Insto roundup: Temasek backs Indonesian medtech startup; GIC and Sequoia India lead $150m funding round
AUSTRALIA
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Apra) released a draft guidance for financial institutions on managing climate risks.
The draft guidance is open for consultation until July 31 and introduces guidelines for measuring climate change financial risk such as physical, transition and liability risks. The draft guidance also covers governance, scenario analysis and disclosure principles.
It was developed in response to a demand for “greater clarity of regulatory expectations and examples of better industry practice” but does not create new requirements or obligations for institutions, Apra said in a statement.
Source: Apra
AMP Capital’s Boe Pahari is set to leave the business as AMP Limited demerges into two separate businesses. The fund manager's private markets business, which includes infrastructure equity, infrastructure debt and real estate, will break away from AMP and be listed separately on the Australian Securities Exchange by early 2022.
As part of the restructuring, Boe Pahari, who was removed as chief executive of AMP Capital after sexual harassment allegations and is currently global head of infrastructure equity, has decided to leave the business.
AMP Capital is currently undergoing a search for a new chief executive. It has not said who will become the new CEO, but David Atkin, who was appointed deputy chief executive in December, will lead the business in the interim. The firm said Pahari is working with the infrastructure equity team to transition his duties.
Source: AMP
AustralianSuper appointed Jessica Melville from Willis Towers Watson (WTW) as senior manager of portfolio strategy for mid-risk investments. She had been with the financial advisory firm for 12 years and was most recently head of strategic advisory for the investments business in Australia. Her last day was April 16 and she was based in Sydney.
A WTW spokesperson did not comment on whether there are plans to hire a replacement but told AsianInvestor that “her responsibilities will now be covered by the investments team in Australia”.
AustralianSuper has been contacted for comment on when Melville joined the super fund, whether the role is a replacement one or new and to whom she reports.
Source: Financial Standard
INDONESIA
Indonesian telemedicine startup Halodoc added Temasek to its list of backers after the Singapore state investor participated in an $80 million funding round.
Other first time investors in the startup included the venture capital arm of Indonesian conglomerate Astra and that of state-owned mobile operator Telkomsel. Existing investors include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Indonesian tech unicorn Gojek.
The funding reflects continued investor interest in the healthtech sector, following an increase in demand for online medical services due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Halodoc’s competitors include Indonesia’s Alodokter and Singapore’s Doctor Anywhere.
Source: Nikkei Asia
KOREA
Korea Post, which had W134 trillion ($120.39 billion) of total assets at the end of 2020, is looking to hire three local and foreign fund managers for a socially responsible bond mandate of unspecified value for its insurance unit.
The tender marks the second in as many months after Korea Post sought bids for four fund managers for its first socially responsible domestic equity mandate in February.
Applicants for the new tender must have at least three years of experience managing bond funds, and oversee a minimum W10 billion of fixed income assets, among other criteria. Foreign applicants are required to have local partnerships with Korean financial institutions.
Source: Asia Asset Management
The Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS), which had W8.2 trillion ($73.8 billion) of total assets in 2020, is looking for three international managers for a $105 million global infrastructure mandate focusing on the North American energy sector.
The mandate is structured as a commingled close-ended equity fund with a seven-year investment period and a 7%-10% target internal rate of return. The fund will adopt a core and core plus investment strategy – investing in lower risk assets with stable income flows – and focus on traditional energy sectors in North America.
Applications are open until May 3. GEPS will select the winning bidders by the end of May, with each given $35 million.
Source: Asia Asset Management
SINGAPORE
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and venture capital firm Sequoia India co-led a funding round in Indian digital payments company Razorpay for the second time.
The two funds led the firm's $160 million Series E funding round, which tripled the startup’s valuation to $3 billion. Venture investors Ribbit Capital and Matrix Partners also took part. GIC and Sequoia India are existing investors in Razorpay, having co-led a $100 million Series D funding round in October 2020.
Headquartered in Bangalore, Razorpay plans to use the new funds to expand into banking and lending, make acquisitions and add services in Southeast Asia, the company said.
Sources: Business Times
Singapore’s Temasek signed a non-binding term sheet for a joint venture with Singapore-listed advanced materials and coating technology company Nanofilm.
The joint venture between Nanofilm and Temasek subsidiary Venezio Investments is known as Sydrogen Energy and will seek to further the application of Nanofilm’s solutions in the hydrogen energy space. Temasek Holdings owns a direct 5.25% stake in Nanofilm Technologies.
Source: The Edge Markets, SWF Institute
Temasek increased its stake in Singapore-based rechargeable batteries company SES by taking part in its latest Series D round. Led by General Motors, the investment of an undisclosed sum saw the participation of existing investors including Singapore’s Vertex Ventures (a subsidiary of Temasek) and Korea’s SK Inc.
The company will use the new funding to accelerate the commercialisation of its Li-Metal batteries, SES’s CEO said.
Source: DealStreetAsia
US private equity firm Stone Point Capital and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC are close to acquiring US retirement and savings plans provider Ascensus for approximately $3 billion, according to sources.
Ascensus was reportedly considering a public listing but moved toward a sale after getting strong interest from potential buyers. It is currently owned by private equity firms Genstar and Aquiline.
Source: Bloomberg
TAIWAN
Taiwan’s financial regulator fined three local fund houses a total of NT$13.5 million ($486,000) and ordered their investment heads to be sacked and barred from the asset management industry for three years over a bribery scandal involving the Bureau of Labor Funds (BLF), the pension fund supervisor.
The three firms – Fuh Hwa Securities Investment, Uni-President Asset Management, and Capital Investment Trust have been fined NT$4.5 million each for violating Taiwan’s securities investment and anti-corruption laws, the FSC says in a statement on April 22.
The scandal came to light in February when the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office arrested and charged Yu Nai-wen, former head of the BLF’s domestic investment division, for violating Taiwan’s anti-corruption law. The portfolio managers and analysts from the three firms were also charged.
Source: FSC
THAILAND
The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), a department under Thailand's ministry of finance, estimates the country’s new National Pension Fund will draw about Thb54 billion ($1.72 billion) in its first year.
FPO director-general Kulaya Tantitemits said the Thb54 billion will stem from contributions from private companies with over 100 employees, businesses that receive state concessions, Thai-listed firms, state enterprises and government units outside the Government Pension Fund Act, businesses that receive investment promotion and other companies willing to join the new pension scheme.
The new pension scheme, announced on March 30, will require participation from those companies in the first year, and eventually be mandatory for all formal employees who are not members of existing plans.
Source: Bangkok Post
INTERNATIONAL (EX-JAPAN)
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Hong Kong-based logistics real estate platform ESR doubled their investment into their logistics joint venture in Korea, bringing their total investment to $1 billion.
CPPIB and ESR have injected $500 million of new capital into their Korea Income Joint Venture, with the Canadian pension fund making up the majority of the contribution.
The joint venture was started in 2018 to focus on income-producing logistics assets in major metropolitan areas in South Korea. The portfolio, which is managed by ESR Kendall Square, comprises 12 institutional-grade modern logistics facilities with a gross floor area of 774,666 square metres.
Source: ESR
Blackstone Group has rolled over its investments in Mphasis To a new fund after dropping its attempt to sell the Indian IT outsourcing service provider earlier this year.
Funds owned by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), UC Investments (office of the chief investment officer of The Regents, University of California) and others will co-invest along with Blackstone to acquire as much as 75% stake in Mphasis, a press release issued by the real estate investment company.
The purchase consideration will vary between Rs152 billion to Rs210 billion ($2 billion to $2.8 billion), Blackstone said.
Source: VC Circle