’t an EU member, will now “study the measures carefully” before arriving at a final conclusion, he said.
EU governments agreed yesterday on their most sweeping sanctions against Russia to date, barring state-owned banks from selling shares or bonds in Europe, restricting the export of equipment to modernize the oil industry and prohibiting export of equipment with military uses………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) has applied to the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) for indirect renminbi investment in China’s onshore market to diversify its current investment portfolio. According to Israfil Mammadov, deputy CEO of SOFAZ, the Fund applied for the PBoC quota not long ago.
“We intend to invest in a gradual manner, initially through Chinese government debt securities. As our experience grows, we will consider other investment tools available in the Chinese financial markets,” said Mammadov. Mammadov said the decision was made as a result of a careful evaluation of the SOFAZ portfolio and with the aim of using various opportunities in Chinese markets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The new issue of Canub Qaz Dehlizi’s bonds (”Southern Gas Corridor”) to the amount of $1.2 billion was put for mass sale at the Baku Stock Exchange (BSE). “InvestAZ” company was chosen the broker of the acquirer, InvestAZ said on July 30. The total volume of the issue is $1,246,355. Its prospectus has been recently registered by the Azerbaijani State Securities Committee.
The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) has been instructed to provide equity financing for the CJSC, which is under direct state ownership. The funds remitted to the CJSC for financing the equity will provide a long-term return on investment………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Unlike several foreign equity investors who have been struggling to exit from India investments, Temasek Holdings Pvt. Ltd, the investment arm of the Singapore government, is focusing on new investments in the country’s e-commerce sector. In India, Temasek has investments in traditional firms such as Bharti Airtel Ltd, GMR Energy Ltd, Tata Teleservices Ltd and National Stock Exchange Ltd.
After investing an undisclosed amount in Snapdeal.com in May, the firm is ready to stay invested in the e-commerce sector in India for the long term even as several firms jostle for the top slot. Snapdeal raised about $100 million from Premji Invest, Temasek and BlackRock Inc………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singapore government-owned sovereign fund Temasek remains optimistic on India and it expects more deals in current financial year. The firm believes the change in the Indian government will drive more investments to the country as the hurdles in decision making are expected to be removed.
Temasek, one of the more active sovereign wealth funds in India, did not make many fresh investments in FY14; it put in more money in its existing portfolio firm Tata Sky and invested in Star Agri-warehousing and Collateral Management, an agri-solutions company. It had made a co-investment in e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal. Temasek is also in discussions to acquire ChrysCapital’s stake in Intas Pharmaceuticals………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singapore government-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings is bullish on the India story and is scouting for unlisted companies, particularly in consumer goods and healthcare sectors, senior company officials said.
With the new government at the Centre seeking to revive growth, Temasek, like other foreign funds, could pump more money into the country this fiscal than in the past year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sanctions imposed on the Russian bank VTB have thrown into doubt interest from one of the institution’s key shareholders in a planned bond issue. Qatar Holding, the direct investment arm of the gas-rich state’s sovereign wealth fund, had been a supportive shareholder of VTB since acquiring a 2.9 per cent stake during the Russian lender’s initial public offering last year.
Qatar Holding, which expanded into Russian property this year, had been mulling investing in a VTB bond that was being planned before the imposition of US and EU sanctions………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. predicts the size of the annual dividend check that qualifying Alaskans will receive this year will be considerably more than the $900 checks distributed in 2013, and may approach the all-time record. “I think the punchline is that the dividend is going to be right about doubling from last year,” said Mike Burns, the executive director of APFC.
That could mean a 2014 check of $1,500-$2,000, depending on how the final numbers work out, according to Burns. The largest Permanent Fund payout in history was the $2,069 paid in 2008; the least was the $331 paid in 1984, the third year of Permanent Fund distributions………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A number of Asian sovereign wealth funds continue to build ties to Silicon Valley, the hotbed for technology innovation and the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area. In a trailblazing signal, Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional chose to open its U.S. office in San Francisco, not in New York City. Singapore’s GIC Private Limited also has an office in San Francisco and has invested in numerous investment funds and properties in the Bay Area.
Whether it’s Singapore’s Temasek Holdings investing in a Series round for a startup or allocating convertible debt to firms like Emeryville-based Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc., sovereign wealth capital continues to target opportunities rooted in the bay area………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Institutional investors, like endowments and sovereign wealth funds, are trading some of their stock futures contracts for exchange-traded funds, an action they say saves them money and effort while providing comparable returns.
It is a shift prompted by the regulation-driven rising cost of futures trading, and it has ETF issuers such as BlackRock Inc salivating. In the past six months, the largest U.S. ETF provider said it had some $2 billion in trades into ETFs from investors that previously bought futures and swaps with that money………………………………………..Full Article: Source