Weekly Digest: APG keen to allocate more to India, Asia; Maharlika to make first investment soon
TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK
APG is keen to allocate more funds to India and Asia, preferring private deals in infrastructure and real estate than public market investments in equities and even bonds.
The equity market is “relatively expensive” whereas the private route is cheaper and less susceptible to “follies,” CEO Thijs Aaten said.
The advantage of private assets is that they're a lot less volatile, and, given the size of APG’s investments, it can set its own governance structures in line with how APG would like them, Aaten said.
It has €569 billion ($622 billion) in assets under management, with €6 billion in India.
Source: Bloomberg
The country’s sovereign wealth fund, Maharlika Investment Corporation, is poised to make its first investment after its board approved the fund's investment and risk management framework earlier in July.
The board approved the MIC’s founding principles and framework, governance structure and high-level investment approach for 2024 to 2028.
The fund is prioritising energy projects, for which it wants to raise around $1 billion. It also wants to invest in infrastructure and agriculture.
Source: Business Inquirer
The Cook Islands’ proposal to establish a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) has received strong public support during recent consultations.
The initiative aims to secure the nation's financial future, with potential funding from future seabed mining revenues.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Management reports widespread interest and engagement in the consultations.Officials are confident about finalising the policy and progressing towards legislation in the near future.
Source: Cook Islands News; MFEM
OTHER INVESTMENT NEWS
AUSTRALIA
Australian superannuation fund Rest has expanded its impact investment portfolio with a $75 million commitment to TowerBrook Capital Partners' Delta private equity impact fund.
The fund targets mid-sized companies in North America and Western Europe that align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on sectors benefiting from decarbonisation and deglobalisation.
Rest Super is also co-investing in LiftWerx, a Canadian wind turbine servicing company. The investment brings the super fund closer to its goal of allocating 1% of its total portfolio to impact investments by 2026.
This is Rest’s second private equity impact investment, following a commitment to specialist private equity firm ARCHIMED in June.
Source: Rest
Australian Retirement Trust (ART) and Qantas Super have signed a merger agreement, potentially bringing 26,000 members and A$9 billion (about $6 billion) in funds under management to ART.
This follows ART's recent streak of successful mergers, including the May transfer of AvSuper's A$2.43 billion and 5,000 members, and last August's incorporation of over 25,000 members from Woolworths and Endeavour Group.
The Qantas Super merger, pending final approvals, is expected to its benefit members through ART's wider range of investment products and asset classes.
Source: Australian Retirement Trust
TelstraSuper has expanded its renewable energy infrastructure investments, committing to Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners' 'Net Zero Power Fund'.
This aligns with the fund's goal to allocate 1% of its portfolio to climate change-focused opportunities by 2025. The investment includes solar farms, battery projects, and sustainable data centers.
Chief Investment Officer Graeme Miller emphasises these investments aim to deliver strong long-term returns while supporting the transition to a net-zero economy.
Source: TelstraSuper
CHINA
China said it will gradually raise the country’s retirement age in a “voluntary” and “flexible” manner in a key policy document released on July 21, bringing the suggested policy change back into the public spotlight.
Beijing has repeated the authorities’ policy direction to raise the retirement age on various occasions over the past few years as the country grapples with an aging population.
The remarks during last week’s third plenum of the Communist Party of China indicate a step closer to the reform.
The current retirement age for Chinese men is 60 and 50 for women, and 55 for women executives, much lower than in developed markets .
Source: Xinhua News Agency
HONG KONG
A Dubai prince will not establish a business presence in Hong Kong “in the foreseen future” after months-long controversy over his pledge to set up a $500 million family office in the city.
The Dubai-based family office of Sheikh Ali Rashed Ali Saeed Al Maktoum told the Post on July 15 that it was still interested in exploring business ventures in the region.
Source: South China Morning Post
JAPAN
The National Federation of Mutual Aid Associations for Municipal Personnel, known locally as Shichousonren, has opened a tender for a domestic active equity mandate benchmarked against the Tokyo stock price index.
Asset management firms bidding on the tender must be signatories to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, and the winners must incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into the investment process.
Source: Asia Asset Management
INDIA
The IT systems of India’s largest retirement fund, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), are dysfunctional and crash-prone.
Efforts to flag software and hardware deficiencies triggering incessant crashes over the past two and a half years have been ignored by its top officials, its officers have told Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
The EPF Officers’ Association has cautioned that “continued denial” of the problem will only exacerbate the situation and hinder future remedial efforts.
Source: The Hindu
KOREA
Korea is considering tripling the maximum amount of dollars the National Pension Service (NPS) can buy from the domestic foreign exchange market for advance funding to $3 billion a month from $1 billion to mitigate its impact on the local financial market, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The government wants the world’s No 3 pension scheme to spread out dollar purchases over a longer period, instead of buying the US currency in lump sums to settle deals.
Source: Korea Economic Daily
MALAYSIA
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has published its Sustainable Investment Stewardship Policy, becoming the first institutional investor in Malaysia to publish a standalone stewardship policy for sustainable investments.
The policy outlines the processes and guidelines that the fund follows to promote good sustainability practices among its investee companies and external fund managers.
Source: The Sun
SINGAPORE
Mapletree Investments, a property manager owned by state investor Temasek, is opening an office in Abu Dhabi.
It has re-hired Khairul Abdullah to lead its foray into the Middle East and scout for opportunities in the region, according to people familiar with the matter.
Abdullah was previously a vice-president at the firm before leaving to join Abu Dhabi’s biggest listed developer Aldar Properties, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Source: BusinessTimes
TAIWAN
Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed amendments to labor laws that allow employers to postpone the mandatory retirement age after consultation with employees.
The amendments to the Labor Standards Act remove the previous hard limit of 65 for mandatory retirement. Employers can now extend an employee's tenure if both parties agree.
Source: Taiwan News
The above briefs were curated from company news releases and third-party sources.