Iraq Development Program - Godvig Capital to double Iraq-listed stock holdings

Godvig Capital to double Iraq-listed stock holdings (30/04/08) Alternative investment firm Godvig Capital plans to double its Iraqi-listed equity holdings in 2008, betting on rising foreign investment and oil-industry restoration.

		The company, which manages assets of about $100 million (50 million pounds), told Reuters it would raise the share of Baghdad-listed stocks in its Iraq-focussed Babylon Fund to 80 percent, up from 40 percent. "Even if all-out war breaks out, it will be for the short term. (And) whoever gets to decide the future of the country is not interested in nationalising the private sector," Godvig founder and fund manager Bjorn Englund said in a phone interview from the southern Swedish city of Lund.
The fund, which Englund says is the only open-ended one focused on Iraq, has grown to about $20 million in assets under management from $6.7 million since its launch in 2006. About a quarter of its assets are in Iraqi Treasury bills and bonds and 20 percent is in companies with the bulk of their business in Iraq but listed elsewhere in Middle East, including Kuwait-listed Iraq Holding Co. KSCC. The fund is also invested in Western oil-exploration firms focused on Iraq, which has the world's third biggest proven oil reserves, such as Canadian-listed Westernzagros Resources (WZR.V: Quote, Profile, Research) and London-listed Petrel Resources. "We've seen broad-based growth from oil-related companies and Iraqi stocks as well as returns from high-yield bonds. We've also seen slight appreciation in (Iraqi) dinar," Englund said. Source: Reuters

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