Weekly Digest: ADIA, GIC eye fire safety giant; NPS readies for WGBI entry
TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and GIC are in advanced talks to acquire a minority stake in Pye-Barker Fire & Safety in a deal that would value the company at more than $6 billion including debt, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The two sovereign wealth funds are discussing purchasing the stake from Pye-Barker Fire & Safety’s investors Leonard Green & Partners and Altas Partners, according to sources.
A deal hasn’t been finalised.
Source: Bloomberg
South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS) expects to attract $56 billion in foreign investments following the country's inclusion in the FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI) in November 2025.
Korean government bonds will make up 2.22% of the WGBI, which tracks approximately $2.5 trillion in global funds. The inclusion is expected to boost domestic bond portfolio performance, which has historically lagged behind overseas bonds.
From 2021 to 2023, domestic bond yields were just 0.15% compared to 3.47% for overseas bonds. The NPS committee has also approved additional funding of 460 billion won for 2024 pension payments.
Source: Korean Economic Daily
OTHER INVESTMENT NEWS
Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, ordered state agencies to stop investing in China and sell assets there as soon as possible, citing financial and security risks.
In a letter circulated to state agencies dated on November 21, Abbott said "belligerent actions" of China's ruling Communist Party had increased risks to Texas' investments in China and told investors to get out. Texas investing entities are prohibited from making any new investments of state funds in China, the letter said.
In 2023, Abbort encouraged Vanguard to create new emerging market funds isolated from “the risk posed by the CCP”. In 2024, he also instructed The University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Company (UTIMCO) to divest from China.
Source: Office of the Texas Governor
The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) has approved a commitment of up to $100 million to EQT Group's ninth Asia buyout fund, BPEA Private Equity Fund IX.
This adds to IMRF's existing $176.7 million aggregate commitments to BPEA funds.
Swedish investment firm EQT Group has set a hard cap of $14.5 billion for this fund, up from its initial target of $12.5 billion. The final fund size will depend on fundraising outcomes.
As of September 30, IMRF's total portfolio was valued at $56.4 billion.
AUSTRALIA
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) is advancing plans to boost investment in renewable energy transition following a Treasury investor roundtable.
The initiative aims to unlock institutional investment in large-scale renewable projects, supporting the government's target of 82% renewable energy by 2030.
ASFA chief executive Mary Delahunty emphasised that proper settings could attract both domestic and international pension fund investments.
Source: Financial Standard
An undisclosed $22 billion (A$34 billion) Australian superannuation fund has increased its mandate with Payden & Rygel by an additional $195 million (A$300 million), bringing the total to ~$456 million invested in the Payden Multi Asset Credit strategy.
The strategy focuses on diverse fixed income investments across global government, corporate, securitised, and emerging market debt, targeting overnight deposit rates plus 3-5% returns.
Source: Financial Standard
INDIA
Public sector entity Central Bank of India won approval from the Reserve Bank of India to enter the insurance business through a joint venture with Italian major Generali Group.
The public sector bank will start a joint venture with Generali Group with its local arms Future Generali India Insurance Co. and Future Generali India Life Insurance Co., subject to ongoing compliance of RBI regulations and approval from the insurance regulator.
Source: NDTV Profit
JAPAN
Dai-ichi Life Insurance, manages $222.9 billion in assets, has invested $6.45 million in Boost Capital No.1 Investment Limited Partnership, a fund focusing on Japanese IT startups.
This brings the insurer's total venture fund investments to $286.5 million across various Japanese asset managers. The company aims to diversify its portfolio and secure long-term returns by investing in early-stage companies, evaluating their management systems, philosophies, and investment methods.
Source: Asia Asset Management
SINGAPORE
The Singapore banking sector's overall exposure to the Adani Group, the Indian conglomerate embroiled in bribery and fraud allegations by US authorities, is small, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said.
"Banks have in place measures to review and manage their exposures to borrowers and counterparties," a MAS spokesperson said in a statement.
Source: Reuters/MAS
Temasek-backed 65 Equity Partners intends to purchase about 13% of Tuya’s total issued shares from New Enterprise Associates (NEA).
Tuya is a China-based cloud platform service provider.
“This investment via the Anchor Fund aligns strategically with our mandate of supporting high quality businesses seeking a listing on the SGX,” 65 Equity Partners Chief Executive Officer Tan Chong Lee said.
Source: TN Global
SOUTH KOREA
CPP Investments has announced a $716 million (C$1 billion) joint venture with Pacific AMC to develop hyperscale data centers in South Korea, committing $204 million to the initial project.
This marks their second data center partnership following the 2022 Jukjeon Data Centre venture. The investment responds to rising Asia Pacific data center demand driven by cloud computing and AI adoption.
Source: CPP Investments
Hanwha Life, South Korea’s first life insurance company, agreed to acquire a 75% stake in the parent of Velocity Clearing, a U.S.-based global financial services firm.
The Velocity Clearing management team will retain the remaining minority stake.
Hanwha Life said the acquisition is aimed at securing a foothold in the US financial sector to maximize the return on its investment.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approvals of various US and South Korean regulators.
Source: businesswire.com
South Korea's Teachers' Pension has selected four local firms — KB Securities, NH Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, and Hanwha Investment & Securities — as trading agents for its foreign equity investments.
The appointments, announced on November 19, follow a tender process launched on October 30. The pension fund has total assets of $19.4 billion as of end-2023, with 20.7% allocated to foreign equities.
Source: Asia Asset
(The above-mentioned briefs were collated from press releases and third-party stories.)