Weekly Digest: INA deepens ties with China; GIC weighs Tokyo skyscraper sale
The following briefs are curated from press releases and third-party media sources.
TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK
Indonesia Investment Authority and The Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) announced a cooperation framework agreement to deepen economic collaboration and investment cooperation between the two parties.
Areas of interest under the agreement include infrastructure, energy resources with an emphasis on renewables, and information and communications in Indonesia.
Potential joint investments will focus on projects situated directly within Indonesia, or in funds specifically targeting such projects. Both entities are also keenly exploring opportunities for financing the strategic projects within Indonesian territory.
Source: INA
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC is weighing the sale of a top-grade Tokyo skyscraper and has approached potential buyers about the property, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The tower, 43-storey Shidome City Centre in one of Tokyo’s central business districts, may fetch a price of at least ¥300 billion ($2 billion), two of the people said.
Any deal of that size would make it one of the most expensive office building transactions ever in Japan.
GIC has asked Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking and Jones Lang LaSalle to advise on the sale, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the matter is private.
Source: Bloomberg
Korea's National Pension Service (NPS) has tripled sustainable investment that considers environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors over the past one year.
According to its 2022 report unveiled on September 4, the amount of investment assets under the responsible investment category nearly tripled to W384 trillion ($288.3 billion) at the end of 2022 from W130 trillion in 2021.
NPS says that it invested about 43% of its entire investment assets worth W899 trillion as of the end of last year with considerations for responsible investment.
NPS is expected to undertake a big paradigm shift in investment as nearly half of all asset groups it invests in are in the responsible investment category.
Source: NPS
OTHER INVESTMENT NEWS
CHINA
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has participated in the private placement of $100 million, five-year sustainable eurobonds by JSCB Uzpromstroybank, Uzbekistan’s second-largest bank.
AIIB invested a total of $25 million in the issuance.
The funds raised will be used to finance green projects, including those supporting increased energy efficiency, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable construction, water security and financing for small and medium-sized enterprises and women-led initiatives, AIIB said.
AIIB invested in the placement alongside the International Finance Corporation, the German Investment and Development Corporation and the Austrian Development Bank.
Source: AIIB
KOREA
Korea Asset Management Corporation, the quasi-governmental organisation that acquires and resolves financial institutions' non-performing loans and restructures businesses, has launched a request for proposals (RFP) for two asset managers for a W100 billion (74.79 million) blind fund mandate.
The fund will focus on non-performing loans under the Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, with a maturity of five years and an 8% targeted internal return, according to the RFP.
Applications are open until September 25, while the managers will be selected by end of November.
Potential asset managers must have experience in non-performing loan fund management. They must also have a minimum of two senior management personnel with a minimum of five-year non-performing loan investment experience.
Source: Korea Asset Management Corporation
SINGAPORE
Advanced MedTech Holdings Pte, a medical device maker backed by Singapore’s state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte, has chosen to list in Singapore instead of the US, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company has picked Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp. to work on its planned initial public offering, which could raise about $200 million to $300 million.
A listing in the city-state may take place as early as the end of this year and could value the firm at about $1 billion, they said.
Source: Bloomberg
Richard Hu, Singapore’s longest serving finance minister and former Monetary Authority of Singapore chairman, died at 96.
Hu was a member of MAS’s board for 26 years from the inception of the regulator in 1971 to 1997.
He served briefly as MAS’ managing director (July 1983 to December 1984) before taking on the role of MAS Chairman at the start of 1985. He served as Chairman till the end of 1997.
Source: MAS
A consortium including sovereign wealth fund GIC and Canada’s CPPIB has launched a sale of roughly 28.3 million shares worth about 2.3 billion pounds ($2.9 billion) in the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).
This follows a sale in May of about $3.4 billion shares in the bourse operator as the investor group seeks to offload its stake in LSEG.
LSEG separately said it plans to buy back about £750 million pounds ($940 million) worth of limited-voting ordinary shares through an off-the-market purchase.
Blackstone and Thomson Reuters are also part of the consortium.
Source: Reuters
THE PHILIPPINES
The Government Service Insurance System is seeking a seat on the board of directors of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) even as the infrastructure conglomerate transitions to private ownership.
If MPIC’s majority shareholders are able to buy back enough shares, it will be delisted from the Philippine Stock Exchange.
GSIS has a 12% stake in MPIC. In a letter to MPIC, GSIS said that it intends to remain a shareholder of MPIC even after the completion of the voluntary delisting of the tollways and infrastructure conglomerate.
Source: Philstar
TAIWAN
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has voiced concern over the health of three domestic life insurers after they released their financial statements for the first six months.
The commission said it would send warning letters to Shin Kong Life Insurance, Mercuries Life Insurance, and Hontai Life Insurance for failing to keep their risk-based capital above the required 200%.
Insurance rules also require all life insurers to maintain a net worth of more than 3% in at least one of the latest two inspection periods, the commission said.
Life insurers unable to meet the requirements must come up with enhancement measures such as increasing their capital, real-estate disposals or other solutions, the commission said.
Source: Taipei Times