Browse > Home / Finance, Ministry of Finance / Finance Minister Nukaga requests IMF watch sovereign wealth funds, to battle protectionism

Finance Minister Nukaga requests IMF watch sovereign wealth funds, to battle protectionism

April 14, 2008
By Ken Worsley


Just as Japan is having discussions over legislation to prevent foreign investors from taking large stakes in airports and other such infrastructure, and the government appears set to reject The Children’s Investment Fund’s plan to boost its stake in J-Power from 9.9% to 20%, Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga made some interesting comments through a written statement released Saturday at a gathering of the International Monetary Fund’s policy panel. Nukaga’s statement went like this, according to the Japan Times:

“We recognize the [increased] presence (of Sovereign Wealth Funds in the global financial market). I support the IMF’s action to make full use of its experience in monitoring movements in international capital flows, and formulate best practices in the areas of governance, institutional arrangements and transparency…(Such efforts would benefit both SWFs and countries which receive their money) by minimizing protectionism in recipient countries.”

Emphasis added.

Is it safe to assume that if the IMF decides not to take up Mr Nukaga’s request to keep a closer eye on SWFs that protectionism is greenlighted by acquiescence?

Filed Under Finance, Ministry of Finance 

Social Bookmarks:
del.icio.us:Finance Minister Nukaga requests IMF watch sovereign wealth funds, to battle protectionism digg:Finance Minister Nukaga requests IMF watch sovereign wealth funds, to battle protectionism newsvine:Finance Minister Nukaga requests IMF watch sovereign wealth funds, to battle protectionism furl:Finance Minister Nukaga requests IMF watch sovereign wealth funds, to battle protectionism reddit:Finance Minister Nukaga requests IMF watch sovereign wealth funds, to battle protectionism
Related Posts:
No Surprise: Ministry of Finance working against moves to set up sovereign wealth fund
The silver lining on the recent Nikkei downturn? Japan’s government eyes extending tax breaks; A sovereign wealth fund is proposed
More on the possibility of Japan diversifying its foreign reserves
Sovereign Fund Not Happening: ‘Official’ at the G7 Conference
Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Sapporo, Sovereign Wealth Funds and Foreign Reserves: It’s Getting Political

Comments

7 Responses to “Finance Minister Nukaga requests IMF watch sovereign wealth funds, to battle protectionism”

  1. Kristofer on April 15th, 2008 5:42 am

    You can only sigh and shake your head when you read something like this. They are not even trying to hide their double standards anymore.

  2. David H. on April 15th, 2008 2:57 pm

    Wait.. Isn’t April Fool over? Is this not a joke? I have to admit, the government can come up with some of the funniest people I have ever seen.

  3. Ken Worsley on April 15th, 2008 3:43 pm

    That one is a good one, but my recent favorite is still Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama’s interview with the Weekly Asahi last October, as he describes why Western nations are moving toward abolishing the death penalty, and why Japan should not:

    As the Japanese place so much importance on the value of life, it is thought that one should pay with one’s own life for taking the life of another. You see, the Western nations are civilizations based on power and war. So, conversely, things are moving against the death penalty. This is an important point to understand. The so-called civilizations of power and war are the opposite of us. From incipient stages, their conception of the value of life is weaker than the Japanese. Therefore, they are moving toward abolition of the death penalty.

  4. BillyBuck on April 15th, 2008 6:30 pm

    Ken, Japan = madhouse

  5. mersey on April 15th, 2008 10:29 pm

    I’m guessing he’s opposed to Japan setting up its own SWF.

  6. Ken Worsley on April 16th, 2008 9:47 am

    And this just in this morning:

    Govt To Move Against TCI’s Bid For 20% Stake In J-Power

    The government has decided to thwart the Children’s Investment Fund’s bid to raise its stake in Electric Power Development Co. (9513), or J-Power, by urging the British hedge fund to drop or change its plans, The Nikkei learned Tuesday…

    This paragraph must be lifted straight from the press release:

    The government’s decision will be conveyed to TCI as early as Wednesday, shifting attention to the hedge fund’s response. Options will include refusing the request, but still altering or canceling its bid.

    ie, to save face they can publicly reject the request, but they still have to do what it says.

  7. Paul H on April 19th, 2008 1:46 pm

    How about “SWFs ask IMF to monitor nations to prevent protectionism”?

Got something to say?