BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany aims to promote hedge fund transparency during its Group of Eight presidency next year but does not expect to draw up any international rules on the issue, a senior Finance Ministry official said on Wednesday.
Barbara Hendricks, a junior finance minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition, said Germany wanted to look at ways to reduce possible risks to financial market instability with the initiative, not drive hedge funds out of business.
“It is not about smashing hedge funds’ business model, but rather identifying possible risks for the stability of international financial markets,” Hendricks told Reuters in an interview.
Germany takes over the presidency of the Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations for one year from January 1. The group’s other members are the United States, Japan, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Russia.
