Weekly Digest: GIC plans Japan push; KWAP launches $1.3bn alts strategy
TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK
GIC plans to grow the team of 40 staff looking at deals related to Japan and expects the pipeline to grow and is hunting for more deals as the governance overhaul and the end of deflation make the market more attractive, according to Bryan Yeo, deputy group chief investment officer.
“We think the initiatives that policymakers have put into place in recent years have really given them that impetus to start thinking harder,” Yeo said in an interview in Tokyo on May 28.
The country as a proportion of GIC’s overall portfolio dropped to 6% in 2023 from 12% as of March 2019.
Source: Bloomberg
Malaysia's pension fund for federal employees Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) will invest RM3 billion ($637.4 million) in Shariah compliant investments, making up 50% of the total Dana Pemacu capital commitment of RM6 billion.
Dana Pemacu will be a Malaysia-focused private markets investment strategy, targeting key economic sectors including food security, education, silver economy and healthcare, energy transition, digital economy, financial inclusion, and other impact-related critical themes.
It will be executed through separately managed account funds across private equity, infrastructure, and real estate.
The Shariah-focused 50% portion of the fund aims to create an impact in Shariah-compliant investment and enhancing overall private markets, as well as offering opportunities for ethical and socially responsible investing.
Source: KWAP
The National Pension Fund Management Committee, the highest decision-making body at Korea's National Pension Service (NPS), approved a new mid-term asset allocation plan for 2025-2029 on May 31.
The government also set a target return rate of 5.4% over the next five years for NPS.
NPS will allocate 14.9% of its assets to domestic equity in its target portfolio by the end of 2025, down from 15.4% by the end of 2024. The weight will be eventually lowered to 13% by the end of 2029.
By asset, equity will account for 55% of its new target portfolio for 2029, while fixed income and alternatives will make up 30% and 15%, respectively.
Seperately, the pension fund posted a 5.82% investment return for the first quarter, reaching and W1,101 trillion won ($799.9 billion) in assets under management as of March 31, according to its preliminary report on May 30.
Source: Ministry of Health and Welfare Korea; NPS
AUSTRALIA
Brighter Super is set to expand its "Queensland Investment Strategy" by investing an additional A$500 million, raising the total to A$1.5 billion invested in the state.
The super fund is currently seeking partnerships with fund managers to strategically allocate these funds across infrastructure, energy, and housing.
Current investments include stakes in the Sunshine Coast Airport and the Cooper's Gap Wind Farm, underscoring the fund's commitment to sustainable development and community benefits.
Source: Financial Standard
Australia's largest superannuation funds have doubled their investments in high-emitting companies over the past two years, according to environmental finance group Market Forces.
The group's latest analysis found that Australia's largest 30 super funds had $39 billion invested in what the group describes as "climate wreckers". In 2021, that figure was $19 billion.
Clean energy investment from super funds decreased by half a billion dollars to $7.7 billion over that period.
Source: ABC News
OTHER INVESTMENT NEWS
MALAYSIA
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) outsourced around 17% or RM189 billion ($40.15 billion) of its total assets under management last year to external managers.
As of December 31, 2023, RM189 billion had been outsourced to external fund managers for investing in equity and fixed income instruments. As of December 2023, the size of the EPF’s investment assets stood at RM1.14 trillion ($242.2 billion).
The funds under management by external equity and fixed income managers have nearly tripled to RM189 billion in the last five years, according to Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir chairman at EPF.
Source: EPF
SINGAPORE
Temasek Holdings is part of a group of investors led by Brookfield Asset Management that wants to acquire a 53.32% stake in French renewable energy developer Neoen.
The plan is to buyout 100% of the Paris-based firm.
Brookfield is in talks to buy the controlling stake from Neoen’s main shareholders Impala, a French firm controlled by billionaire Jacques Veyrat, Fonds Stratégique de Participations (FSP), and Neoen CEO Xavier Barbaro for €39.85 ($43.2) a share.
Brookfield and its partners will then buy out the rest of the shares in Neoen at the same price.
FSP is owned by seven French insurers including BNP Paribas Cardif, Credit Agricole Assurance, and Natixis Assurances.
Source: Brookfield
Singapore’s National Council of Social Service (NCSS), attracted 17 bids for its S$230 million (US$198 million) investment mandate.
Bidders include abrdn, Allianz Global Investors and Eastspring.
The NCSS tender closed on May 13, according to a notice on GeBiZ, Singapore’s portal for public sector tenders.
Source: Asia Asset Management
Temasek participated in a $200 million secondary investment funding round for Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart.
The other investor was Fidelity Management and Research Company.
Avendus Capital was exclusive financial advisor to Lenskart and its selling shareholders on this transaction.
Including this deal, Lenskart has raised about $1 billion in funding in the last 18 months.
Source: Entrepreneur.com
The above briefs were curated from third-party sources and news releases.