Edwin Truman, senior fellow at Peterson
Institute for International Economics and
former assistant secretary of the US Treasury for International Affairs,
and Tom Karol, president
and chief operating officer of the Sovereign Investment Council, will
join us for a discussion on the national security implications of sovereign
wealth funds. Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are state-owned investments,
mainly generated by surplus savings from developing countries. They have
grown significantly due to rising energy prices and global trade
imbalances. SWFs have provided large bail-out investments for some major US
financial services corporations suffering from the effects of the economic
downturn. Policymakers have raised questions about the intentions and
strategies of SWFs, and the Treasury Department has recently established more
stringent policies to assess particular SWF investments. How significant
is sovereign wealth fund investment for the US economy? Is
there a national security concern in allowing foreign
states to hold significant stakes in US business? Are more
regulations and investigation of these funds needed?
Security for a New Century is a bipartisan study group for Congress.
We meet regularly with U.S.
and international policy professionals to discuss the post-Cold War and post-
9/11 security environment. All discussions are off-the-record. It is not
an advocacy venue. Please call (202) 223-5956 for more information.