Last updated on December 2nd, 2020 at 03:43 pm
Data acquired by Finbold.com indicates that direct investments in Special Purpose Companies by Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) have spiked by 2,532.35% YOY. As of November 24, 2020, the investment stood at $1.79 billion. In 2019, the figure was $68 million, an increase of 240% from the 2018 investment of $20 million. In 2017, the investment was at $50 million.
SPACs have found a perfect role
The popularity of SPACs this year has been tied to the harsh economic times. According to the research report:
“2020 has been a tremendous year for SPACs, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic that crippled the global economy. The pandemic resulted in massive uncertainty in the worldwide market. This year, with the uncertainty of raising money through the traditional means, was also uncertain. In this case, SPACs have found a perfect role to inject more funds into capital-starving companies. The unique position held by SPACs has seen sovereign funds make a bet in the sector.”
The research also overviewed the top ten largest sovereign wealth funds by total assets. The funds cumulatively own $5.65 trillion in assets. Norway Government Pension Fund Global leads with assets worth $1.12 trillion or 19.8% of the ten funds’ assets.
China Investment Corporation is second with assets worth $1.04 trillion, followed by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in the third spot with $579.62 billion in assets. Kuwait Investment Authority is fourth, with assets worth $533.65 billion. Hong Kong Monetary Authority Investment portfolio lies fifth with assets amounting to $528.05 billion.
Other leading SWFs include GIC Private Limited ($453.2 billion), Temasek Holdings ($417.35 billion), The Public Investment Fund ($347 billion), National Council for Social Security Fund ($32499. billion), and the Investment Corporation of Dubai ($305.23 billion).
Read the full story with statistics here: https://finbold.com/sovereign-wealth-funds-investment-in-spacs-skyrockets-by-2500-in-2020/