Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Sovereign wealth funds: Panic
(This article appears courtesy of International Financial Law Review, sign up for a free trial on their site)
IFLR's journalists in London, New York and Hong Kong all agree: people are overreacting to sovereign wealth funds.
These controversial investment vehicles have become increasingly political since the turn of the year. French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke out against them and German Chancellor Angela Merkel reinforced her stance against them. Even in the midst of the US race for President, Hillary Clinton tried to turn the topic into a vote winner.
But lawyers all round the world say the same thing: sovereign wealth funds are old news, there is no need to panic and any reaction needs to a considered one.
At the moment, it is estimated that the top sovereign wealth funds hold around $2.5 trillion in assets. By 2015, this is expected to have risen to $12 trillion. China Investment...
