Italy is the realm of sovereign wealth funds. Or at least, it's one of their favorite conquest grounds. More than a third of the companies listed on Piazza Affari are owned by this type of investor. A much higher percentage than that recorded in the markets of the major European countries, where the average share does not exceed 15-25%.
The data emerges from a study of the Consob entitled "Sovereign wealth funds and the regulation of investments in strategic sectors". According to the Commission's calculations, at the end of 2011, sovereign wealth funds managed assets for around 4.600 billion US dollars, equal to around 6% of world GDP, with a weight of equity investments on the capitalization of the stock markets of the main European countries of around 3%. .
These Funds, underlines the research, have attempted to take over some important companies in the US and Europe, "and this has increased the fears of Governments about the possible strategic purposes of the investments of the Funds themselves".
In fact "it is the possible transfer of control of a strategic company which may, under certain conditions, result in a threat to national security and in this perspective the compatibility with the EU legislation of the national regulations for the protection of strategic sectors must be assessed, such as those issued in France, in Germany and, recently, in Italy".
“If, in fact, the operations of Sovereign Funds can have positive effects on the financial markets in terms of greater liquidity and stability – the study points out – one of the major fears that the recipient States of the investments have warned is related to the possibility that some investments are carried out for economic reasons but for the political/strategic purposes of the Governments managing the Sovereign Funds".
