Qatari fund considers stake in Glencore

Qatar is weighing an investment in Glencore as the world’s largest commodities trader canvasses potential cornerstone investors for its much-anticipated $60bn initial public offering in London and Hong Kong in the second quarter of the year.

Qatar prime minister, Sheikh Hamid Bin Jasim al Thani, told reporters in Doha that the country’s sovereign wealth fund planned to meet Glencore’s senior management and bankers this week to discuss a potential investment. “We are studying the matter at the moment,” he said.

Country's wealth fund equals 75% of the economy

Dubai: There is no reliable data on how rich Libya might be in terms of accumulated wealth in its sovereign wealth fund. It is estimated that the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), set up in 2006 to manage the country's oil revenues has assets of around $70 billion (Dh257.46 billion), equivalent to nearly 75 per cent of the country's economy. LIA, which is roughly the same size as Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, publishes little information, but a rare annual report in 2009 shows how liquid the fund is.

According to a Wikileak document, the fund's director, Mohammad Layas, has said that LIA has about $32 billion in liquidity. Many of its investments are carried out via London, but according to the leaked cable, some $500 million is also managed via US banks. LIA is also seen as the major vehicle for Gaddafi and his family's wealth and controls at least seven subsidiary operations.

ANZ boss backs sovereign wealth fund

ANZ's chief executive, Mike Smith, has added to growing calls among business leaders for a sovereign wealth fund to ensure Australia does not squander its windfall from the mining boom.

Such a fund should be used as a driving force for investment in infrastructure, Mr Smith said, but tax reform was needed before it could be established.

Jefferies Joins Singapore Sovereign Fund to Finance Real Estate

Jefferies Group Inc., the New York- based investment bank, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. and LoanCore LLC, formed a joint venture to originate commercial real-estate debt in the U.S.

The company, to be known as Jefferies LoanCore LLC, can draw on $600 million in capital, the firm said today in a statement. Mark Finerman, the founder of LoanCore LLC, will lead the venture, according to the statement.

Norway's Oil Fund Positive on Southern European Bonds

OSLO—The chief executive of Norway's Pension Fund Global, the world's second-largest sovereign wealth fund, believes yields on southern European countries' bonds became more attractive last year, and will continue to improve in 2011 thanks partly to government measures.

"We think that the measures that were taken during 2010 by European politicians were positive, so we are optimistic that the measures which will be taken in 2011 will also be positive for the bond investors," Yngve Slyngstad said in an interview at his office in Oslo.

Sovereign wealth funds

It is now widely recognised that sovereign funds are a dominant force on international financial markets.

Some estimates say they manage assets worth $4,000bn – or slightly more than twice the estimated size of the hedge fund industry. Post-crisis estimates suggest the total will rise to $7,000bn by the end of the decade.

Dirty deals, and done dirt cheap

THIS year marks the 10-year anniversary of the dotcom crash. It was also, unlikely as it seems, 10 years ago that US sharemarkets peaked, buoyed by the explosion in technology share valuations.

Amid the hype of the dotcom boom in January 2000, the board of Time Warner agreed to sell to America Online in a $US284 billion scrip deal. Their share prices slid. By the time the deal was closed it was worth $US164 billion. Two years later Time Warner took a $US99 billion writedown to goodwill.

Heavyweights call for sovereign wealth fund

BUSINESS leaders canvassed by the Herald are solidly in favour of creating a sovereign wealth fund to bolster Australia's future, but they differ on its design and purpose.

Executives from Lend Lease, Tabcorp, Foster's, Mirvac, CSL and Coca-Cola Amatil have joined the Fairfax Media chairman, Roger Corbett, and the Commonwealth Bank chief executive, Ralph Norris, in calling for a sovereign wealth fund to better manage the nation's legacy from the resources boom.

China Wealth Fund, Harvard Buy Shares in VTB, Vedomosti Reports

China Investment Corp. and Harvard University were among investors that bought shares in VTB Group, Russia’s second-largest lender, Vedomosti reported, citing Herbert Moos, the bank’s deputy chairman.

South Africa Government Unlikely to Create Sovereign-Wealth Fund This Year

South Africa’s government is unlikely to create a sovereign-wealth fund this year, according to Richard Levin, director-general of the Department of Economic Development.

Proposals to establish the fund, which would be used to help manage foreign reserves and the value of the currency, are contained in the government’s new growth plan, unveiled by Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel on Nov. 23.

Illinois Looks To Sovereign Wealth Funds To Help Pay Off Pension Debt

Illinois is trying to get sovereign wealth funds to buy nearly $4 billion of bonds so the state can pay its annual pension obligations.

John Sinsheimer, the state's director of capital markets, has been wooing investors investors in Europe and Asia, according to the FT. He said the state is also trying to raise money from big banks and insurance companies in the U.S. before the sale, tentatively scheduled for Feb. 17.

Norway sovereign fund raises India infrastructure bets

Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund has upped its India infrastructure exposure in the past two to three months with the $500 billion monster buying shares in stocks such as Indiabulls Power, Lanco Infratech, Nagarjuna Construction and IVRCL Infrastructure from the open market by spending Rs 100 crore.

The Government Pension Fund (Global), managed by Sebi-registered Norges Bank, seems enthused after posting its fifth-largest quarterly return in third quarter and has since October 2010 consistently bough infra stocks, which have been underperforming for the past two to three years.

Norris goes in to bat for sovereign fund

RALPH Norris has re-opened the debate over a resource sector super profits tax by calling for a Norwegian-style sovereign wealth fund to ensure Australia does not squander the windfall from the mining boom.

The comments by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia boss add to calls by a sprinkling of business figures, including the Reserve Bank member and Fairfax Media chairman, Roger Corbett, for the government to start locking up some of the revenue from resource exports for future generations.

New Jersey rating is cut by Standard & Poor’s

Standard & Poor’s on Wednesday cut New Jersey’s credit rating on risks tied to underfunded pensions, while another troubled state, Illinois, was attempting to sell about $4bn of bonds to investors from Hong Kong to New York to meet its annual pension bill.

Illinois hopes to raise the money from a “broad and diverse” range of international and US investors, including sovereign wealth funds, big banks and insurance companies, said John Sinsheimer, the state’s director of capital markets.

Value of global pension funds hits record high at £16tn, study shows

Pension funds battered by the financial crisis performed strongly last year after stock markets recovered in the wake of the Greek debt crisis.

Pension fund deficits, which have plagued final salary occupational schemes around the world, narrowed as assets in the 13 largest pension markets hit a record high of $26.5 trillion (£16.4tn).

BP's Hayward in talks with Abu Dhabi to lead new firm

By James Thompson and Sarah Arnott

Tony Hayward has held talks with Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund about launching a new oil company, which could mark a remarkable turnaround for the former chief executive of BP.

Mr Hayward stepped down four months ago after the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, but the fund's representatives approached him in recent weeks about building a new global oil and gas group. It is thought the emirate will fund the new venture to the tune of several billion dollars.

Norway's SWF bought big chunk of maiden EFSF issue

Feb 4 (Reuters) - Norway's $500 billion-plus sovereign wealth fund (NBIM) said it had participated "significantly" in the European Financial Stability Facility's inaugural 5 billion euro ($6.82 billion) bond issue last month.

Time for a sovereign wealth fund

TEN YEARS ago the likes of Rio Tinto and MIM - since snapped up by Xstrata - could hardly make a buck mining copper. Dotcom was ''in'', base metals were most definitely ''out'', although the switch often came down to the same West Australian entrepreneur floating a different company.

IFR-Mosaic to target sovereign wealth funds

by Stephen Lacey

NEW YORK, Feb 3 - The Mosaic Company is preparing to sound out sovereign wealth funds to elicit participation in the initial phase of a secondary stock sale that is expected to total US$8bn-$12bn.

The sounding effort, which is expected to begin in late February, is designed to build an initial base of support for what figures to be one of, if not the, largest transactions of the year, according to two sources close to the process.

Sovereign wealth funds not immune

Sovereign asset managers are strategically shifting from active investment management towards a more passive approach in the wake of the global financial crisis and turbulent financial markets, according to new research released by State Street Global Advisers.

Merkel Says Joint Euro Bonds Unthinkable as EU Faces Marathon

German Chancellor Angela Merkel likened solving Europe’s debt crisis to a marathon, shunning investor calls for quick action while pushing for stricter budget enforcement and overhauling the region’s governance.