Weekly Digest: Singapore blocks Income Insurance-Allianz deal; PGGM hands Japan property mandate to abrdn
TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK
The Singapore government will block a proposed S$2.2 billion ($1.7 billion) deal by Allianz SE to buy a majority stake in a homegrown insurance firm, three months after the transaction sparked a public backlash.
The government decided it wouldn’t be “in the public interest” for the Income Insurance Ltd. deal to proceed in its current form, Minister of Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong told parliament on Monday.
The city-state isn’t satisfied that Income can fulfill its social mission as a co-operative after the acquisition, he added.
Source: Bloomberg
PGGM, the $339 billion Dutch pension fund, appointed abrdn to manage a new Japanese real estate mandate.
The focus is on residential properties, with abrdn's local subsidiary overseeing operations.
This move expands abrdn's real estate business in Japan, with the firm recently naming Harumi Kadono as head of Japan real estate to support this growth.
The mandate's value was not disclosed.
Source: abrdn
OTHER INVESTMENT NEWS
AUSTRALIA
Vocus, an Australian telecommunications company owned by Macquarie Asset Management and Australia’s third largest pension fund Aware Super, announced a binding agreement to acquire TPG's Enterprise, Government and Wholesale fixed business for A$5.25 billion ($3.53 billion).
The deal, announced on October 14, will position Vocus as a key digital infrastructure operator in Australia.
Source: Macquarie Asset Management
CHINA
The National Social Security Fund recorded an investment return of 0.96%, or Rmb25 billion ($3.5 billion) in 2023, including a realised profit of Rmb79.5 billion, and Rmb54.5 billion loss in fair value of trading assets, the National Council for Social Security Fund said.
This is up from the -5.07% loss in 2022. The fund’s average annual investment return since inception in 2000 is 7.36%.
“In 2023, the fund's investment achieved positive returns, which is a result of diversified asset allocation,” the council said in a statement.
Source: National Council for Social Security Fund
HONG KONG
The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) announced the launch of Hong Kong Family Office Nexus, a strategic collaboration between the FSTB and Bloomberg with the goal of attracting family offices from around the world to establish or expand their presence in Hong Kong.
The partnership with Bloomberg will focus on four key pillars, namely community building, knowledge sharing, technology support and philanthropic collaboration.
The FSTB, together with Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy (HKAWL), will collaborate with Bloomberg on various initiatives to bolster Hong Kong's family office ecosystem.
Source: HKSAR Government
INDIA
Singapore's GIC, BlackRock and Capital Group are among those that have made bids to buy stock in Hyundai Motor India’s $3.3 billion initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
Baillie Gifford and FMR are also looking to participate in the record-breaking offering in Mumbai, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.
Source: Bloomberg
KOREA
Korea Post is seeking four international asset managers to oversee a $200 million equity mandate for its insurance unit.
Two of the winning bidders will be responsible for managing a US equity strategy, which will be benchmarked against the S&P 500 Index.
The other two will manage a global equity strategy benchmarked against the MSCI All Country World Index, the government postal agency said in a request for proposals on October 7.
This is the ninth tender this year for Korean Post, one of the most prolific Korean asset owners in outsourcing investments.
Source: Asia Asset Management
Korea’s Scientists and Engineers Mutual-aid Association (SEMA) is seeking three asset managers for an overseas equity mandate, its fourth tender so far this year.
Two of the winning bidders will oversee an emerging market strategy, which is benchmarked against the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.
The other winning bidder will be appointed for an India equity strategy, which is benchmarked against the MSCI India Index, SEMA said .
Source: Asia Asset Management
MALAYSIA
Government-linked investment companies and government-owned entities should not “crowd out” private investors when investing in developing Malaysia’s economy.
Khazanah Nasional Bhd Managing Director Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said government-owned entities should work with private companies, government, regulators, fund managers, foundations, non-governmental organisations, and academia, among others, to drive greater investments in economic growth in the country.
Source: The Sun
SINGAPORE
The chief investment officer of the Temasek voiced unusual enthusiasm for continuation funds, in which private equity managers shift hard-to-sell assets from an older vehicle into a brand-new one.
The repackaged assets are then offered to investors such as Temasek, known as limited partners.
“We see that as a very interesting opportunity for us to come in and find some really good assets in the private equity funds,” Temasek CIO Rohit Sipahimalani said at the Bloomberg Buy-Side Forum in Singapore.
The CIO said his firm will “look to invest alongside” private equity firms in the new vehicles.
Source: Bloomberg via Yahoo
The above briefs were curated from company news releases and third-party sources.