Sovereign Wealth Funds and International Regulation

Abstract

This chapter discusses the rise of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) as an example of the wider phenomenon of overseas state investment. It sets out the striking expansion in the number and financial size of SWFs, most of which are located in the Middle East and Asia, and then summarizes the lively debates about whether SWF investments are a threat to the West and how they should be regulated at the international level. It then considers the international legal and normative framework that has been created to regulate SWFs, as well as the key relevant elements of the EU’s policies and legal regulation. It concludes that there is little evidence that a binding international regulatory framework that strongly constrains the choices of recipient countries through law or norms has been established. Thus, much scope for national choices about policies towards SWF equity investments remains.