Australian PM rules out sovereign wealth fund

SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Wednesday ruled out creating a sovereign wealth fund, saying the nation's mandatory pension savings were an "anchor" in volatile economic times.

Some business figures have called for the establishment of a sovereign fund to capture the earnings of a mining boom fuelled by demand from Asia.

Nigeria: Let the Sovereign Wealth Fund Be

Within a period of less than a year that he was Finance Minister, Mr Olusegun Aganga was able to conceive the idea of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), mobilise the support of the relevant stakeholders, initiate an executive bill which was forwarded the National Assembly, get it passed in record time and have the president assent to it.

It is a remarkable feat that demonstrates what commitment to noble ideals can achieve with the right people driving the process.

Libyan sovereign wealth fund 'missing $2.9bn'

Some $2.9bn (£1.8bn) is missing from the accounts of the Libyan sovereign wealth fund, the official tasked with tracking down Libya's foreign investments has told the BBC.

Mahmoud Badi said investigations had found "misappropriation, misuse and misconduct of funds" at the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA).

The LIA has total funds worth about $70bn.

Nato joins attack on Gaddafi bastion

Some $2.9bn (£1.8bn) is missing from the accounts of the Libyan sovereign wealth fund, the official tasked with tracking down Libya's foreign investments has told the BBC.

Mahmoud Badi said investigations had found "misappropriation, misuse and misconduct of funds" at the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA).

India's sovereign wealth fund plans gaining momentum

India's sovereign wealth fund plans are gaining momentum. The proposed USD 10 billion fund will shop for energy assets including crude oil, gas and coal, reports CNBC-TV18s Aakansha Sethi.

It has been on the table since 2010 as a very important strategic initiative. It was first proposed by the Planning Commission to support Indians energy security and its growth plans by acquiring energy assets abroad.

Korean chaebol and Arab wealth fund bid for Hynix stake

According to the Wall Street Journal, a Korean Chaebol may join forces with an Arab sovereign wealth fund to take up a 15% stake in Hynix which would give them management control of the memory company.

The Chaebol, STX, builds ships among other activities. It owns the European ship building interests formerly operated by Kvaerner, Alstom and Aker which include shipbuilding yards in Brazil Finland, Norway, France, Rumania and Vietnam.

Thai Oil pushes for talks on sovereign wealth fund

By WATCHARAPONG THONGRUNG

Thai Oil supports a joint discussion of the Bank of Thailand, the Finance Ministry and the Energy Ministry on the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund, which could earn better returns from growing foreign reserves.

Surong Bulakul, chief executive officer of Thai Oil, said that with such fund, Thailand would have a mechanism to manage public-sector risks in the same way as Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea.

Global Ideas From Alaska's Sovereign Wealth Fund

Tony Gray's book 1,000 miles From Wall Street extolled the clarity investors can find far from the noise and haste of financial centers. In the wake of recent volatility, perhaps an idea from 3,000 miles away could be even better.

Juneau, Alaska is home to the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, the locus of a roughly $40 billion state fund. While small by the standards of Middle East sovereign wealth funds, the Alaska Permanent Fund is unique among states. The fund found its genesis in the state's oil wealth and it has paid a dividend to every resident since 1982. The amount is based on a five-year average of the fund. Founded in 1980, the APFC is frequently cited as among the most transparent sovereign wealth funds in the world, and its history, investments and historical performance can be viewed at its website.

Sovereign wealth fund could quell nationalisation talk

The discussions around nationalisation create uncertainty and all investors dislike uncertainty. The discussion of a change in regime detracts from investment, so any discussion of this sort will not be good for investments, says Coal of Africa chairperson and mining entrepreneur Richard Linnell.

He tells Mining Weekly that he is not adverse to the ‘correct form of nationalisation’. “However, I am frightened by irrational and uninformed discussion on something that is actually quite difficult and, because there is political merit in the debate, it attracts attention and people tend to get frightened by it. You cannot discount the political merit – it just has to be managed correctly,” Linnell says.

Sovereign fund's losses roil Norwegians

Sticking to a financial plan can be challenging, even if you are the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund.

Or, so it seems, sometimes, for Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global and the handful of active traders at Norges Bank Investment Management -- challenged during the first two weeks of August to explain the loss of 200 billion kroner ($372-million U.S.) in equity value, as much as its stock losses for all of the second-quarter.

Sovereign wealth funds drop Europe for Asia

Sovereign wealth funds are turning their focus towards Asia after a trend for investing heavily in Europe came to an abrupt halt in 2010, according to a report by US research and consultancy firm Monitor Group.

The report entitled ‘Braving the New World: Sovereign Wealth Fund Investment in the Uncertain Times of 2010’ analysed the investment behaviour of 30 of the world’s leading sovereign wealth funds.

Global market sell-off hits Asia

Asian investors are suffering from a bout of déjà vu following the rout in the Asian region’s equity markets at the beginning of August.
Stock market turmoil caused by the effects of the concerns over the European sovereign debt crisis, the prolonged US budget discussions and the subsequent credit downgrade of the US caused the region’s markets to lose as much as 10 per cent of their value in the first week of August.

Norway’s Oil Fund Posts Lower Gains

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund suffered its smallest quarterly gain in a year, foreshadowing this month’s global stock rout amid concern U.S. and European economic growth is stalling.

The $534 billion Government Pension Fund Global returned 0.3 percent, as measured by a basket of currencies, in the second quarter, the Oslo-based investor said today. The stock portfolio fell 0.7 percent and its bonds holdings rose 1.8 percent. It was the worst performance since a loss in the second quarter of 2010.

Abu Dhabi Fund Sued by Madoff Trustee

The court-appointed trustee recovering money for investors cheated by Bernard Madoff sued Abu Dhabi's sovereign-wealth fund on Thursday seeking $300 million.

The lawsuit, filed by Madoff trustee Irving Picard in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, is seeking to recover transfers allegedly made to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority by Fairfield Sentry, a Fairfield Greenwich Group feeder fund.

GDF Suez Nears $4 Billion Deal With Chinese Sovereign Wealth Fund

PARIS — The French utility GDF Suez and China’s sovereign wealth fund said Wednesday that they were in exclusive talks to seal a $4 billion alliance that would help GDF finance its expansion in Asia and offer Beijing access to new energy resources.

GDF outlined the details of the partnership, its second large deal in a year, after the purchase of 70 percent of International Power, as it reported earnings for the first half of 2011 that beat forecasts.

Hedge Funds Standards Board looks to attract US and Asian managers

The UK-based Hedge Funds Standards Board (HFSB) is seeking to sign up more US and Asia-based managers to its best practice protocols.

The UK-based Hedge Funds Standards Board (HFSB), established in 2008 to develop and promote a set of voluntary hedge fund standards drawn up by a group of 14 predominantly UK-based hedge fund managers, is now aiming to attract managers from the US and Asia.

Chinese funds turn to foreign investors

Chinese fund companies are exploring opportunities to raise assets from qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII) as the retail fund market in China continues to stagnate. However, QFII assets have not been easy to come by, as many QFII managers are not in need of mainland-based investment advisers.

Assets under management in China's retail investment funds have fallen from a peak of Rmb3,000bn ($466bn) in 2007 to Rmb2,300bn as of June 30, according to Shanghai-based consulting firm Z-Ben Advisors.

Paulson control over hotels affirmed

By Henny Sender in Hong Kong

Paulson & Co, the US hedge fund, has won a US court battle with the Government of Singapore Investment Corp over control of a group of luxury hotels that brings it closer to making potential windfall profits.

The Singapore sovereign wealth fund has been trying to wrest control of the hotels – originally part of the holdings of troubled Morgan Stanley real estate funds – from a group led by affiliates of Paulson & Co since early this year.

Hard Assets The Place To Be Following U.S. Credit Downgrade

Hard assets are the likely benefactors of the U.S. sovereign debt downgrade on Friday. U.S. Treasury debt was sent to the minor leagues on Friday by Standard & Poor’s and is now rated AA+.

Joel Smolen, hedge fund manager at Axion Capital in San Rafael, says hard assets like gold, silver and equities of mining and metals companies in countries like Australia and Brazil are the places to be following the U.S. credit downgrade.

BlackRock: Sovereign Wealth Funds Haven't Lost Faith In Euro

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Sovereign wealth funds and other big-money investors haven't lost faith in the euro and aren't showing signs of a dramatic move away from euro assets, a senior money manager at BlackRock Inc. (BLK) said Wednesday.

"Part of the reason the euro remains fairly entrenched is that there hasn't been a wholesale diversification away from the euro during this crisis," said Scott Thiel, chief investment officer of fixed income, said at a media briefing.

China’s sovereign-wealth fund faces old questions

By Li Qing

BEIJING ( Caixin Online ) — En route to another double-digit annual return, China’s sovereign-wealth fund China Investment Corp. (CIC) last year expanded long-term asset and direct investments while reducing the cash percentage of its global portfolio.

Also noted in CIC’s recently released financial report for 2010 — its third year in business — was a board of directors decision to set targets for cumulative, annual return rates. The board also decided to extend an investment assessment cycle to 10 years from five.

Nation feeds Gulf's appetite for ownership

IT WAS December last year, and the newly-minted Australia Gulf Council was ushering its first business mission through the Arab Gulf states, seeking key relationships with the ruling families and hoping to land trade and investment deals.

High-powered political cachet came from the former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke - a director on the council - and the steward of Australia's economic success for a decade, the former Liberal treasurer, Peter Costello. Senior executives on board had interests in banking, property, engineering, professional services, fast food, agribusiness and commodities. But the interest dominating their hosts' attention was clear - food security.