Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute

Starting in 2005 until the end of 2011, the United States is the top targeted nation for direct sovereign wealth fund investment. We calculate this from our most recent database statistic of US$75.68 billion. The United States is followed by the United Kingdom’s US$ 67.68 billion. China is a major recipient of direct sovereign money inflow, with a significant portion coming from Singapore and the Middle East. Switzerland received major cash infusions during the subprime crisis.

Latest database statistics of 12/27/2011

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Top countries for sovereign wealth fund direct investment inflows 2005 to 2011

The Sovereign Wealth Fund Transaction Database is now available online for subscribers. Transaction data can now be accessed on a more frequent basis. The SWFTD now contains over 2,800 recorded transactions.

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The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) is under fire and the implications of an asset freeze could be costly for the sovereign fund. The United States, the United Kingdom, and now Austria have frozen assets that are tied to the Libyan Investment Authority. SWF assets being frozen is a rare circumstance that needs to carefully be evaluated.  SWFs will now intensely focus in political risk in investing abroad.  [Content protected for Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Standard subscribers only. Please subscribe to view site content.]

According to the AP, “The Emir of Qatar, the ruler of a tiny, oil-rich nation in the Persian Gulf, is visiting Britain for talks with Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister David Cameron.  Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani began his three-day visit Tuesday with Sheika Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned, the most high-profile of his three wives.  Britain is seeking closer ties with Qatar, a British protectorate until 1971, as it attempts to woo new investors.

In May, Qatar Investment Authority — the country’s sovereign wealth fund — bought London’s iconic Harrods department store.

The emir said in an interview published Monday in the Financial Times that Qatar would also be interested in acquiring Britain’s famed auction house Christie’s.”

Source: AP

According to the Wall Street Journal, “China Investment Corp., the country’s $300 billion sovereign-wealth fund, was one of the biggest third-party investors in 3i Group PLC’s (III.LN) EUR1.2 billion growth capital fund raised earlier this year, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday.

“3i has good ties with CIC and has been welcomed by the government there as it has been in India,” the person said, adding that 3i has been exploring raising a yuan fund that CIC could be involved in, although no decision has yet been taken.

In China, the growth of yuan-denominated funds, which don’t need government approval to buy assets there, has added to the competition. Like other international private equity firms seeking an edge in China, Blackstone Group (BX) and Carlyle Group LP are raising yuan-denominated funds, which come from local investors.

On Wednesday, CIC supervisory board Chairman Jin Liqun said the sovereign wealth fund is keen to continue forming partnerships with other fund groups in investing, but didn’t mention any specific deals.

“We have projects with different partners and to expand collaboration in the future,” Jin said in a speech at the private equity-focused Super Return Conference in Hong Kong Wednesday, but didn’t’ elaborate. “We seek to make superior risk adjusted returns and act as a stabilizing force in a world of volatility.”

Read more: Wall Street Journal

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, “The taxpayer-backed Future Fund is turning its sights to the troubled British banking industry, investing in the country’s largest new lender to start up since the global financial crisis.  The fund joined the high-profile financiers Lord Rothschild and Sir Ronald Cohen in a deal to invest €450 million ($633 million) in Haymarket Financial, which will specialise in lending to medium-sized businesses, London’s Sunday Telegraph reported.

Investors have tipped a total of €1 billion into HayFin, as the new lender is known. The bank will target businesses worth between €100 million and €500 million.”

Read more: Sydney Morning Herald

According to the Independent, “China’s biggest sovereign wealth fund is in talks to buy a stake in one of London’s tallest skyscrapers being developed by Britain’s largest property company.

The China Investment Corporation (CIC) has approached Land Securities about taking an equity stake of up to 25 per cent in the proposed “Walkie-Talkie”, the 500 ft tower at 20 Fenchurch Street designed by Rafael Vinoly. Land Securities won planning consent for the Square Mile site two years ago after a public inquiry sparked when English Heritage and others objected to its impact on the sight lines to St Paul’s Cathedral. The 36-storey building (down nine floors from the original plan) will cost an estimated £300m to build and is scheduled for completion in 2014.

It is nicknamed the Walkie-Talkie because of its top-heavy shape, designed to maximise high-rent floor space on the upper stories.

The FTSE-100 company entered into exclusive discussions with Canary Wharf Group to jointly develop the site in June. As part of the proposed deal, Canary Wharf would build the tower. These talks are still ongoing but it is thought that CIC, a wholly owned state company based in Beijing, has entered the negotiations.”

Read more: Independent

The Independent reports that, “Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is on the verge of an $18 billion (£12.5bn) shopping spree for landmark British and American properties. Norges Bank, Norway’s central bank, which manages investments made from Norway’s vast energy surplus, is understood to be ready to make its first investments by the end of the summer. Paul Golding, the former Merrill Lynch banker who heads the fund’s UK arm, had been expected to start investing money for the fund last year. However Norges needed approval from the country’s government, which was not forthcoming during the financial crisis last year. Mr Golding’s three-man investment team is understood to have stepped up talks with property advisers in recent months ahead of getting the needed permission. Norges is likely to invest as a minority stakeholder in landmark buildings in both the UK and US while prices are low. If this proves successful, it will continue to invest in other markets.”

read more: The Independent

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