## Sovereign Wealth Funds - A Work Agenda

_Policy Papers, February 29, 2008_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Sovereign Wealth Funds - A Work Agenda](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/policy-papers/issues/2016/12/31/sovereign-wealth-funds-a-work-agenda-pp4234)

## Other formats

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: February 29, 2008
- Series: Policy Papers

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### Summary and definition
- Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are government-owned investment funds, set up for a variety of macroeconomic purposes.
- SWFs are commonly funded by the transfer of foreign exchange assets that are invested long term, overseas.
- SWFs are not new; some of the longer-established funds—for example those of Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore—have existed for decades.

### Drivers and recent trends
- High oil prices, financial globalization, and sustained, large global imbalances have resulted in the rapid accumulation of foreign assets particularly by oil exporters and several Asian countries.
- As a result, the number and size of SWFs are rising fast and their presence in international capital markets is becoming more prominent.

### Policy relevance and subject areas
- Relevant areas identified on the page: Exchange rate policy surveillance, Global financial stability report, Governance, Sovereign debt, Transparency.
- The page is presented as a Policy Paper and is associated with IMF work on SWFs.

### Publication and access notes
- Publication date: February 29, 2008
- The IMF eLibrary offers over 25,000 IMF publications in multiple formats.

*Source: Sovereign Wealth Funds - A Work Agenda — International Monetary Fund.*

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## Content in this bundle

- **Sovereign Wealth Funds—A Work Agenda; February 29, 2008**
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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/policy-papers/issues/2016/12/31/sovereign-wealth-funds-a-work-agenda-pp4234_