Weekly Digest: AustralianSuper mulls Trump return; AIIB bets on Indian renewables
TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK
The heads of AustralianSuper say the rise of Donald Trump should not be a lightning rod for global financial markets, but his policies around renewables and trade demand close scrutiny.
While AustralianSuper CIO Mark Delaney argues the political impact of another Donald Trump presidency is probably overdone, Australia’s largest superannuation fund has significant renewable energy infrastructure investments in the US.
“There are policy implications when it comes to energy. America is our private markets centre, so we’re looking for opportunities in infrastructure and those kinds of long-term investments need as much policy stability and clarity as possible,” Paul Schroder, CEO at AustralianSuper said.
Source: Australian Financial Review
OTHER INVESTMENT NEWS
CHINA
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) invested INR4.86 billion (around $58.4 million equivalent) in India’s largest renewable energy Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT).
SEIT is co-sponsored by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and Mahindra Susten Private, the dedicated renewable energy platform of India’s Mahindra Group.
The InvIT, Sustainable Energy Infra Trust, or SEIT, has eight operating solar power generation assets of 1.54 gigawatt-peak total capacity located nationwide in India.
Source: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
The AIIB and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to renew and complement the existing framework of cooperation through co-financing activities.
The MoU will focus on strengthening both sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure; reducing the digital infrastructure gap in Asia; enabling regional cooperation through cross-border trade and connectivity; and facilitating joint efforts to scale up resource mobilisation.
Source: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
JAPAN
The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) plans to expand active investments in Japanese stocks and bonds as the world's largest pension fund relaxes its criteria in the selection of asset managers, its president said.
GPIF's newly introduced data science-based methods of evaluating performance of asset managers would allow it to select "a reasonable number" of high-performing active fund managers in Japanese assets, president Masataka Miyazono told reporters.
In December, GPIF removed some criteria in asset manager selection, including the size of assets under management and the history of fund operation, opening for emerging asset managers with short track records.
Source: Reuters
Dai-ichi Life Insurance invested $50 million in Prologis Targeted US Logistics Holdings, a sector-specific US logistics fund managed by Prologis, marking the first time it has invested in an overseas sector-specific fund.
Investing in overseas real estate funds since fiscal 2017, Dai-ichi has focused its investments on diversified US and European funds, while at the same time evolving its investment strategies and investment schemes.
The insurer aims to improve its investment returns by actively investing in overseas real estate funds based on diverse investment strategies and methods. In the US, population growth and the increased popularity of e-commerce has led to rising demand for logistics facilities in recent years, and Dai-ichi Life believes this trend will continue.
Source: Dai-ichi Life
Japan Post Insurance is holding off from buying domestic sovereign bonds until yields rise, amid expectations that Bank of Japan’s sub-zero interest rate policy will end later this year.
“Should the yield climb to attractive levels, we can move up the schedule for next fiscal year and accelerate purchases. But we are not planning to buy super-long debt at lower yield levels when the nation is about to change the course of monetary policy,” Hiroyuki Nomura, senior general manager of investment planning department, said January 19.
Source: Bloomberg
REST OF THE WORLD
Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek has publicly given his support to a bill that would require state investments, including pensions like the Missouri State Employee Retirement System (MOSERS) and public endowments, to divest from countries that the US has sanctioned or has classified as adversaries, and notably China.
The bill, which has not yet had a public hearing, would allow two years for institutions to get rid of investments in China, Russia, Iran, Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria, as well as any other "entity designated by the governor in consultation with the attorney general," the bill reads.
According to him, MOSERS has about $200 million invested in China.
Source: Springfield News-Leader
The above briefs are curated from press releases and third-party media sources.