Brunei Investment Agency

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Brunei Investment Agency ( BIA for short ) is the Brunei State Fund . It is subordinate to the Ministry of Finance of the Sultanate and is largely financed by income from the country's oil exports.

history

The fund was established in 1983 and was entrusted with managing the currency reserves and external assets of Brunei. On July 1, 1983, the Brunei Investment Agency began its work. The fund is headquartered in Bandar Seri Begawan , the capital of Brunei . The aim of the fund is to finance greater economic diversification and the accumulation of financial resources for the period after the exhaustion of fossil fuels, which today form the backbone of the Bruneian economy. According to the US State Department which amounted assets under management of the BIA in 2009, 30 billion US dollars . The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute listed the Brunei Investment Agency as 21st among the world's largest sovereign wealth funds by assets under management.

investment

Logo of the Dorchester Collection , owned by the BIA

Information about the investment strategies of the fund is due to hardly any regulations in Brunei, which enable the fund to operate largely covertly. The sovereign wealth fund's portfolio includes real estate, stocks and bonds, with larger positions in the United States in particular. The most well-known investments of the Brunei State Fund include:

  • the Dorchester Collection , a luxury hotel chain, is owned by the BIA
  • In 1987 the BIA bought the Beverly Hills Hotel for $ 185 million
  • the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Singapore
  • larger blocks of shares, for example in Bahagia Investment Corporation (Malaysia), Draper Esprit PLC (United Kingdom) and in Patersons Securities Limited (Australia)

criticism

As part of the boycott of Bruneian companies and properties abroad following the introduction of the death penalty for homosexuality in Brunei , hotels belonging to the Brunei Investment Agency were boycotted on the initiative of actor George Clooney . On April 6, 2019, protests against the tightening of the law in the Sultanate broke out in front of the Dorchester in London.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) - Sovereign Wealth Fund, Brunei - SWFI. Retrieved August 30, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Top 81 Largest Sovereign Wealth Fund Rankings by Total Assets - SWFI. Retrieved August 30, 2019 .
  3. ↑ James Chen: Brunei Investment Agency. Retrieved August 30, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Don Ross: hotels dodge Brunei boycott | TTR Weekly. Retrieved August 30, 2019 (American English).
  5. ↑ Claudia Wanner: George Clooney's call for a Brunei boycott is having a great effect. Accessed August 30, 2019 (German).