The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds 국부펀드

[프란치스코]

The world's largest government-controlled investment funds are gathering in Beijing this week to discuss ways to blunt criticism that their investments are driven by political agendas.

The so-called sovereign-wealth funds are seeking to better coordinate their approach as they look to put their vast resources to work world-wide.

"Despite efforts to allay concerns regarding the nature and intentions of [sovereign wealth funds], the prospect and discussion of discriminatory treatment of sovereign funds persists," said David Murray, chairman of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, which includes more than 20 of the world's biggest sovereign-wealth funds, in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

"Wealth funds are not state-owned enterprises and are not different from other institutional investors," he said, adding it's a "myth" that sovereign-wealth funds are driven by noncommercial motives. Mr. Murray is also chairman of Australia's Future Fund.

In recent years, countries ranging from the oil-rich United Arab Emirates and Norway to big exporters like China have been funneling oil revenues or trade surpluses into wealth funds in a bid to seek higher returns than the government securities they traditionally invested in. Assets managed by these state-run funds now total about $4 trillion, according to data tracker Preqin. The group is led by the $630 billion Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

The sovereign-wealth funds' efforts to respond to governments' concerns will be one of the focuses of the forum's meeting, which begins on Wednesday in Beijing. Analysts say the forum will discuss ways to take a more formal role as the voice of global sovereign funds, and will take steps toward creating a permanent secretariat, a role currently fulfilled by the International Monetary Fund.

"There's a need for a collective identity...The question is how are they going to go about creating a voice for themselves," said Victoria Barbary, senior analyst at Monitor Group. "There's a lack of understanding [among governments] and a lot of ignorance about what they do."

Some trace the backlash against sovereign-wealth funds and state-owned companies to Dubai Ports World's 2007 bid to acquire terminal operations and stevedoring services at several major U.S. ports. U.S. politicians rejected the proposal, saying the investment compromised national security.

Opposition against these types of investments hasn't been limited to the U.S. In 2008, French President Nicolas Sarkozy attacked sovereign funds saying: "There is no question of France remaining unable to react in the face of a rise in the power of extremely aggressive sovereign funds which only follow economic logic...France must protect its companies and give them the means to develop and defend themselves."

China has borne much of the backlash. The $300 billion China Investment Corp., which is hosting this week's forum, has long run up against resistance in the West from politicians and officials.

The sovereign-fund forum was formally founded in 2009. Its predecessor worked with the International Monetary Fund to set up the Santiago Principles, a code of best practice for sovereign funds, as part of an effort to make their investments more transparent. The members of the forum comply with the principles to widely varying degrees of success.

"The forum has been trying to show [countries receiving investment] that they're becoming more transparent, and that there's no political or security issues involved in their investments," said Rachel Ziemba, a senior analyst at Roubini Global Economics who tracks sovereign-wealth funds.

"Some sovereign wealth funds see the benefit in banding together" to get that message out, she said.

The forum's members include CIC, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Korea Investment Corp., the Government Pension Fund of Norway, Government of Singapore Investment Corp. and Temasek Holdings.

(인용: WSJ)