Overheard: Sovereign Wealth Funds
20/08/2008
We were just kicking back after a light lunch, watching TV, when I saw a familiar sight.
Images of the Singapore skyline and the Raffles Hotel (along with the super well-known jagar there).
It was the most surprising thing, since it was a European news segment on KQED (a public educational channel). It seems that Germany is passing legislation to limit the amount of non-European holdings on German companies if those companies are deemed to have influence on national security.
They cited recent buys by sovereign wealth funds picking up large stakes in European banks, and utilities services.
And on that list, apparently Singapore’s GIC has picked up something like a 6.3 billion Euro stake in UBS, and something similar in Kelda Group, a company that provides water in Yorkshire, UK.
Go GIC!
