London, 28 April 2008 —Global Insight, the world's leading company for economic and financial analysis and forecasting, announced today that Sovereign Wealth Funds have been growing at a staggering 24% annually for the past three years. Projecting out this annual growth rate, Sovereign Wealth Funds will surpass the entire current economic output of the United States by 2015, and European Union by 2016.

Nigeria has grown its sovereign wealth the most rapidly over the last five years, followed by Oman and Kazakhstan. The largest player remains China, followed by Russia and Kuwait.

Global Insight's new Sovereign Wealth Fund Tracker maps out the soaring growth of financial resources in emerging economies that is changing the nature of ties between developed and developing countries. Sovereign Wealth Funds now represent the most powerful group of global investors and combined sovereign wealth reached US$3.5 trillion in 2007, more than enough to match the total annual economic output of the United Kingdom, Germany or France.

"Armed with such large amounts of debt-free cash, Sovereign Wealth Funds are the new financial power brokers, replacing the combined financial muscle of hedge funds and private equity, and usurping central banks as the international capital providers of last resort," stated Jan Randolph, Head of Sovereign Risk at Global Insight.

According to Global Insight's Sovereign Wealth Fund Tracker, in 2007 Sovereign Wealth Funds injected up to $80 billion into bank shares or bank equity stakes in the U.S. alone and are expected to provide even more capital in 2008 and 2009.

"There has since been a shift of financial weight from West to East, particularly to China, Asia, the Middle East and other energy countries," continued Randolph. "Riding the energy and commodities boom, together with the wilting dollar, Sovereign Wealth Funds will continue to be the key players in the changing financial landscape of the global economy thrown into flux by the credit crunch," he concluded.

• The largest Sovereign Wealth (SW) generator remains China, with approximately US$1.2 trillion, followed by Russia and Kuwait.
• The fastest growing generators of SW over the last five years were: Nigeria 291%: Oman 256%; Kazakhstan 162%; Angola 84%; Russia 74%; and Brazil 65%.
• High energy and commodity prices, combined with a declining dollar, have turbocharged Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) in the Middle East, and spawned a new generation of these Funds.
• Record inflation in SWF countries is the new "push factor" behind SWF's foreign expansion. Inflation has intensified in China, U.A.E, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait, creating pressure to invest domestic money abroad.
• The vast majority (93%) of SWF equity investment has so far targeted the western financial sector. But there is new interest in energy and mining companies.
• In January 2008 alone, worldwide acquisitions by SWF's totalled US$20.6 billion or nearly one-third of the total US$60 billion that SWFs made in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for the entire year 2007. SWFs accounted for 35% of world M&A activity in 2007, and 28% of all M&A in the US during January 2008, exceeding M&A activity from private equity buyouts, which fell in the last quarter of 2007, as the credit crunch unwound debt leveraging.
• SWFs have fostered new alliances with private equity to avoid scrutiny. SWFs already account for approximately 10% of private equity investments globally and should grow further in the next few years.

The "Sovereign Wealth Fund Tracker," part of Global Insight's Sovereign Risk Service, provides in-depth analytical quarterly reports on SWF activity, including funding sources, evolving legal and policy environments affecting SW flows, and investment strategies, investment vehicles and specific mergers and acquisitions.

To find out more, please visit:
Sovereign Wealth Fund Tracker: www.globalinsight.com/SWFtracker
Global Insight Sovereign Risk Service: www.globalinsight.com/SRS

About Global Insight
Global Insight, Inc. (http://www.globalinsight.com/) is a privately held company that brought together the two most respected economic information companies in the world, DRI and WEFA. Global Insight provides the most comprehensive economic and financial information available on countries, regions and industries, using a unique combination of expertise, models, data and software within a common analytical framework to support planning and decision-making. Through the world's first same-day analysis and risk assessment service, Global Insight provides immediate insightful analysis of market conditions and key events around the world, covering economic, political, and operational factors. The company has over 3,800 clients in industry, finance, and government with revenues in excess of $105 million, over 675 employees and 25 offices in 14 countries covering North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.