Abu Dhabi plans to merge two of its sovereign investments funds, just weeks after the emirate’s largest banks said they are looking to combine, as Persian Gulf governments reshape their economies amid falling oil revenues.
Abu Dhabi’s powerful Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed has asked the International Petroleum Investment Company, or IPIC, to merge with Mubadala Development Co., according to a statement carried by the official United Arab Emirates state news agency. Abu Dhabi is one of the seven members of the U.A.E., one of the world’s top oil exporters………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi said it will merge two of its largest state-owned investment companies as the emirate grapples with a decline in crude prices and a slowdown in economic growth.
The combination of International Petroleum Investment Co. and Mubadala Development Company PJSC will be overseen by a committee including United Arab Emirates’ Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and oil minister Suhail Al Mazrouei, according to a statement on state-run WAM news agency Wednesday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The surprise announcement from Abu Dhabi that it is to merge two of its sovereign wealth funds, International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and Mubadala Development Company, has highlighted the tight corner that even the richest Middle East governments are in these days.
The merger was announced on June 29, following a decision by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and the most important political figure in the UAE. According to the announcement by the official news agency WAM, the merger will allow for “synergies”, which is a polite way of saying cost-cutting………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi’s proposed merger of two of its largest sovereign investment funds would create a global energy business that produces more oil than OPEC member Libya and with bigger assets than ConocoPhillips.
The Persian Gulf emirate with about 6% of the world’s crude reserves will combine Mubadala Development Co. and International Petroleum Investment Co. to cut costs and boost efficiency, the state news agency WAM reported Wednesday. The deal would pool assets of about $135 billion, many of them non-energy-related, and debt of about $42 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations. ConocoPhillips, by comparison, had $97 billion in total assets as of Dec. 31, 2015……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The merger of Abu Dhabi state funds Mubadala Development Co and International Petroleum Investment Co should be completed by the end of 2017, a source close to the discussions on the deal said on Wednesday.
The committee overseeing the process will study the deal for the next six to 12 months. The deal is being approached as a merger of equals, the source said, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject. The combined entity will have a greater ability to borrow money on international markets and have a more balanced debt-to-equity ratio, the source added………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Libyan wealth fund’s former deputy chief screamed and cursed at Goldman Sachs bankers in a stormy meeting over derivatives trades made on the bank’s advice that ultimately turned out to be worthless, a witness told a court on Tuesday.
In a trial at London’s High Court, the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) is trying to claw back $1.2 billion from Goldman Sachs related to nine disputed trades carried out in 2008. The LIA argues Goldman took advantage of its financial naivety by first gaining its trust, then encouraging it to make risky and ultimately worthless investments………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Libya’s sovereign wealth fund was “astonished to learn” it hadn’t acquired any actual shares through derivatives trades arranged by Goldman Sachs, according to a former lawyer for the fund who gave evidence in the High Court in London on Tuesday.
The Libyan Investment Authority is suing Goldman for $US1.2 billion ($1.62bn) to cover its losses from nine trades arranged in 2008. The trades took the form of equity derivatives and expired worthless in 2011. The LIA allegesthat Goldman executives exerted “undue influence” over its officials, who didn’t understand the trades………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has released a statement that the Buhari administration intends to spend $25 billion on an infrastructure fund to invest in the transport and energy sector as a way to develop the country’s failing road, rail and power structures to boost economic growth.
Although, the Vice President did not state the timeline guiding the fund, he said the fund would be set up with contributions from local and international sources including Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund and domestic pension funds. The NSIA was actually set up for the purpose of managing and investing funds on behalf of the Nigerian government. He further stated that other sovereign wealth funds have already indicated an interest in the fund………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Russia will only take its battle against inflation so far. Reserves and the ruble’s free float is where it draws the line. Authorities are looking at how to keep tapping a wealth fund to cover the budget deficit even though their method of doing so floods the economy with excess cash, according to four officials familiar with the discussions.
For now, the central bank wants to stick to printing rubles when the government withdraws foreign currency, instead of converting it through sales on the open market, the people said, asking not to be named because the deliberations are private………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) has achieved the net profit in 2015. The PwC-audited report on SOFAZ activity for 2015 says that in 2015 SOFAZ net profit amounted to AZN 23.59 million against a loss of AZN 1.212 bn in 2014.
According to the auditor, SOFAZ operating income for the past year totaled AZN 23.619 million against operating loss of AZN 1.166 bn a year earlier. The main part bulk of income was received from exchange rate difference for almost AZN 22.46 million………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The potential merger of Abu Dhabi state funds Mubadala and IPIC is likely to be driven by the latter’s spat with Malaysia’s 1MDB, according to bankers. “It is almost certainly linked to that,” said a UAE-based debt capital markets banker. “IPIC’s name has been somewhat tainted by it.”
IPIC and the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund are embroiled in a legal tussle over a debt restructuring, in which IPIC is claiming about US$6.5bn. The Abu Dhabi fund has asked a London court to arbitrate the dispute, which has also delayed a long-rumoured euro bond deal………………………………………..Full Article: Source