Greens agree with IMF on wealth fund

The Australian Greens will continue to pursue the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund, which again has been suggested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In its Regional Economics Outlook for Asia and the Pacific released on Thursday, the IMF again urged the federal government to consider saving some of the revenue generated by higher commodity prices.

CIBC eyes high-yield bonds, sovereign wealth funds

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is adding to its capital markets teams in New York and Toronto, with hires from competitors including Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The hires reflect a focus on high-yield bonds and expanding business with central banks and sovereign wealth funds.

Glencore float to have backing from sovereign wealth funds

Glencore has lined up a number of Asian sovereign wealth funds as "cornerstone investors" for its flotation on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges next month, with the commodities company looking for a market price tag of up to $73bn (£44bn).

City speculation suggested that China Investment Corporation (CIC), Temasek of Singapore, and Korea Investment Corporation have agreed to underpin the float by buying large tranches of shares.

Petrobras Drop on Fuel Prices Sinks Brazil’s c

Brazil’s refusal to allow higher gasoline prices is cutting into returns of its sovereign wealth fund, whose main holdings are shares of state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA. (PETR4)

The fund, set up in December 2008 with 14.3 billion reais ($9.1 billion) in capital, lost 7.4 percent from the end of March through April 20, marking the biggest monthly decline since October, data from Brazil’s regulator show. Petrobras voting shares, which account for about 57 percent of the fund’s assets, fell 9.6 percent in the period, while preferred shares that make up 23 percent of total assets dropped 7.8 percent.

Resource wealth must be saved for the national good

The 'rocks' in the ground belong to all Australians, writes Paul Bloxham.

Australia should have a mining tax and a sovereign wealth fund. Both of these would allow better management of our national wealth.

Our pot of gold for when the mines run dry

Clancy Yeates looks at how a sovereign wealth fund might take shape.

Norway's got one, so does Chile. For decades, the oil-rich Gulf states have also squirrelled away their export revenue into a public savings pool, known as a sovereign wealth fund.

India needs to set up sovereign wealth fund: Kaushik Basu

India ought to aim at setting up a sovereign wealth fund which is financially viable and have a broader objective of furthering the country s role as a global player.There are more than 50 sovereign wealth funds worldwide managing assets worth nearly three trillion dollars. Most of these are run by countries with huge trade surpluses and are funded mostly by oil and gas exports according to Kaushik Basu Chief Economic Advisor to India Finance Ministry.

India Inc backs setting up sovereign wealth fund

India Inc has favoured the country setting up a sovereign wealth fund to service the needs of fast growing economy, especially the infrastructure sector, says a survey.

A majority of the respondents surveyed pegged the size of sovereign wealth fund (SWF) at USD 50 billion, the survey by industry body Assocham said, adding that the fund structure should be based on a public-private-partnership model.

Australia considers tax breaks for sovereign wealth funds

The Australian government on Wednesday said it was considering tax exemptions for sovereign wealth funds that have passive investments in Australian assets.

Commenting on a paper discussing the options on tax, Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten said funds invested in Australia by foreign government investment bodies amounted to around A$65 billion.

CIC Eyes Europe Opportunities

China Investment Corp. is looking for investment opportunities in Europe, though the head of China's $300 billion sovereign-wealth fund is cautious about the continent's economy.

Economic growth in European countries is slowing because of the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis, said CIC Chairman Lou Jiwei on Saturday, noting exports to emerging markets play a key role in driving Europe's economy.

China wealth fund denies reports of Spanish bank investment

China Investment Corp, the country's sovereign wealth fund, on Thursday denied reports that it was studying a $9 billion investment in Spanish banks.

"The reports are groundless and are not in line with the truth," a CIC official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

China sovereign wealth fund may invest $13.4 bn in Spain

Chinese investors showed a willingness Wednesday to invest billions of euros in Spain, with the China Investment Corporation - c - saying it may inject up to 9.3 billion euros ($13.4 billion) into the Spanish financial system.

The potential investments were discussed at a meeting in Beijing of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero with China's largest financial institutions, sources in Spain's government said.

Timur Kulibayev to head $80bn Kazakh Sovereign wealth fund

Timur Kulibayev, the billionaire friend of Prince Andrew, has been made chairman of Kazakhstan's $80bn (£49.2bn) sovereign wealth fund, cementing his position as the most important business figure in the resource-rich former Soviet republic.

The Samruk-Kazyna fund, holds a 14.99pc stake in Kazakhmys, and 11.65pc of ENRC, two of the FTSE 100's leading mining companies.

Share the wealth while it lasts - and pave the way for a bright future

Malcolm Turnbull's flirtation with the idea of a sovereign wealth fund might mean the current commodity boom - the most sustained of this magnitude in our history - isn't the fiscal equivalent of the one that got away.

Three key points have been absent from our embryonic discussion. Addressing these could mean the difference between a short and flashy fling with our commodity wealth or a prosperous, healthy and sustainable long-term relationship.

A Case for an Aussie Sovereign-Wealth Fund

Australia's policy makers are faced with the enviable conundrum of what to do with the wealth generated from the nation's mining boom at a time when other industrialized nations are still tightening their belts in response to the global financial crisis. A growing number of economists argue that with the country heading for a budget surplus, the time is right to create a sovsereign-wealth fund, or SWF.

Turnbull first and clearest on the need for a sovereign wealth fund

Turnbull certainly gets around. He's the opposition's telecommunications spokesman. But he also turned the wick down on the ASX and Singapore Exchange's chances of getting in bed together halfway through last month when he said the deal was hard to love.

The opposition was flying under the radar on the issue when Turnbull said the deal would be easier to embrace if it were structured more as ''an equal partnership''.

Kuwait sovereign wealth fund to invest in real estate

Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the country's sovereign wealth fund, has confirmed it is to launch a real estate portfolio worth US$3.6 billion to invest in the local market.

‘The real estate portfolio aims to achieve good returns on mid term and long term and will benefit from the steep plunge in real estate,’ KIA said in a statement.

Park Square closes $1.2 bln loan fund

LONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - Credit fund manager Park Square Capital has closed a new 850 million euro ($1.2 billion) fund, Park Square II, targeted at mezzanine loan investments, having kicked off the fund at the height of the credit crisis.

The new fund has been raised from investors in Europe, Asia and North America, with pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds making up 80 percent of the capital commitments, Park Square said.

Sovereign wealth funds, among others want a share in expected U.S. rebound

Tie-ups between real estate investment managers and foreign investors are expected to grow rapidly this year, as investors around the world seek to get in on an anticipated U.S. commercial real estate market recovery.

Foreign investment in U.S. real estate more than doubled last year, to $13.37 billion (from $5.6 billion in 2009), according to a real estate investment firm Jones Lang LaSalle. And this trend is expected to continue through 2011 at least.

Italy Plans State Investment Fund

CERNOBBIO, Italy—The Italian government is moving ahead with plans to set up a state investment fund to bolster Italy's industrial fabric and stave off potential takeovers by foreign firms.

Speaking on the sidelines of a weekend conference held north of Milan, Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti fondly recalled the country's postwar IRI holding company, noting that Italian companies tend to be small and that the global economy increasingly revolves around large enterprises. "At this moment it would be preferable to have an IRI," Mr. Tremonti said.

‘2011 budget to strengthen Sovereign Wealth Fund’

The Assistant Director, Research, Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), Adebayo Idowu has said the 2011 budget will foster growth, create more jobs and also consolidate the the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF),

Idowu listed the assumptions to include crude oil production of 2.30mb/d; crude oil benchmark price of $75/barrel; Joint Venture cash calls of $5.4 billion; average exchange rate of N150 to $1.00 and target of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 7 per cent and inflation rate of 10 per cent will help put the SWF in good standing. The oil price now stands at $116.9 per barrel as at March 28 and the difference of $51.9 per barrel will be credited to the SWF.

Singapore Wealth Fund Opens Mumbai Office

Singapore --Government Of Singapore Investment Corp., or GIC, has opened an office in Mumbai to grow its business in the rapidly expanding south Asian nation, the sovereign wealth fund said in a statement.

Mumbai, where the manager of the island nation's foreign exchange reserves will place more than 10 investment and asset management officials, is the eighth overseas office of GIC, it said in a statement.