Weekly investors roundup: CDPQ unit in India tech property deal; Vanguard's Australia pension plans
TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK
Ivanhoe Cambridge, the real estate subsidiary of Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), has partnered with global real estate development firm Mapletree to set up a platform that will invest over $1.87 billion (C$2.5 billion) in technology sector-focused workplaces in India.
Properties and projects have already been identified to meet these ambitions and Mapletree will lead all real estate development, project management, leasing, and operations.
The portfolio will align with Ivanhoe Cambridge’s and Mapletree’s commitments to achieve net zero operational carbon by 2040 and 2050, respectively.
Source: Mapletree
Korean telecom giant KT decided to reopen the candidacy for the CEO post in a board meeting February 9, after the National Pension Service (NPS) opposed a previous decision to select incumbent chief executive.
The candidate review process will start from scratch.
NPS is KT's largest shareholder with a 9.99 percent stake. The pension fund was against the company's decision to select incumbent CEO Ku Hyeon-mo as the final and only candidate for the post.
In December, NPS Chief Investment Officer Seo Won-joo said that reselecting Ku was "not compliant with the basic principle that CEO candidate appointments should take place through a transparent and fair process.”
Source: Korea Times
OTHER INVESTMENT NEWS
AUSTRALIA
Vanguard Group Inc. is moving ahead with plans to penetrate Australia’s A$3.3 trillion ($2.3 trillion) pensions market just months after launching its debut fund.
The US investment manager plans to offer a retirement investment product in the country by mid-year at the earliest, Australian head Daniel Shrimski said in a Bloomberg interview.
The project is moving ahead even as the firm’s head of superannuation unexpectedly departs. Michael Lovett, who spearheaded the Australian pension fund’s launch, will leave at the end of February, the company said in a separate statement.
Source: Bloomberg
HONG KONG
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Saudi Tadawul Group, the stock exchange operator in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, HKEX announced on February 6.
Under the MOU, HKEX and Saudi Tadawul Group will explore cooperation opportunities in fintech, ESG and cross-listings, as well as a number of other areas of interest to both exchanges.
“As we seek to position the Saudi capital market as an investment hub between East and West, we are seeing increased interest from issuers and investors in Asia. This MOU brings us one step closer towards enabling cross-listings and other areas of collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong,” Khalid Al Hussan, CEO of Saudi Tadawul Group, said in the announcement.
Source: Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing
INDIA
The Indian government is looking at mandating Life Insurance Corp of India and a state-owned pension fund to invest 1% of their assets under management in bonds issued by state-run power lending firms to finance green projects, a Reuters report said quoting two anonymous sources.
Both LIC and Employees' Provident Fund Organisation could be mandated to invest in such bonds issued by Power Finance Corp., REC Ltd. and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), according to the report.
Source: Reuters
India’s Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has created a 15-member consultative committee to review the regulatory framework on managing investments in the sector.
The committee will be headed by Supratim Bandopadhyay, former chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.
Source: Asian Insurance Review
LIC said it “might” review its stake in the embattled Adani Group.
Life Insurance Corporation Chairman M.R. Kumar told CNBC in an exclusive interview that the state insurer plans to have a discussion with the Adani management soon to get a better picture of the crisis engulfing the conglomerate.
Kumar said the meeting could happen in the coming days. Last week, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, Government Pension Fund Global, said it had exited from all Adani-related stocks during a results press conference.
KOREA
Korean insurance companies are facing an increasing burden on their finances as the amount of call options on their subordinated debt and hybrid bonds that mature this year exceeds W4 trillion ($3.21 billion).
Such securities carry high interest rates and are affected by more rigorous accounting and risk-based capital ratio requirements implemented in January.
According to sources, hybrid bonds and subordinated debt issued by major insurers will start to mature from this month. DB Life Insurance Co. and Fubon Hyundai Life Insurance Corp. must repay W80 billion of subordinated debt and W60 billion worth of hybrid bonds this month. The coupon rates of these securities are 5.2% and 6.2%, respectively.
Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance Co. is set to repay W100 billion of subordinated debt that matures in April at an interest rate of 4%.
Source: Maeil Business News Korea
PHILIPPINES
A top-level Japanese financial executive has expressed “strong interest” in investing via the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), Filipino Speaker Martin Romualdez said to local news media.
He made his comments to the press after his conversation with the high-level executive. The Japanese executive said there could interest particularly in the power sector, Romualdez said.
Source: GMA NEWS
State-run pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) collected a record high P6.8 billion ($372.6 million) worth of non-life insurance premiums in 2022, as more agencies move to secure their assets.
Data showed the pension fund for government workers and retirees recorded P6.8 billion in gross premiums written (GPW) in its non-life insurance business last year, its highest to date. This is also up by 15% from the 2021 GPW level of P5.9 billion.
GSIS is now the biggest non-life insurer in the country.
Source: Philstar Global
SINGAPORE
Singapore’s state-owned investor GIC and New Airways Pension Scheme, a UK-defined benefit pension scheme managed by British Airways, are investing in a life sciences complex in London’s King’s Cross.
The two investors are collaborating with the alternatives real estate business of fund manager BlackRock and Reef Group, an urban re-generation specialist.
Due to span 830,000 square feet, the Tribeca King's Cross project will host laboratory workspaces, as well as shops, restaurants and residential units across five buildings.
Source: Funds Global Asia
INTERNATIONAL
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) earned a 1.9% net return in its fiscal third quarter and ended the period with net assets of $401 billion (C$536 billion), an increase of $5.24 billion (C$7 billion) from the previous quarter.
CPPIB said the increase in net assets for the three months ended December 31 consisted of C$10 billion in net income less C$3 billion in net outflows.
During the third quarter, CPPIB invested $40 million in home improvement loans originated by GoodLeap LLC through a one-time whole-loan purchase with capital managed by Blackstone’s Asset Based Finance Group.
It also committed $100 million to General Atlantic Investment Partners, another $100 million to the Baring Private Equity Asia EQT Mid-Market Growth Fund and $180 million for a 10% stake in Hong Kong-based Tricor Group, among other investments in the quarter.
Source: CPP Investments