Several sovereign wealth funds made high-profile
appointments in the last month. Two Libyan factions coordinate
fund's lawsuits against Goldman Sachs and Société
Générale. Norway SWF manager expands its
footprint.
Changes at ADIA
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) lost another key
executive as private equity head Hareb al-Darmaki left the $621
billion fund. Hamad Shahwan al-Dhaheri, who previously served
as deputy director of the department, took over from
Al-Darmaki, who had been with ADIA since its establishment in
1976. Al-Darmaki will serve as an advisor to the fund's chief
executive, Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and is continuing
in his role as deputy chairman of ADIA's investment committee.
ADIA’s former European director of infrastructure,
Simon Eaves, who resigned at the end of last year, resurfaced
at Zug, Switzerland-based Capital Dynamics, an asset management
firm, as head of its European clean energy and infrastructure
team.
ADIC Management Shuffled
The Abu Dhabi government appointed crown prince Sheikh
Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan as the new chairman of the Abu
Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) as the fund announced a
shuffle of its board at the end of June. The Sheikh, who also
serves as chairman of Mubadala Development Co., replaced
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed
al-Nahyan at the head of the ADIC. The fund also hired Isa
Mohammed al-Suwaidi, who sits on the board of some of Abu
Dhabi's largest financial institutions, as a managing
director. He replaces Khalifa Mohammed al-Kindi, who had
served as managing director since ADIC started in 2007.
IPIC Names Supervisory Board Head
The International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC), another
Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, named Suhail Mohammed
al-Mazrouei, U.A.E. energy minister and IPIC managing
director, head of its supervisory board. The appointment aims
to improve governance at the fund, which faced a pair of
recent controversies. IPIC’s former CEO Khadem
al-Qubaisi was replaced in April amid accusations of
conflicts of interests at the fund. Al-Qubaisi allegedly used
Luxembourg-based shell companies to secure deals with Spanish
businesses owned or connected to IPIC.
APFC Acting Head to Continue
Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. (APFC), which manages the U.S.
state's $51 billion sovereign wealth fund, on July 1
confirmed that its CFO, Valerie Mertz, will continue as
temporary executive director following the resignation of
long-serving CEO Michael Burns a month earlier for health
reasons. APFC's Board of Trustees had originally appointed
Mertz as acting executive director for 30 days following
Burns' departure, but she will continue to lead the fund
until a permanent replacement is found.
NBIM Expands in New York, Plans Tokyo Office
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the arm of the
central bank that manages Norway's Government Pension Fund
Global (GPFG) is reportedly adding capacity to its New
York office. NBIM has reportedly expanded threefold in its 505
Fifth Ave. office on the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 42nd
Street. NBIM has invested $8 billion in U.S. real estate in the
last two years as it strives to reach a 5 percent allocation to
real estate in its $880 billion portfolio.
NBIM also plans to open an office in Tokyo this year as it
targets the booming Japanese real estate market. NBIM, which is
hiring a team to staff the new office, is expanding into Asia
as a way to diversify its real estate portfolio. NBIM announced
at the beginning of the year that it was on track to allocate 1
percent of GPFG to direct real estate investments in 2015 and
2016. NBIM already has branches in Hong Kong, Shanghai and
Singapore and is likely to source the real estate deals in the
Asia-Pacific region from those offices.
Libya’s Two Factions Agree on Action
The two factions competing for control of the Libyan
Investment Authority (LIA) have successfully applied to
London's High Court for a receiver to handle the fund's
lawsuits against Goldman Sachs Group and
Société Générale. In two separate
high-profile lawsuits filed in 2014, the Libyan fund is
claiming that Goldman and SocGen were responsible for a
combined $3.3 billion of losses on trades for the fund in
2008 and 2009. Libya's two rival governments both claim
ownership of the fund but are now working together to push
the case forward. LIA’s rival Tripoli- and
Malta-based management teams have agreed to have accounting
firm BDO appointed as receiver on the lawsuits. Enyo Law, a
legal firm that quit earlier this year as the management
dispute hampered progress, is now expected to return to
handle the litigation.
Egypt Readies Fund
The Egyptian government is reportedly ready to establish a 5
billion Egyptian pound ($655 million) sovereign wealth fund
in its 2015-2016 budget, according to statements from
Planning Minister Ashraf al-Arabi. The government approved a
proposal to set up the so-called Amlak Fund under the
management of Egypt’s central bank, the National
Investment Bank. The fund, which will have a board of
trustees headed by the prime minister, will aim to attract
foreign direct investments in major infrastructure projects
in sectors such as energy and transportation, including
railways and roads.
KIA London Office Scrutinized
A Kuwaiti parliament's financial committee will soon travel
to Britain to examine the London arm of the Kuwait Investment
Authority (KIA). Like other sovereign wealth funds in the
Gulf, the $592 billion KIA has come under increased scrutiny
as government budgets come under pressure as a consequence of
sharply lower oil prices. "The first trip will happen after
Eid," on the third week of July, Faisal Shaya said to Reuters
news agency, referring to the Muslim celebration of Eid
al-Fitr on July 17.