Crossy,
Re:
"Best currencies to park your money IMHO are..
1) South African Rand
2) Australian Dollar
3) Norwegian Kronor
4) Canadian Dollar (clouded by the weakness of the Martin government and the Liberals deals with the socialist NDP)"
I like your picks. My own cash basket is almost the same except Aussie dollars are substituted with Singapore dollars for Asian exposure. Australia is a fair proxy for Asia but their trade balance, oil dependency could weaken them, and over time China will attempt source raw materials like iron ore from even cheaper markets, domestically or in nearby countries like Mongolia. Uranium alone won't keep Australia's dollar strong. Australia is also quite dependent on EU trade.
I like the Singapore dollar. This is Asia's equivalent of the Swiss Franc. Passive dictatorship, currency is managed against a trade-weighted currency basket (ie where China is likely headed) which favors Asia. Positioned to grow on shipping growth in Asia. Small population, likely to survive downturns. Very long-term, prudent planning by central bank. Gov't of Singapore investment corp (GIC, a former client of mine) is undoubtably the most savviest gov't investor around. Korea is now emulating their style which has generated massive returns for the country by investing in what the US Social Security program would be invested in if they wanted to avoid underfundedness. ie first class hedge funds, buyout and venture capital funds, real estate. Their investment professionals would put the investment arms of most nations to shame.
GIC has made more for its people off US funds than any other gov't investment arm period. Assets of $100bn, about US$22000 per man woman and child in Singapore and growing fast.
gic.com.sg
FWIW
-David
More on GIC:
GIC is a global investment management company established in 1981 to manage Singapore's foreign reserves. With a network of six overseas offices in key financial capitals around the world, GIC invests internationally in equities, fixed income, money market instruments, real estate and special investments
Since our inception, we have grown from managing a few billion dollars, to more than US$100 billion today. With a portfolio this size, we are now amongst the world's largest fund management companies.
31 Mar 2005 GIC RE Acquires Portfolio of 3 Serviced Apartments in Japan
23 Mar 2005 Major UK Regional Shopping Centre Transaction Involving Prudential and GIC Real Estate
13 Mar 2005 GIC Real Estate And Unite Group Form £350 Million Joint Venture
10 Mar 2005 GIC Real Estate, Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners And Realstar Group Form Joint Venture To Acquire Portfolio Of 73 Hotels In United Kingdom For £1 Billion
GIC Special Investments (GIC SI) was set up in 1982 as the private equity investment arm of GIC. We manage a diversified global portfolio of investments in venture capital and private equity funds, as well as direct investments in private companies.
GIC SI has a long history in the world of private equity. We were one of the earliest institutional investors in venture capital funds in Silicon Valley. Investing in what are now some of the best names in the venture capital sector in the US: Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners, Summit Ventures and TA Associates.
From providing capital to US leveraged buyout and venture capital firms in the early 80s, GIC SI’s portfolio has since grown significantly. Our investments over the years have covered the areas of leveraged buyouts, venture capital, growth capital, mezzanine financing, distressed situations and other special situation investments. Since inception, we have invested in over 400 fund partnerships and companies. Today, GIC SI ranks as one of the largest private equity investors worldwide.
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