As an inevitable consequence of a prolonged period of low oil prices, Gulf-based sovereign wealth funds are readjusting their long-term strategies, selling their financial assets abroad and pulling the money out at a rapid rate to fill the gaping budgetary holes. Also, there has been increased pressure on the them to invest in the local market in order to support projects troubled by budgetary cuts.
During the “golden era” (until 2014), when black gold was routinely traded above $100 per barrel, Gulf countries recorded capital inflow reaching epic proportions. They entrusted their enormous surpluses to their Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) which heavily invested in a variety of assets around the globe. But the financial circumstances of the Arab Gulf countries have changed dramatically………………………………………..Full Article: Source

European sanctions imposed on Russia two years may be lifted by the end of 2016, the chief executive of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said. The U.S. and the European Union introduced sanctions against Russian companies and individuals with links to Moscow after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. The 28-country EU will meet next month to decide whether to renew them.
“We expect sanctions to be lifted by the end of the year,” Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) told CNBC in Russia at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Troubled Malaysian state investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) said on Friday (June 17) it plans a “robust response” to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund’s move to seek US$6.5 billion (S$8.8 billion) via international arbitration of a debt dispute.
The Abu Dhabi fund, International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), said on Tuesday that it had submitted a request to the London Court of International Arbitration to intervene in the row. “1MDB will file a robust response to the RFA (request for arbitration)”, 1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Berhad, said in a brief statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

UK court hears of hotels and entertainment on third day of trial in $1bn claim by Libyan fund. It was a week when London’s High Court heard the lurid details about a Goldman Sachs banker procuring prostitutes to develop ties with the Libyan Investment Authority and then fearing for his life when the investments the US bank had sold to the wealth fund turned sour.
The court on Friday was told how the bank paid for staff from the LIA to stay in five-star London hotels and offered them corporate entertainment including football and theatre tickets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Top decision makers at Libya’s $67 billion sovereign wealth fund were “illiterate” in terms of investment with little knowledge of the derivatives instruments purchased on the advice of Goldman Sachs, an adviser to the fund told a court on Thursday.
In a closely watched case in the City of London, the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) is attempting to claw back $1.2 billion from the U.S. investment bank from nine disputed trades carried out in 2008. The LIA argues that the U.S. bank took advantage of its financial naivety by first gaining its trust, then encouraging it to make risky and ultimately worthless investments………………………………………..Full Article: Source

On Friday June 17th, IEX Group Inc., the company founded by Brad Katsuyama, won SEC approval to run a U.S. stock exchange. IEX will be the 13th U.S. national stock exchange certified by the SEC. Before the approval, IEX ran as an alternative trading system. IEX garnered additional fame when it was included in Michael Lewis’ book “Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt.”
“We thank sovereign and domestic funds for the broad support they have provided throughout this process, which demonstrates that we are providing real value for the long-term investors that the markets are meant to serve. Getting approval as an exchange gives these investors and the millions of beneficiaries they represent an important new choice that puts their interests front and center.” John Ramsay, Chief Market Policy Officer at IEX said………………………………………..Full Article: Source