Singapore fund recession alert

Singapore's main sovereign wealth fund, sitting on multi-billion-dollar losses from its investments in Citigroup and UBS, today said a global recession was increasingly likely.

The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation predicted "extremely volatile" markets for the next one or two years.

Deputy chairman Tony Tan said: "We could be facing a recession which is longer, deeper and wider than any recession we have encountered in the last 30 years."

Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based investor Victor Chu warned that newer sovereign wealth funds from Russia and China need to take heed of older funds from Singapore and Kuwait and be more open about their activities.

If the funds, backed by a surge in foreign exchange reserves, are not more transparent, they risk a backlash from governments concerned about their power, Chu said in a Bloomberg interview in Dubai.