Top 10 Sovereign Wealth Funds

4. SAMA Foreign Holdings, Saudi Arabia ($532.8 billion)

Controlled by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), SAMA Foreign Holdings holds $532.8 billion in assets, up 12.7 per cent from $472.5 billion in February 2012. The fund focuses on low-risk fixed income investments.

The fund is extremely secretive regarding its investments and strategies.

5. China Investment Corporation, China ($482 billion)

Established in 2007, the China Investment Corporation (CIC) is responsible for managing part of China’s foreign exchange reserves. The fund, which has seen its assets increase 17.6 per cent from around $409.6 billion (as of February 2012) to approximately $482 billion, invests across the world in equity, fixed income, and alternative assets.

In June this year, CIC signed an MoU with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to establish a Russia-China Investment Fund.

The new fund aims to raise $2-4 billion, with $1 billion committed by CIC and its related parties, and another $1 billion by RDIF. The fund hopes to raise an additional $1-2 billion from third-party international investors.

6. Kuwait Investment Authority, Kuwait ($296 billion)

The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is one of the oldest SWFs, established in 1953, and manages the General Reserve Fund and the assets of the Future Generations Fund on behalf of the state of Kuwait.

In June this year, KIA, announced a $500 million investment in the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

Earlier this year, the fund became the second from the Middle East – after ADIA ¬– to receive the status of a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) in China’s capital market.

7. Hong Kong Monetary Authority Investment, Hong Kong ($293.3 billion)

In April 1993, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) was created after the merger of the Office of the Exchange Fund and the Office of the Commissioner of Banking.
The HKMA now manages the Exchange Fund, estimated to hold assets of around $293.3 billion.

The Exchange Fund aims to affect, either directly or indirectly, the exchange value of the currency of Hong Kong and invests primarily in its local exchange, the Hang Seng.