Singapore’s GIC Pte Ltd, Temasek Holdings and Central Provident Fund (CPF) are the only ones from Southeast Asia in a ranking of the world’s top ten sovereign wealth funds and pension funds compiled by an independent think tank for central banking, economic policy and public investment.
The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) ranks 850 global public investors with US$42.7 trillion of combined investable assets, grouping them into central banks, sovereign funds and pension funds.
The think tank also polled the institutions for their views on the investment climate and growth prospects and found that nearly 40% plan to raise their exposure to Asia compared to just 15% a year ago. And 60% plan to add to their green bond holdings over the next 12 to 24 months compared to 45% a year ago.
“The lower-for-longer interest rate environment appears to be driving public investors away from traditional regions and safe havens and towards newer markets, with China set to benefit in particular,” OMFIF says in its Global Public Investor 2021 released on August 25.
The report ranks GIC and Temasek sixth and seventh in the sovereign fund category with $453.2 billion and $431.3 billion of assets, respectively. CPF is ninth in the pension fund category with $311.1 billion.
Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management’s $1.2 trillion of assets puts it at the top of the sovereign fund category. The runners-up are China Investment Corporation with $1.05 trillion and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority with $579.6 billion.
Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is the top-ranked pension fund with $1.68 trillion of assets, followed by the Military Retirement Fund and Federal Employees Retirement System of the US with $979.4 billion and $782 billion, respectively. South Korea’s National Pension Service is fifth with $706.8 billion.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is the top-ranked central bank with $3.54 trillion of assets. Central banks of Japan and Switzerland are second and third with $1.44 trillion and $1.09 trillion, respectively.
Asia swept the top three spots in the combined ranking of the three categories. PBOC is first, GPIF second and Japan’s central bank third.
GIC ranks 21st, Temasek 23rd, the Monetary Authority of Singapore 28th, and CPF 30th.
Other Southeast Asian institutions in the top 100 are Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund at number 38, and the central banks of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.