E. M. RUSAKOV Candidate of Historical Sciences sovereign wealth fund Keywords: emerging markets, China, Gulf countries, foreign investment In the last two decades, a serious stratification has occurred among developing countries (the former "third world"), primarily due to the high growth rates of the economies of China, India and a number of other fast-growing countries. These dynamically developing countries are making significant adjustments to the balance of power in the global economic and financial arena. One of the manifestations of increasing their weight in the global economy was the transformation of welfare funds from insurance instruments to investment institutions. The path of such transformation can be thorny, as it is shown in the article by V. V. Samartsev on the example of a Chinese investment corporation. But its final station, as a rule, is one - buying up foreign assets. The " pot " becomes an investment lever. Such investments involve risks for both wealth funds and recipient countries. Still, it's worth the candle: they remain an important, even vital tool for those fast-growing countries that have the opportunity to create such a fund. THIRD WORLD STRATIFICATION The initial stratification of the " third world "was recorded by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) several decades ago: it is reflected in the United Nations designation of" least developed countries " (LDCs). Sometimes they are called the "fourth world". The emergence of the term reflected the negative outcome of stratification in developing countries, some of which were most notably lagging behind in economic development, unable to break the cycle of poverty and stagnation. Back in 1981, the first conference on the problems of "less developed countries"was held. The list of "least developed countries" includes the poorest countries with an annual per capita income of less than $750, a low human development index (HDI) and an underdeveloped economy. It cu ... Read more