Ireland’s sovereign wealth fund would be open to investing in social housing but will be careful not to allocate too much of its €7bn capital to low economic impact projects, according to its head of infrastructure and credit.
Donal Murphy, previously head of project finance at Bank of Ireland and part of an in-house team that has grown from 13 to 35, said the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) was initially examining domestic investment propositions on the binary basis of providing an economic impact, or lacking one………………………………..Full Article: Source

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said today that he did not receive an invite to Pakatan Rakyat’s forum on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), despite the forum’s promotional poster featuring him as a speaker, and that he will not be attending it.
Ahmad also said the government-owned strategic development company’s CEO Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman, who was also featured as a speaker in the forum’s promotional poster, has told him that he would not be attending the forum billing DAP’s Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua and PKR’s Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli as speakers. “I’ve already answered in Parliament, so there’s no need to attend the forum,” Ahmad said………………………………..Full Article: Source

In another twist to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) saga, a federal lawmaker has claimed that the state sovereign fund is diverting part of the proceeds of the US$3 billion (RM9.6 billion) loan raised by its subsidiary to fund operating expenses and pay off its burgeoning debts.
This, said Tony Pua (DAP - Petaling Jaya Utara) clearly showed that 1MDB was facing difficulties in balancing its cash flow. The sovereign fund’s wholly owned subsidiary, 1MDB Global Investments Limited, had issued a bond to raise US$3 billion in March last year………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bahrain sovereign fund Mumtalakat has opened order books after setting initial price guidance for an up-to-$600 million seven-year Islamic bond offering, a document from lead managers said.
The firm has set initial price thoughts in the area of 237.5 basis points over midswaps for the sukuk, which is expected to price on Tuesday, the document showed. A series of meetings with fixed income investors is set to conclude on Monday in London, having been hosted in Asia and the Middle East last week, arranged by BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Standard Chartered………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Zimbabwean Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) funded from mineral royalties will not work unless President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF-led government addresses poor confidence in the country’s economy, declining foreign direct investments as well as a woeful budget position, experts told Business Report on Friday.
The political uncertainty emanating from fights to take over from Mugabe have added to investor worries in the country. Lack of investments, coupled with a flat-lining economy characterised by a continued decline in productivity and rising imports has seen most companies and businesses battle to stay afloat………………………………..Full Article: Source