Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T13:35:02.526Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Harnessing Sovereign Wealth Funds in Emerging Economies toward Sustainable Development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 July 2022

Mona Mostafa El-Sholkamy
Affiliation:
The Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, Dubai
Mohammad Habibur Rahman
Affiliation:
The Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, Dubai

Summary

Sovereign Wealth Funds are government investment vehicles that have been present for decades. They are usually characterized by minimum information disclosure, however, this situation differed after worldwide events shed light on the role they possess to mitigate their downturns. The substantial economic influence they bring along due to their size and long term impact have recently created an uproar of debate that eventually led to the ratification of the Santiago Principles. The Principles set the stage for governing SWFs' operations and grant them more clarity. They also contribute to a more stable environment for cross-border investment flows. With the importance of SWFs, emerging economies also rose as key institutional investors; only this time they called for harnessing their funds towards sustainable development investment strategies. Despite pressuring need to improve transparency and governance structures of SWFs in EMs, the former are regarded as promising means for achieving the sustainable development goals.
Get access
Type
Element
Information
Online ISBN: 9781009198172
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 04 August 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Al-Hassan, A., Papaioannou, M. M. G., Skancke, M., & Sung, C. C. (2013). Sovereign wealth funds: Aspects of governance structures and investment management. International Monetary Fund.Google Scholar
Alsweilem, K. A., Cummine, A., Rietveld, M., & Tweedie, K. (2015). Sovereign investor models: Institutions and policies for managing sovereign wealth. John F. Kennedy School of Government, Center for Science and International Affairs and Center for International Development, Harvard Kennedy School. www.ifswf.org/sites/default/files/Publications/InvestorModels.pdf. Accessed September 26, 2021.Google Scholar
Amihud, Y., Hameed, A., Kang, W., & Zhang, H. (2015). The illiquidity premium: International evidence. Journal of Financial Economics, 117(2), 350368.Google Scholar
Arinze-Umobi, C., & Ihedirionye, C. C. (2021). African sovereign wealth funds and government influence: A clog in the wheel of economic development. International Journal of Comparative Law and Legal Philosophy (IJOCLLEP), 3(2).Google Scholar
Arouri, M., Boubaker, S., & Grais, W. (2018). On the determinants of sovereign wealth funds’ investments: Are Arab SWFs different? Economic Research Forum Working Paper (No. 1174). https://erf.org.eg/app/uploads/2018/03/1174Final.pdf.Accessed September 1, 2021.Google Scholar
Bassan, F., ed. (2015). Research handbook on sovereign wealth funds and international investment law. Edward Elgar.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauer, A., & Mihalyi, D. (2018). Premature funds: How overenthusiasm and bad advice can leave countries poorer. Natural Resource Governance Institute Briefing. https://resourcegovernance.org/sites/default/files/documents/premature-funds. Accessed September 1, 2021.Google Scholar
Beuermann, D., Schwartz, M., Reyes-Tagle, G., et al. (2021). Economic institutions for a resilient Caribbean. IDB Publications (Books).Google Scholar
Blundell-Wignall, A., Hu, Y. W., & Yermo, J. (2008). Sovereign wealth and pension fund issues. OECD Working Papers on Insurance and Private Pensions (No. 14). https://doi.org/10.1787/243287223503.Google Scholar
Bortolotti, B., Fotak, V., & Megginson, W. L. B. (2015). The rise of sovereign wealth funds: Definition, organization, and governance. In Caselli, S., Corbetta, G., & Vecchi, V. (eds.), Public private partnerships for infrastructure and business development (pp. 295318). Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Boubakri, N., Cosset, J. C., & Grira, J. (2016). Sovereign wealth funds targets selection: A comparison with pension funds. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 42, 6076.Google Scholar
Braunstein, J. (2017). Sovereign wealth funds: The catalyst for climate finance. World Bank. https://blogs.worldbank.org/psd/sovereign-wealth-funds-catalyst-climate-finance. Accessed August 26, 2021.Google Scholar
Carney, R. W. (2021). Sovereign wealth funds’ investment purpose and the investment implications. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3902962. Accessed September 1, 2021.Google Scholar
Center for the Governance of Change. (2019). Sovereign wealth funds 2019. https://docs.ie.edu/cgc/research/sovereign-wealth/SOVEREIGN-WEALTH-RESEARCH-IE-CGC-REPORT_2019.pdf. Accessed August 1, 2021.Google Scholar
Cevik, M. S., & Jalles, J. T. (2020). This changes everything: Climate shocks and sovereign bonds. International Monetary Fund.Google Scholar
Chen, J. (2019). Financing the sustainable development goals: The role of African sovereign wealth funds. New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, 51, 1259.Google Scholar
Clark, G. L., Dixon, A. D., & Monk, A. H. (2013). Sovereign wealth funds. Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Cumming, D. J., Wood, G., Filatotchev, I., & Reinecke, J., eds. (2017). The Oxford handbook of sovereign wealth funds. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Das, D. K. (2009). Sovereign-wealth funds: The institutional dimension. International Review of Economics, 56(1), 85104.Google Scholar
Dixon, A. D. (2013). Enhancing the transparency dialogue in the Santiago Principles for sovereign wealth funds. Seattle University Law Review, 37, 581.Google Scholar
Duttagupta, R., & Pazarbasioglu, C. (2021). MILESto go. Finance & Development, International Monetary Fund. www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2021/06/pdf/the-future-of-emerging-markets-duttagupta-and-pazarbasioglu.pdf. Accessed September 8, 2021.Google Scholar
Elbadawi, I., Soto, R., & Zaki, C. (2018). Sovereign wealth funds, cross-border investment bias and institutions: The case of Arab countries. Economic Research Forum Working Paper (No. 1173).Google Scholar
Elbadawi, I., Soto, R., & Zaki, C. (2020). Sovereign wealth funds and cross-border investment bias: The case of Arab countries. Middle East Development Journal, 12(1), 123.Google Scholar
Elbaz, O. (2018). The role of sovereign funds in promoting external stability of the home economy. Scholedge International Journal of Management & Development ISSN 2394–3378, 5(9), 96113. https://thescholedge.org/index.php/sijmd/article/view/499. Accessed September 8, 2021.Google Scholar
Engel, J., Barbary, V., Hamirani, H., & Saklatvala, K. (2020). Sovereign wealth funds and innovation investing in an era of mounting uncertainty. World Intellectual Property Organization. www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_gii_2020-chapter5.pdf. Accessed November 29, 2021.Google Scholar
Evenett, S. J. (2019). Protectionism, state discrimination, and international business since the onset of the global financial crisis. Journal of International Business Policy, 2(1), 936.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fratto, C., Vannier, B. H., Mircheva, M., de Padua, D., & Ward, M. H. P. (2021). Unconventional monetary policies in emerging markets and frontier countries. International Monetary Fund.Google Scholar
Garg, R., & Shukla, A. (2021a). The impact and implications of SWFs: A systematic review of literature. Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, 13(5), 580607. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRFM-08-2020-0171.Google Scholar
Garg, R., & Shukla, A. (2021b). Sovereign wealth funds: A critical analysis. Business Analyst, 41(2), 2547.Google Scholar
Ghosh, I. (2019). Transforming emerging economies with sovereign development funds. World Economic Forum. www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/02/transforming-emergingeconomies-with-sovereign-development-funds/. Accessed August 24, 2021.Google Scholar
Global SWF. (2022). Largest sovereign wealth funds worldwide as of January 2022, by assets under management. www.statista.com/statistics/276617/sovereign-wealth-funds-worldwide-based-on-assets-under-management. Accessed April 12, 2022.Google Scholar
Griffith-Jones, S., & Ocampo, J. A. (2011). The rationale for sovereign wealth funds from a development perspective. In Stiglitz, J., Bolton, P., & Samama, F. (eds.), Sovereign wealth funds and long-term investing (pp. 6066). Columbia University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grira, J. (2020). Back to government ownership: The sovereign wealth funds phenomenon. Finance Research Letters, 34, 101245.Google Scholar
Gupta, J., Rempel, A., & Verrest, H. (2020). Access and allocation: The role of large shareholders and investors in leaving fossil fuels underground. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 20(2), 303322.Google Scholar
Haroun, M. (2021). Analysis of managing and transferring of ownership of public land assests in Egypt: TSFE “The Sovereign Fund of Egypt”. Second Arab Land Conference, February 22–24, Cairo, Egypt. https://arabstates.gltn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/TechnicalSession2_TSFE_Ismael_AUC-presentation.pdf. Accessed October 13, 2021.Google Scholar
Hentov, E., & Petrov, A. (2015). How do sovereign wealth funds invest: A glance at SWF asset allocation. www.ifswf.org/sites/default/files/Publications/How%20do%20Sovereign%20Wealth%20Funds%20Invest_0.pdf. Accessed September 2, 2021.Google Scholar
Hentov, E., & Petrov, A. (2017). How do sovereign investors approach ESG investing? State Street Global Advisors. www.ssga.com/content/dam/SSGA/pdfs/investment-topics/environmental-social-governance/2017/How-Do-Sovereign-Investors-Approach-ESG-Investing.pdf. Accessed September 1, 2021.Google Scholar
IFSWF. (2020a). The Egypt fund becomes an associate member of the IFSWF. www.ifswf.org/general-news/egypt-fund-becomes-associate-member-ifswf. Accessed December 22, 2021.Google Scholar
IFSWF. (2020b). Mighty oaks from little acorns grow: Sovereign wealth funds’ progress on climate change. www.ifswf.org/sites/default/files/IFSWF_Climate_Change_Feb2020%20FINAL.pdf. Accessed September 5, 2021.Google Scholar
IFSWF. (2021a). Investing for growth and prosperity: In Africa sovereign wealth funds focus on G, S and E. www.ifswf.org/sites/default/files/IFSWF_Africa_Paper_v2.pdf. Accessed December 3, 2021.Google Scholar
IFSWF. (2021b). LMTI: Middle Eastern sovereign funds reduce reporting transparency. www.swfinstitute.org/news/85520/lmti-middle-eastern-sovereign-funds-reduce-reporting-transparency. Accessed April 12, 2022.Google Scholar
IFSWF. (2021c). Santiago Principles’ for clarity and alter the citation accordingly? www.ifswf.org/santiago-principles. Accessed July 28, 2021.Google Scholar
IFSWF. (2021d). State-owned investors in a post-pandemic age. https://global-swf.s3.amazonaws.com/file-uploads/ibdoIlDQ1fH8ckTg00BTZfqJNZRw6jdVHCbLLKMm.pdf. Accessed March 3, 2022.Google Scholar
IMF. (2007). “Market Developments and Issues.” Financial Stability Report, April 2007. www.imf.org/en/publications/gfsr.Google Scholar
IMF. (2021). Arab Republic of Egypt: 2021 Article IV consultation, second review under the stand-by arrangement-press release; staff report; and statement by the executive Director for the Arab Republic of Egypt. ISBN: 9781513592046/1934–7685. www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2021/07/22/Arab-Republic-of-Egypt-2021-Article-IV-Consultation-Second-Review-Under-the-Stand-By-462545.Google Scholar
Kalter, E., & Schena, P. (2013). Into the institutional void: Managing sovereign wealth of emerging economies. In Cumming, D., Wood, G., Filatotchev, I., & Reinecke, J. (eds.), Investing in emerging and frontier markets (pp. 1734). Euromoney Books.Google Scholar
Kotter, J., & Lel, U. (2011). Friends or foes? Target selection decisions of sovereign wealth funds and their consequences. Journal of Financial Economics, 101(2), 360381.Google Scholar
Lessambo, F. I. (2021). International finance. In International finance (pp. 15). Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Liang, H., & Renneboog, L. (2020). The global sustainability footprint of sovereign wealth funds. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 36(2), 380426.Google Scholar
Liu, I., & Dixon, A. (2019). The Santiago Principles 2.0: Advancing the agenda. IFSWF. https://archive.ifswfreview.org/2018/our-partners/santiago-principles-20-advancing-agenda. Accessed October 1, 2021.Google Scholar
Liu, P., Mauck, N., & Price, S. M. (2020). Are government owned investment funds created equal? Evidence from sovereign wealth fund real estate acquisitions. The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, 61(4), 698729.Google Scholar
Lorfing, P. A. (2021). Screening of foreign direct investment and the states’ security interests in light of the OECD, UNCTAD and other international guidelines. Public Actors in International Investment Law, 179199. https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-030-58916-5_10.Google Scholar
Maire, J., Mazarei, A., & Truman, E. M. (2021a). Sovereign wealth funds are growing more slowly, and governance issues remain. Peterson Institute for International Economics Working Paper (No. PB21-3). www.piie.com/publications/policy-briefs/sovereign-wealth-funds-are-growing-more-slowly-and-governance-issues. Accessed October 1, 2021.Google Scholar
Maire, J., Mazarei, A., & Truman, E. M. (2021b). Uncertain Prospects for Sovereign Wealth Funds of Gulf Countries. Peterson Institute for International Economics Working Paper (No. PB21-4). www.piie.com/sites/default/files/documents/pb21-4.pdf. Accessed December 17, 2021.Google Scholar
Markowitz, C. (2020). Sovereign wealth funds in Africa: Taking stock and looking forward. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://media.africaportal.org/documents/Occasional-Paper-304-markowitz.pdf. Accessed September 26, 2022.Google Scholar
McPherson‐Smith, O. (2021). Diversification, Khashoggi, and Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund. Global Policy, 12(2), 190203.Google Scholar
Megginson, W. L., Lopez, D., & Malik, A. (2020). The rise of state-owned investors: Sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds. Annual Review of Financial Economics, 13(1), 247270.Google Scholar
Meng, C. (2020). Sovereign wealth funds as international institutional investors 1: A re-evaluation. In Bernier, L., Florio, M., & Bance, P. (eds.), The Routledge handbook of state-owned enterprises (pp. 372389). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351042543.Google Scholar
Ministry of Finance, Ghana. (2017). Ghana investment infrastructure fund: Investment policy statement. www.mofep.gov.gh/sites/default/files/reports/economic/GIIF%20Investment%20Policy%20Statement_April62017.pdf. Accessed December 4, 2021.Google Scholar
Mody, A. (2003). What is an emerging market? International Monetary Fund. www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2016/12/31/What-is-An-Emerging-Market-17598. Accessed September 8, 2021.Google Scholar
Mulder, M., Das, U., Lu, Y., Mulder, C., & Sy, A. N. R. (2009). Setting up a sovereign wealth fund: Some policy and operational considerations. International Monetary Fund, 9179.Google Scholar
Murtinu, S., & Scalera, V. G. (2016). Sovereign wealth funds’ internationalization strategies: The use of investment vehicles. Journal of International Management, 22(3), 249264.Google Scholar
OECD. (2021). Mobilising institutional investors for financing sustainable development in developing countries: Emerging evidence of opportunities and challenges. www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=DCD(2021)11&docLanguage=En. Accessed August 26, 2021.Google Scholar
Onifade, T. T. (2016). Regulating Natural Resource Funds (Master’s thesis, Graduate Studies).Google Scholar
Ouni, Z., Bernard, P., & Plaisent, M. (2020). Sovereign wealth funds definition: Challenges and concerns. Advances in Economics and Business, 8(6), 362376. https://doi.org/10.13189/AEB.2020.080605.Google Scholar
PwC. (2020). Sovereign Investors 2020: A growing force. www.pwc.com/gx/en/sovereign-wealth-investment-funds/publications/assets/sovereign-investors-2020.pdf. Accessed September 17, 2021.Google Scholar
Sharma, R. (2017). Sovereign wealth funds investment in sustainable development sectors. Global Projects Center, Stanford University.Google Scholar
Capital., Sidra (2021). Sovereign wealth funds in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. https://sidracapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Sovereign-Wealth-Funds_21-June-202162.pdf. Accessed December 17, 2021.Google Scholar
Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. (2008). What is a sovereign wealth fund. www.swfinstitute.org/research/sovereign-wealth-fund. Accessed July 26, 2021.Google Scholar
Staista. (2021). Largest sovereign wealth funds worldwide as of December 2021, by assets under management. www.statista.com/statistics/276617/sovereign-wealth-funds-worldwide-based-on-assets-under-management. Accessed September 8, 2021.Google Scholar
Stocker, M., Baffes, J., Some, Y. M., Vorisek, D., & Wheeler, C. M. (2018). The 2014–16 oil price collapse in retrospect: Sources and implications. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper (No. 8419).Google Scholar
Stone, S. E., & Truman, E. M. (2016). Uneven progress on sovereign wealth fund transparency and accountability. Peterson Institute for International Economics Working Paper (No. PB16-18). www.piie.com/system/files/documents/pb16-18.pdf. Accessed September 1, 2021.Google Scholar
Triki, T., & Faye, I. (2011). Africa’s quest for development: Can sovereign wealth funds help? In Boubakri, N. & Cosset, J.-C. (eds.), Institutional investors in global capital markets (pp. 263290). Emerald Group.Google Scholar
Truman, E. M. (2011). Sovereign wealth funds: Is Asia different? Peterson Institute for International Economics Working Paper (No. 11–12).Google Scholar
Tsani, S., & Overland, I. (2020). Sovereign wealth funds and public financing for climate action. In Leal Filho, W., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Ozuyar, P., & Wall, T. (eds.), Climate action. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (pp. 130131). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95885-9.Google Scholar
UNCTAD. (2014). World Investment Report 2014: Investing in the SDGs: An action plan. https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/wir2014_en.pdf. Accessed August 1, 2021.Google Scholar
UNCTAD. (2020). How public pension and sovereign wealth funds mainstream sustainability. https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/diae2020d3_en.pdf. Accessed August 22, 2021.Google Scholar
UNCTAD. (2021). World Investment Report 2021: Investing in sustainable recovery. https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/wir2021_en.pdf. Accessed July 30, 2021.Google Scholar
Virgis, A. (2020). Sustainable business models and B corps: Exploring impact performance in an international setting. https://thesis.unipd.it/bitstream/20.500.12608/21048/1/Virgis_Alice.pdf. Accessed on October 30, 2022.Google Scholar
Wafi, O. (2021). Quick moves of the sovereign fund of Egypt. Center for International and Strategic Studies. https://synerjies.com/quick-moves-of-the-sovereign-fund-of-egypt. Accessed December 23, 2021.Google Scholar
Wang, D., & Li, Q. (2016). Democracy, veto player, and institutionalization of sovereign wealth funds. International Interactions, 42(3), 377400.Google Scholar
Wills, S. (2018). Leave the volatility fund alone: Principles for managing oil wealth. Journal of Macroeconomics, 55, 332352.Google Scholar
Forum., World Economic (2018). Thinking strategically: Using resource revenues to invest in a sustainable future. www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Thinking_Strategically.pdf. Accessed September 27, 2021.Google Scholar
Wurster, S., & Schlosser, S. J. (2021). Sovereign wealth funds as sustainability instruments? Disclosure of sustainability criteria in worldwide comparison. Sustainability, 13(10), 5565.Google Scholar
Young, K. E. (2020). Sovereign risk: Gulf sovereign wealth funds as engines of growth and political resource. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 47(1), 96116.Google Scholar
Yu, C., & Yang, L. (2017). Implications of sovereign wealth funds on the governance of the middle East region. Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, 11(4), 6475.Google Scholar
Zhan, J. X., & Santos-Paulino, A. U. (2021). Investing in the sustainable development goals: Mobilization, channeling, and impact. Journal of International Business Policy, 4(1), 166183.Google Scholar

Save element to Kindle

To save this element to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Harnessing Sovereign Wealth Funds in Emerging Economies toward Sustainable Development
Available formats
×

Save element to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Harnessing Sovereign Wealth Funds in Emerging Economies toward Sustainable Development
Available formats
×

Save element to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Harnessing Sovereign Wealth Funds in Emerging Economies toward Sustainable Development
Available formats
×