Development Finance: The role of Sovereign Wealth funds on economic development.

Abstract

Sovereign Wealth Funds are a large pool of assets or investment vehicles owned and managed by the State to achieve long-term economic development policy frameworks. In other words, Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are state-owned investment funds which are usually derived from the country`s foreign reserves, revenue from exports and fiscal surpluses as well as other official foreign currency operations. However, the source of funds for Sovereign Wealth funds may differ from country to country depending on its comparative or absolute advantage. In addition to that sovereign wealth funds have recently gained recognition as institutional investors largely due to the nature of their investment styles. Since the early 2000s, there has been a significant wave of new sovereign wealth funds entering the capital markets utilizing a range of investment strategies. Sovereign wealth funds investment strategies aim to achieve positive return on assets under management making the sector more attractive to both policymakers and institutional investors such as pension, mutual and hedge funds. Hence it can be argued that, these state-owned managed funds are increasingly becoming part of the financial system as they actively invest in mainstream markets.

Chapter 1: Background

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are state-owned investment funds which are usually derived from the country’s foreign reserves, revenue from exports and fiscal surpluses as well as other official foreign currency operations. In other words, sovereign wealth fund can be defined as a large pool of assets or investment vehicles owned and managed by the State to achieve long-term economic development policy goals. These state-owned investment vehicles are increasing becoming popular in emerging markets largely due to their role of enabling a new paradigm in sovereign wealth management.Since the early 2000s, there has been a significant wave of new sovereign wealth funds entering the capital markets utilizing a range of investment strategies. Sovereign wealth funds investment aim to achieve positive return on assets under management making the sector more attractive to both policymakers and other institutional investors such as pension, mutual and hedge funds. Hence it can be argued that, these state-owned managed funds are increasingly becoming part of the financial system as they are active mainstream markets.Thus, Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are active in real estate, financial and alternative investment markets making them more attractive to both policymakers and investors. The source of funding for sovereign wealth funds largely emanate from through trade and budgetary surpluses and majority of countries are keen to set up or investing in the sector to achieve specific investment goals. However, majority of these State-owned funds are located in emerging markets holding excess foreign exchange reserves and the main participating countries are of oil exporting countries such as Russia, Qatar, Kuwait, Norway and United Arab Emirates (UAE).However, countries like China, India, South Korea and Malaysia which enjoy favorable economic growth have invested part of their foreign reserves into the sovereign wealth funds sector. For example, China Investment Corporation (CIC) a sovereign wealth fund which manages China’s $3.44 trillion in reserves has aggressively invested worldwide with a sole mandate of seeking higher returns and to increase diversification of the country’s foreign reserve.

Moreover, sovereign wealth funds employ various investment strategies which are specialist in nature to ensure positive return on assets under management, as such drawing large pool of foreign investment into the investing market. As a result, there has been a significant wave of new sovereign wealth funds entering the markets since the early 2000s and their investment strategies appear to target foreign markets. In addition to that, sovereign wealth funds are actively taking positions in other institutional investors such as pension funds, hedge funds as well as the banking sector. It is reasonable t suggest that, sovereign wealth funds play a major significant role in emerging market economies in all areas of economic development processes. Since its inception in the early 1950s, its size and asset under management has increased dramatically from about $500 billion in 1990 to nearly $4 trillion in 2009, Kotter and Lel, (2010). As of now the size of the sovereign wealth funds sector is believed to have surpassed the hedge funds industry by far making them vital player in global investment. Furthermore, sovereign wealth funds investment styles have been characterized by their tendencies to invest in foreign markets. The repaid expansion in terms of both asset under management and the size does appear to suggest that sovereign wealth funds now represent a new paradigm in finance for economic development.

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) into categories, that is, the macroeconomic stabilization funds whose principal role is to stabilize government and export revenues against external economic shocks. (ii) Development funds specialize in the promotion of industrial development or socioeconomic schemes to raise potential output of the domestic economy, (iii) Reserve investment strategies  of sovereign wealth funds are aimed at increasing the return on currency reserves and more commonly is (iv)  the intergenerational savings funds which aim to accumulate wealth for future generations.  Due to the nature of their investment styles, (SWFs) can provide stable source of capital for both investors and markets, making them vital part of the economic and financial system. For example, the Russian Reserve Fund (RRF) and the Russian Social Welfare Fund (RSWF), more recently opted to invest locally in order to address liquidity issues in domestic market. There is increasingly evidence that, these state-owned investment vehicles play a vital role in addressing liquidity issues and promoting economic development of emerging markets. In addition to that, majority of sovereign wealth funds invest in both traditional and alternative markets highlighting their growing importance in economic development.

Despite their perceived benefits, the operations of sovereign wealth funds continue to raise serious questions on corporate governance since they generate incidence of inadequacy level of transparency and accountability because of their secretive nature. Thus, majority of these sovereign managed funds do not disclose their actual size, their investment objectives and the source of funds making prone to counterpart risk exposures. Although investing in sovereign wealth funds seems to raise concerns among investors and policymakers, there is no doubt that these state-owned funds play a major significant role in macroeconomic stabilization. For example, empirical studies by Patton, J.R (2012), highlight the importance of sovereign wealth funds in terms of liquidity provisions in financial institutions. In addition to that,   Raymond.H, (2010) noted that majority of sovereign wealth funds were actively involved in bailing the banking sector during the recent financial crisis.  Therefore, it can be argued that sovereign wealth funds present emerging markets with greater opportunities to mitigate external economic pressure. The investment nature of sovereign wealth funds can help countries to counter the adverse effects of changes in business cycles. The research conclude that, developing countries such as those in Latin America, Asian economies and in the Sub-Saharan African region might have  benefited by investing part of their surplus into the sovereign wealth funds sector.

1.1Research objectives

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are increasingly becoming popular among investors and policymakers particularly in emerging markets where majority of funds are located. There is a growing empirical evidence to suggest that sovereign wealth funds play an important role in macroeconomic stabilization and development. Hence, throughout the study, the research aims are:

v  To scrutinize the main macroeconomic economic conditions leading to the setting up and investments in sovereign wealth funds sector.

v  To analyze the role of sovereign wealth funds in macroeconomic management.

v  To examine the impact of sovereign wealth funds on economic development.

  1.2 Research questions

ü  Do macroeconomic conditions matter in sovereign wealth fund investments?

ü  What is the impact of sovereign wealth fund on economic development?

ü  What are the roles of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) on macroeconomic management?

1.3 Research merit

Over the last four decades the global economy has expanded more rapidly driven by openness and new economic fortunes were created among developing countries. There were upsurge in foreign capital flows to developing countries and according to Calvo,G.A, Leiderman.L and Reinhart,C.M,(1996), foreign capital inflows to emerging markets rose to  about $670 billion between 1990 and 1994. So, in the event of excess capital inflow or outflow sterilization was a common monetary policy tool used to stabilize the money supply in the economy of all major markets. However, acquiring excess foreign capital could be detrimental as it may cause domestic currency to appreciate thereby making local produced goods to expense in export markets. This could lead to slowdown in global demand for exports in the event of a strong currency, and may also affect growth rates of export-oriented economies. The fact that economic liberalism increased the macroeconomic volatility, sovereign wealth funds can be a major source for long-term capital in emerging markets. Therefore, there is no doubt that these funds represent a new paradigm in sovereign wealth management. As such, the merit of the research topic is that it shed light on the role of sovereign wealth funds on macroeconomic stabilization processes. 

Furthermore, sovereign wealth funds have been in operational since the early 1950s, but they were little known investment vehicles until more recently when increased their role in capital markets. In addition to that, sovereign wealth funds are increasingly becoming attractive to both investors and policymakers in recent years making researching into this topic an important area. Given the growing popularity of the sector, there are still little empirical studies regarding these state-managed wealth funds` on economic development. This largely due to the fact that, a lot of empirical studies have been focusing on macroeconomic stabilisation purpose, reserve investments and intergeneration saving funds. Also there has been a traditional assumption within the research community that only oil rich countries could invest part of their foreign exchange earning into the sovereign wealth funds sector. However, I think sovereign wealth funds can be central in managing sovereign debt burdens in developing countries. Furthermore, sovereign wealth funds can be a stable source of development finance for the majority of developing countries since they utilise various investment strategies linked to macroeconomic objectives of an investing country. As such, the research acknowledge the contributions made so far, but accept with caution the general perception among academics that only oil rich  countries have the upper hand to invest in sovereign wealth funds. How can one explain the rapid growth of these state–owned investment vehicles in last decade in non-oil exporting countries? For this reason, it appears as though there is a research gap in relation to the role of sovereign wealth funds in macroeconomic policies. So the merit of the research topic is that it contributes to knowledge and understanding of the impact of sovereign wealth funds on economic development. The research also argues that, sovereign wealth funds are part of macroeconomic stabilization forces safeguarding countries against adverse effects of changes in business cycles.

2. Methodology

Research on sovereign wealth funds is still on its early stage and majority of these sate-owned funds tend to be very secretive making it difficult to obtain data concerning their investment styles and objectives. However several empirical studies appear to agree that sovereign wealth funds are financed through trade and budgetary surpluses. So the research methodology focuses on economic performance in emerging markets of Latin American economies from 1960 to 2013. The research methodology uses time series data analysis extracted from the World Bank to measures changes in GDP growth rates over time. Time series modelling and forecasting is fundamental importance to various practical statistical analysis in the areas of finance and economics. In this regards, the use of time series methodology in the study enables me to investigate the impact of sovereign wealth fund investment on economic development in emerging markets. Given that, the gradual opening up of domestic economies particularly in emerging markets resulted in huge capital inflows and exposed export oriented economies to risk exposure caused by changes in business cycles. The vast majority of developing countries experienced positive growth and accumulated unprecedented level of foreign exchange reserves in the last decades. However, the opportunity cost of holding liquid foreign assets were too high for  majority of developing countries  making investments in sovereign wealth funds more necessary as part of macroeconomic management. So, time series modelling is useful in understanding the impact of sovereign wealth funds on economic development.

Thus, time series modelling is a dynamic research tool used in modelling and to study past observations of an economic time series which describe the intrinsic structure of the series. Also time series in economics and finance can be used for forecasting future GDP growth trends and to forecast changes in business cycles over time. The Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model tends to assume that time series always tends to follow a specific statistical distribution and is in linear form. In addition to that, (ARIMA) model has gained popularity among research because of its flexibility to stand for several varieties of time series with simplicity. Empirical evidence by Matson,M.W, (1986), appear to suggest that most macroeconomic time series exhibit a clear tendency  to grow over time and can be characterized as trending making it a more popular research methodology. However, Beveridge.S and Nelson,C.R, (1981) indicate that cyclical or transitory movements can be observed in an economic time series. Also, time series is an integral part of every empirical investigation aiming at describing and modelling the evolution over time of a variable or a set of variables in a statistically coherent manner Neusser.K, (2013). Moreover, time series may focuses on descriptive statistics which typify empirical properties and regularities of using basic statistical theories such as mean, variance and covariance mechanisms. However, time series in economics enable statistical properties such as mean, variance and covariance to be measured from the data to give a clear summary of observable trend of a given economy. In addition to that, time series methodology is critically important because it enable theories to be tested and also to explore new information regarding the research question or problem.

2.1Reason for using time series

Reasons for using time series data analysis  is that research on  sovereign wealth funds is still on its early stage making it difficult in obtaining data and majority of these sate-owned funds tend to be very secretive. However several empirical studies appear to agree that sovereign wealth funds are financed through trade and budgetary surpluses. The research methodology uses time series data analysis extracted from the World Bank to measures changes in GDP growth rates over time. So time series methodology enables researchers to appreciate the underlying sequence and functions that produce observation and having the knowledge apply time series data analysis permits a mathematical model to be developed. For example, the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) can be developed within a time series to make short-term forecasting using past observations, policy evolutions and monitoring among others. As such, the use of time series methodology in the research helps in the prediction and forecasting economic performance of the region in question. Time series is useful in determining the macroeconomic conditions for necessary for sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and examine their impact on economic development. In addition to that, using time series methodology, help me to develop a mathematical model to explain the role of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) on macroeconomic management? Furthermore, majority of time series data in economics is believed to follow a linear or quadratic function making it easy to be performed using Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average.  Seasonality is a trend that repeats itself systematically over time.  In addition to that, time series methodology frequently attempts to filter data under examination to reduce errors. Therefore, the use of time series enables me to investigate the role of Sovereign Wealth Funds on economic development with a degree of accuracy.

Methods

The research method focuses on economic performance of Latin American economies between 1960 and 2013 and a sample of data on GDP growth rates is obtained from the World Bank to measure economic conditions of the region from. Also a large sample of data covering a period of 50 years can help provide reliable results in relations to topic under investigation. In addition to that, the use of GDP is relevant because sovereign wealth funds rely on economic performance of the investing economy. The research use SPSS computer software used in time series analysis and this approach will enable me to perform linear regression analysis so I can examine macroeconomic condition for sovereign wealth funds investment in emerging markets.

Reference

Calvo,G.A, Leiderman.L and Reinhart,C.M,(1990),Inflows of capital to Developing Countries: Journal of Economic Perspectives 10(2),pge 123-139, American Economic Association Publishers.

Raymond. H, (2010), Sovereign Wealth Funds as Domestic Investors of Last Resort during Crisis: International Economics 123(2010),pge 121-160, Germany.

Kotter .J and Lel.U, (2010), Friends or foes? Target selection decisions of sovereign wealth funds and their consequences: Journal of Financial Economics 101(2011),pge 360-381, Elsevier Ltd.

Knill,A.M ,Lee,B.S and  Mauck.N, (2007),Sovereign wealth fund investment and the return-to-risk performance of target firms: Journal of Financial Intermediation 21 (2012),pge 315-340, Elsevier Ltd.

Wignall,A.B,Hu,Y.W,Yermo.J (2008), Sovereign Wealth and Pension Fund Issues :Financial Markets Trends, OECD- ISSN 95-2864.

Subramanian.A, (2007), Behavioral Finance: A Review and Synthesis; European Financial Management, Blackwell Publishers .UK

Matson,M.W, (1986),Univariate Detrending Methods with Stochastic Trends, Journal of Monetary Economics 18(1986),pge 49-75. North-Holland.

Beveridge.S and Nelson,C.R, (1981),A New Approach to Decomposition of Economic Time Series and Transitory Components with Particular  Attention to Measurement of the Business Cycle:  Journal of Monetary Economics 7(1981),pge 151-174. North-Holland.

Neusser. K, (2013), Time Series Analysis in Economics, available online:

http://www.neusser.ch/downloads/TimeSeriesBook.pdf accessed on 27/07/2014