Global SWF

Global SWF was delighted to participate in PERE Network's Seoul and Tokyo Forums this week, sharing keynote speeches with pension fund whales like #NPS and #GPIF. So much energy and quality from asset owners, asset managers and the rest of the industry. Thank you very much to all organizers and support staff, and see you in New York City on November 13-14! Cc: Rida Shaikh l Christopher Petersen l Christie Ou l Andrew Rodriguez l Dina Jamil l Edward T. l Drew Waddington l Diego López

With #India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways setting out plans for INR22 trillion (US$262 billion) in infrastructure investment up to FY2031/32, the Indian roads sector continues to be one of the world’s fastest growing infrastructure markets. Since 2011, state-owned investors (SOIs) have plunged more than US$8 billion into the Indian roads sector, through co-investments and infrastructure investment trusts targeting unlisted assets, but this is set to accelerate. Ontario’s OMERS has been a minor player in the sector, channelling its investments through Interise – formerly known as IndInfravit Trust – since 2019. It is now looking to ramp up its exposure, acquiring a 13.5% stake in the trust from Allianz Capital, which raises its holding to 34.8% - Canadian peer CPP Investments | Investissements RPC holds 46% of the trust. The Indian government is planning to construct 30,600km of highways over the next seven years, including 18,000km of expressways and high-speed corridors, and decongest 4,000km of national highways around cities. The private sector is expected to foot 35% of the total investment, implying opportunities worth US$92 billion – averaging US$13 billion per annum. Global SWF examines investment plans by other state-owned investors in Indian roads, including PSP Investments, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Mubadala, BCI and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF): https://lnkd.in/eTbiqAtQ

#Brazil is growing in prominence as an investment target among state-owned investors eyeing long-term returns and coming quarters are set to see a slew of sovereign capital in the South American market with infrastructure the prime target. Canada’s biggest public pension fund CPP Investments | Investissements RPC is making an additional BRL2.2 billion (US$388 million) investment in Brazilian water and sanitation company Iguá Saneamento after winning a major concession contract in Sergipe state. The investment is the latest in a wave of sovereign capital flowing to Brazil's shores. SOI private market investments in South America’s biggest economy reached a record US$6.4 billion in 2023. Altogether, from 2019 to date SOIs have invested around US$17 billion in Brazilian private equity, infrastructure and real estate. Altogether Canadian SOIs represent 43% of the total investment by the sector from 2019, ahead of Abu Dhabi SWFs (36%) and Singapore’s sovereign investors (10%). Canadian fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), which manages pension funds for the Québecois government, represents 27% of the total SOI capital in Brazilian alternatives since 2019, ahead of CPP on 13% and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan on 3%. Global SWF examines the latest developments, including the expansion of CDPQ's Verene platform and Mubadala's plans for a US$13.5 billion biofuels project on top of an array of recent commitments. https://lnkd.in/ePMCqw4H

Despite being the world’s biggest economy attracting the bulk of sovereign capital, the US lacks a federal-level sovereign wealth fund of its own – but this could all be about the change with rivals in the presidential election pitching their visions of state capitalism. Currently under the control of the outgoing Biden administration, the White House is reportedly developing plans for a US SWF that would target strategic investment. The remarks followed a speech by Donald Trump at the Economic Club of New York in which he embraced the need for an SWF with similar aims: namely to support strategically crucial parts of the economy to compete against rivals, particularly China. The move towards a federal SWF would mark a culture shift in US domestic economic management. The small clutch of state-level SWFs are oriented towards inter-generational savings and fiscal stabilization, utilizing windfalls largely from oil and gas revenues. A strategic fund is a new concept that chafes with certain well-established orthodoxies in a country that is wedded to free market capitalism. Global SWF takes a closer look at the hurdles and controversies a federal SWF is likely to face, as well as the US's current relatively small commodity-backed SWF sector that exists in a handful of states: https://lnkd.in/eCkd8qSb

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZ Super Fund) continues to beat peers with another strong result boosted by public equities which enabled it to report a 14.9% return in the year to end-June, helping to boost coffers by NZ$11 billion (US$6.8 billion) to reach NZ$77 billion (US$47.4 billion) in FY2023/24. Long-term performance is the true barometer of the added value a fund can provide. NZ Super’s 10-year average annual return (2015-2024) is 10.3%, a level that beats other state-owned investors across the world. This return is necessary to achieve long-term support for an ageing population. The Government is expected to start withdrawing money from the fund in 2035, to help pay for superannuation payments. Global SWF examines how NZ Super has steered its successful strategy, while also establishing world-leading sustainability policies: https://lnkd.in/e9A4CwfN

In three weeks time, we will release a 42-page, unique report of the investment landscape in the Gulf Cooperation Council (#GCC), which will cover: - A GCC Macro Overview, incl. GDP, taxes and pension systems. - An overview of GCC Sovereign Investors, incl. AuM and deal activity. - A GCC Playbook, covering each "Country Inc." and stock exchange. - A special feature of a major GCC-based Sovereign Investor. - Regional Trends including FDI, fundraising, and soft power. - Ranking of all investors, incl. SWFs, PPFs, CBs and Royal Private Offices. The report is one of a kind in terms of breadth and depth, and will be sent to our enterprise subscribers only. If you would like your company to consider a subscription and to receive a copy, please reach out to support@globalswf.com

India’s quasi-SWF, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), is planning to raise US$4 billion in capital for infrastructure investments, signalling it is entering a new phase and accelerating its co-investment partnerships. NIIF’s portfolio could reach US$11 billion - up from its current AuM of US$4.9 billion - if the new capital target is coupled with planned commitments by a second fund-of-funds strategy and the US$600 million bilateral Japanese-backed fund, the India-Japan Fund (IJF), established last October. At the same time, its subsidiaries are divesting nearly US$1.3 billion in roads and renewables assets, which provides NIIF with new dry powder for its infrastructure-oriented master fund. Global SWF examines the latest developments at NIIF: https://lnkd.in/eDfV9GaN

Angola’s sovereign wealth fund, Fundo Soberano de Angola-FSDEA, is becoming steadily more active as it continues to find its feet as it recovers its reputation from the corruption scandal revealed in 2018 in the so-called Panama Papers. While recent investments have been relatively small, they signal FSDEA’s movement from focusing on strengthening governance structures to its core activity, to invest oil wealth "to create sustainable financial returns that favor the Angolan people, economy and industrial sector and to manage a diversified portfolio of investments and be an active partner in this initiative." The fund was seeded with US$5 billion in capital generated by oil revenue, but now stands at US$3.5 billion following government withdrawals. In May, the fund’s chairman Armando Manuel said he expected it to expand by 12% over five years, with a “moderate return” over the short-term. It will target continental “champions” in both greenfield projects and business expansions. Global SWF takes a closer look at FSDEA's strategy and recent investments: https://lnkd.in/e_pKx5se

With its cash resources squeezed by huge investments ranging from gigaprojects to sports, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to tap debt markets for a fourth time this year. By end-2023, it had loans and borrowings totalling SAR466 billion (US$124 billion), up 45%. The latest bond issues, including those announced this week, suggest total borrowing has risen a further 8%, and it is expected that the fund will be seeking further leverage in the second half of the year, perhaps in the order of another US$10 billion. At the same time, PIF has diverted liquid public equity assets towards its investment drive, selling off a chunk of its public equity portfolio in H1, and massively drawing on cash reserves. Global SWF details how PIF is financing its ambitions: https://lnkd.in/dcbrnNsZ

#India's central bank the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), stock exchange regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and officials from the new finance hub, GIFT City , are reportedly exploring the launch of a new sovereign wealth fund, in addition to the existing National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). The US$5 billion fund is relatively modest compared to #China's Silk Road Fund (SRF); by end-March, 2024, the SRF had invested in more than 70 countries and regions, with a total commitment of more than US$24 billion. India’s financing activity in countries where China has been prominent creates a new platform for rivalry between Beijing and New Delhi. Global SWF gives its analysis of India's bid for soft power via an SWF: https://lnkd.in/emanYxnD