Weekly Digest: Dubai ruling family member opens HK family office; HK family offices estimated at 2,700
TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK
Sheikh Ali Al Maktoum, the nephew of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is opening a family office in Hong Kong, one of the first high-profile international investors to respond to the city’s campaign to lure foreign capital.
The investment firm, which will manage up to $500 million, is looking for opportunities in Asia in sectors including artificial intelligence, construction, electric vehicles, tourism and fintech, Eleanor Mak, the firm’s chief executive officer, said in a Bloomberg TV interview.
Hong Kong is its first foreign outpost, and the family office has started engaging in talks with potential target companies.
Source: Bloomberg
Hong Kong had over 2,700 single-family offices in the city as of end-2023, according to a Deloitte study commissioned by the Hong Kong government. These family offices managed at least $10 million, while 885 of them had at least $100 million in assets.
Single-family offices generally do not need to apply for a licence to operate in Hong Kong. The study adopted a statistical methodology based on a proprietary database of ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families.
Source: Hong Kong SAR Government
The National Pension Service (NPS) plans to open up its fourth overseas office in San Francisco in the US by the third quarter of this year, aiming to actively participate in more diverse alternative investment opportunities.
The NPS has overseas branches in New York, London and Singapore.
Source: Korea Times
OTHER INVESTMENT NEWS
AUSTRALIA
Canadian pension fund investor, PSP Investments has increased its stake in Australia’s agriculture sector with an A$180 million ($118.3 million) investment to acquire 60% ownership of egg farm operator Ellerslie Free Range Farms.
Neither PSP nor Ellerslie has officially revealed the financial details of the transaction. However, according to corporate records, at the end of February, PSP was issued 180.5 million shares, each priced at A$1.
Ellerslie Free Range Farms is one of Australia's leading egg producers and represents PSP's first venture into the country’s poultry industry.
The Canadian fund’s latest acquisition further adds to its already significant $3.94 billion (A$6 billion) investment in various Australian agricultural ventures such as nut orchards, vineyards, crop aggregations, and livestock operations.
Source: AFR
CHINA
Florida pension fund managers are ready to begin the process of dropping investments in China-owned companies, anticipating that Governor Ron DeSantis will sign a bill directing divestment.
The bill, which was unanimously approved by the House and Senate, would require the State Board of Administration to develop a plan by September 1 for selling holdings tied to companies that are majority-owned by the Chinese government, the Communist Party of China or the Chinese military.
Divestment would have to occur within one year.
Source: CBS News
INDIA
Perfios, an Indian B2B SaaS fintech company, announced March 13 that Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), the late-stage venture and growth investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, will invest $80 million into the company.
With a growing presence beyond India in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, Perfios plans to continue its international expansion while also utilising the funds towards exploring inorganic growth opportunities.
The company will also continue to invest in the end-to-end customer opportunities across banking, insurance, and embedded commerce.
Source: Ontario Teachers’
JAPAN
Dai-ichi Life Holdings and Benefit One approved a $2 billion transaction that will see the life insurer take over the corporate services company following a rare bidding contest.
Benefit One became an equity-method affiliate of Dai-ichi Life on March 18 following the successful tender offer, the insurer said.
Dai-ichi Life turned to the deal as it seeks growth beyond the shrinking domestic life insurance market. It intends to use Benefit One to expand in services including health care and employee benefits.
Source: Dai-ichi Life
KOREA
The National Pension Service (NPS) supports the direction of the Korean government's corporate reform plan aimed at resolving the so-called "Korea discount" in the stock market, its investment strategy director said on March 14.
The National Pension Service, manager of the world's third-largest public pension fund, will plan on whether and to what extent it will allocate its assets after details of the reform plan are available, director Lee Suc-won told a press conference held in Seoul.
Source: Reuters
Dai-ichi Life Holdings has agreed to acquire a 19.9% strategic minority stake in US-based hedge fund and alternative investment manager Canyon Partners.
Dai-ichi will also be committing at least $1.3 billion of LP capital to several of Canyon’s commingled funds.
Canyon’s current management team will continue to lead the company, with its two co-founders and co-CEOs committing to stay on for at least five years.
Under the terms of the agreement, Dai-ichi has the right to acquire up to 51% of the equity interest in Canyon in 2027 and up to 100% in 2029.
Source: Canyon Partners, Dai-ichi Life
The Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS) seeks to hire eight local asset management firms for W400 billion ($300 million) active equity mandate targeting developed markets.
The investment will be structured as a discretionary fund, and selected managers must appoint a foreign asset manager as fund adviser. Applications are open until April 5.
Source: GEPS
The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) sent out three requests for proposals (RFPs) for securities, fixed income and alternatives mandates, respectively.
The alternative investments will focus on domestic and overseas funds including real estate, infrastructure and private equity. The fixed income RFPs include both government bonds and other types of fixed income investments.
The deadline for all RFPs is March 25. NHIS is a government entity responsible for the public health insurance system.
Source: NHIS (securities RFPs), NHIS (alternatives RFPs), NHIS (fixed income RFPs)
MALAYSIA
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) plans to commit up to RM250 million ($53 million) to catalyse mid-to-growth stage companies in Malaysia through its partnership with Gobi Partners, a pan-Asian venture capital firm.
The investments will focus on six strategic themes, which include healthcare focusing on aged care and silver economy; agriculture and food science looking at improving the food production ecosystem; financial services inclusivity; sustainability focusing on energy transition; education aiming at provision of quality education; and social infrastructure as well as future themes that would fit into EPF’s strategic mandate.
Source: EPF
SINGAPORE
Cintra, a subsidiary of Ferrovial, has inked an agreement to acquire 24% in IRB Infrastructure Trust (IRBIT) from GIC affiliates as well as a 24% stake in MMK Toll Road Private Limited MMK, which is the investment manager of IRBIT.
Completion of the acquisition is subject to certain conditions, including receipt of requisite regulatory and third-party approvals.
Source: GIC
The above briefs are curated from press releases and third-party media sources.