Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, Former Chief Economist, OECD, Professor of Economics, President Advisory Committee on
Sovereign Wealth Funds, Chile
But Haywayd's visit comes amid reports that BP had been seeking the support of foreign
sovereign wealth funds (SWF) following the collapse of its share price which increased the risk of possible takeover bids by rival companies.
Sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf region slowed down their investments in Western companies when oil prices started to tumble last year.
The loss of the $2.5 trillion does not include the decrease in market value incurred by the
sovereign wealth funds, many of which have invested heavily in commercial real estate in North America.
To promote better deals, he has helped develop the
Sovereign Wealth Fund Initiative at the Fletcher School.
For example, after receiving a US$3 billion investment from China's
sovereign wealth fund, the CEO of Blackstone wrote an op-ed in the Financial Times warning against any measures to block SWF investment, comparing such steps to the Smoot-Hawley tariff.
The Norwegian
sovereign wealth fund used to be called the "Government Petroleum Fund," but now it is named the "Government Pension Fund--Global." The only thing that has changed is the name: there has been no change in its objectives or in the way the fund is run.
bank or bank holding company by a
sovereign wealth fund would be subject to Federal Reserve approval."
The FT on March 22 quoted US Treasury Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Clay Lowery as saying: "It's the first time to my knowledge that there's been a set of principles on this type of issue that include both
sovereign wealth funds and a recipient country.
In this vein, we have considered two sets of principles: one for
sovereign wealth funds and another for recipient countries of
sovereign wealth fund investment.
In preparation for the spring European Council, the Union's finance ministers, meeting at the Ecofin Council on 4 March, adopted conclusions on a suggested code of conduct for
sovereign wealth funds. Proposals for such a code - which is to be voluntary - were put forward by the European Commission on 27 February (see Europolitics 3480).
Singapore's
sovereign wealth fund, GIC, is to take part in a funding round for Germany-based N26.