2012 Reports

State-controlled entities as "investors" under international investment agreements

Low, Jo En

A review of the definition of "investor" and investor-state dispute resolution clauses in 851 international investment agreements (IIAs) reveals that, except in two cases, state-controlled entities (SCEs) (including sovereign wealth funds and state-owned enterprises) have equivalent standing to their purely private counterparts as "investors" under such IIAs. This article highlights the various ways in which SCEs are covered under the definition of "investor".