Key Takeaways
- • China Investment Corporation is the largest sovereign wealth fund in Asia-Pacific by the Dakota ranking, with total assets of $1.57 trillion at the end of 2024 according to its annual report.
- • Dakota Marketplace puts the 10 largest Asia-Pacific sovereign funds at nearly $5.5 trillion combined, though several figures are dated and some rest on approximations.
- • Outside manager use varies widely: China's National Social Security Fund places 73.19% of assets with external managers, Hong Kong's Exchange Fund about 29%, and Australia's Future Fund uses more than 100 managers.
- • Danantara Indonesia, launched in February 2025, is the newest entrant; its $1 trillion-plus asset figure reflects operating companies rather than investable cash, and it began allocating to outside managers in 2026.
- • GIC does not publish its portfolio size, so its $850 billion ranking reflects a Dakota Marketplace figure rather than a disclosed one.
Summary
The ranking mixes data dates and definitions. Danantara's figure is attributed to Indonesia's president and includes the book value of operating companies such as banks, energy groups and telecoms, rather than investable capital; the fund had not published audited accounts as of August 2026, and its investable pool is up to $14 billion planned for 2026 from dividends. GIC states only that its portfolio is well over $100 billion, and reported a 20-year annualized real return of 3.4% to 31 March 2026. Temasek reported a net portfolio value of S$518 billion ($401 billion) at 31 March 2026, up S$49 billion in a year, with 43% in Singapore-based portfolio companies, 38% in global direct investments and 19% in partnerships, funds and asset management companies.
Outside manager use is a central theme. CIC reported alternatives at 48.5% of overseas holdings at end-2024, spanning private equity, private credit, hedge funds, real estate and infrastructure. The NSSF returned 13.22% in 2025, with 73.19% run by outside managers. The HKMA Exchange Fund returned 8.0% in 2025, with external managers running about 29% of assets. The Future Fund returned 14.8% for the year to 30 June 2026 and has historically invested only through external managers, while KIC allocates 21.9% to alternatives, both directly and through external managers.
Dakota characterizes sovereign funds as committing larger check sizes, taking longer to decide and increasingly co-investing alongside managers. Dakota Marketplace reports tracking more than 20 sovereign funds in the region with 145-plus verified investment team contacts.
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