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☆ Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund overtakes Singapore's GIC to top spending table
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-03 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) was the top spender among global sovereign wealth funds last year, accounting for about a quarter of the $124 billion splashed by state-owned investors, according to a preliminary report by research consultancy Global SWF. The Saudi fund boosted its deal activities from a total of $20.7 billion in 2022 to $31.6 billion in 2023, the research said, even as most other counterparts tapered down their spending. Overall, global sovereign wealth funds deployed 20% fewer funds compared with 2022, despite most major stock markets seeing a rally last year. "This may signal an overly cautious approach, as there is no shortage of capital to put to work among these institutions," the report, which tracks activities across the world's sovereign funds, noted. The Saudi fund has sought frequent deals and joint ventures in its pursuit toward Vision 2030 — a plan originally launched in 2016 which aims to increase economic diversification away from oil.

Persons: spender, Saudi's, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Organizations: Saudi, Public Investment Fund, Saudi Crown, Nintendo, Materials Locations: Saudi, Japan, Brazil

☆ Brazil's QI Tech raises $200 million in General Atlantic-led round
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - QI Tech, a Brazilian financial services provider to businesses, raised 1 billion reais ($200 million) in a Series B round led by General Atlantic to fund future acquisitions while preparing for a potential public offering, the company said on Tuesday. The Sao Paulo-based firm provides banking services and digital infrastructure for businesses. With the funds, QI Tech will be "very attentive to market opportunities," co-founder and Chief Financial Officer Marcelo Bentivoglio told Reuters. In addition to General Atlantic, the round was joined by Across Capital Partners, which already was a shareholder in the firm. QI Tech had also previously received investments from Singapore's GIC in a round that raised $50 million.

Persons: Marcelo Bentivoglio, Bentivoglio, Patricia Vilas Boas, Peter Frontini, Chris Reese Organizations: SAO PAULO, QI Tech, General Atlantic, Tech, Reuters, Across Capital Partners, Thomson Locations: Sao Paulo, Brazil

CVC targets an IPO that would value the company at more than 10 billion euros, the people said, with the company placing around 10% of its share capital, one of the people said. The private equity firm's partners are not expected to sell stock through the IPO, the people said. Blue Owl, CVC, GIC and HKMA declined to comment. On-road payments provider DKV Mobility, in which CVC has a minority holding, decided to defer its IPO plans because of volatile markets, Reuters reported earlier this month. London-headquartered CVC, which oversees more than 160 billion euros in assets, is striving to transform itself into a diversified asset manager.

Persons: de, Singapore's GIC, Renk, DIF, Glendower, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Elisa Martinuzzi, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Partners, Reuters, CVC, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Kuwait Investment Authority, DKV Mobility, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, Netherlands, Kuwait, London

☆ Indian billionaire Ambani's Reliance Retail to raise $598 mln from ADIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBENGALURU, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail Ventures said on Friday it would raise 49.67 billion rupees ($598 million) from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, in the latest bet on India's largest retailer ahead of a potential stock market listing. "Reliance Retail has demonstrated strong growth and adaptability in a market that is evolving at an unprecedented pace," said Hamad Shahwan Aldhaheri, executive director of the private equities department at ADIA. The investment comes as Reliance set an internal target to raise $3.5 billion. ADIA and Singapore's GIC had invested $664 million each into the retail unit in 2020 as Reliance sold a 10.09% stake at a valuation of 4.68 trillion rupees. Morgan Stanley acted as financial adviser to Reliance Retail Ventures for the ADIA deal.

Persons: Amit Dave, Mukesh, Hamad Shahwan Aldhaheri, Singapore's GIC, Ambani, Morgan Stanley, Chris Thomas, Maju Samuel Organizations: Reliance Industries, REUTERS, Rights, Retail Ventures, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, ADIA, Reliance, KKR, Qatar Investment Authority, Reuters, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Reliance Retail Ventures, Thomson Locations: Ahmedabad, India, Abu Dhabi, ADIA, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Bengaluru

In a statement to Reuters, Mobile World said it would announce the information once the deal was concluded. The sources said the deal could value Bach Hoa Xanh, Vietnam's third largest grocery chain, at around $1.5-$1.7 billion. Founded in 2015, Bach Hoa Xanh, backed by Vietnam's retail giant Mobile World Investment (MWG.HM), is running more than 1,700 stores in Vietnam's southern and south-central provinces. The Ho Chi Minh City-headquartered company had first planned the sale of a stake of up to 20% in Bach Hoa Xanh last year. Bach Hoa Xanh was expected to be profitable from next year, its managing director told investors last month.

Persons: GIC, Bach, Xanh, Yantoultra Ngui, Chayut, Kane Wu, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Investment, Mobile, Revenue, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, HANOI, Thailand, Vietnam, China, United States, Chi Minh City, Bach Hoa, Singapore, Phuong Nguyen, Hanoi, Bangkok

Reliance Retail is India's largest retailer and is led by Asia's richest person Mukesh Ambani. Of that, QIA last month announced a $1 billion investment and KKR & Co (KKR.N) this week $250 million. Reliance sold a 10.09% stake in its retail unit in 2020, valuing it at 4.68 trillion rupees ($56.4 billion). When ADIA invested in Reliance Retail in 2020, it said it was part of its strategy of targeting market leading businesses in Asia linked to the region's consumption-driven growth. Reliance Retail reported a consolidated net profit of 91.81 billion rupees ($1.11 billion) for the financial year that ended in March 2023, on revenue of 2.6 trillion rupees.

Persons: Singapore's GIC, Mukesh Ambani, QIA, ADIA, PIF, Marks, Spencer, Ambani, Sriram, Aditya Kalra, Yantoultra Ngui, Alexander Smith Organizations: Reliance, Asia's, Reuters, KKR, Co, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Reliance Industries, Reliance Retail, Unilever, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, DELHI, DUBAI, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, GIC, Asia

☆ Thomson Reuters, Blackstone, others to sell $2.9 bln LSEG shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Signage for the London Stock Exchange Group is seen outside of offices in Canary Wharf in London, Britain, August 3, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville Acquire Licensing RightsSept 6 (Reuters) - Investors in the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L), including Blackstone (BX.N) and Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO), (TRI.N), are launching a sale of roughly 28.3 million shares worth about 2.3 billion pounds ($2.9 billion), bookrunners said on Wednesday. The consortium, which includes Canada's CPPIB and Singapore's GIC, intends to sell a total of about 43.1 million shares over time in the bourse operator. Thomson Reuters, parent of Reuters News, holds a minority stake in LSEG. ($1 = 0.8002 pounds)Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Toby Melville, bookrunners, Singapore's GIC, Pushkala Organizations: London Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Blackstone, Thomson Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Canary Wharf, London, Britain, bourse, LSEG, Bengaluru

Leading the round alongside BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, were Canada Pension Plan, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and, as previously reported, pension investor Investment Management Corporation of Ontario. The fresh funds will help the firm expand its factory footprint, Hartman said. Separately, Northvolt has assembled its first energy storage system products in Poland and expects to start customer deliveries from later this year. "We have a business plan... we always want to make sure we have access to the markets," Hartman said. Reuters has previously reported, citing sources, that Northvolt was preparing for an initial public offering that could value the company at more than $20 billion.

Persons: Helena Soderpalm, IMCO, Northvolt, Alexander Hartman, Goldman Sachs, Baillie Gifford, Swedbank, Singapore's, Chow, Hartman, Supantha Mukherjee, Simon Jessop, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, BlackRock, Reuters, Management Corporation of Ontario, Volkswagen, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, BMW, Volvo, Thomson Locations: Vasteras, Sweden, BlackRock, Canada, STOCKHOLM, LONDON, Swedish, Europe, North America, Ontario, Hong Kong, Germany, United States, Scania, Poland, Stockholm, London

Its group chief investment officer Jeffrey Jaensubhakij told Reuters GIC was keen to invest in Chinese companies that do business within China and do not export to the United States. "There are some 'China for China' type of investments that still make sense," he said. GIC said exposure to China was important for a diversified portfolio. GIC is the world's seventh-biggest sovereign investor with $690 billion in total assets, according to research firm Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. The share of emerging market equities in GIC's portfolio rose to 17% by end of March from 16% a year earlier.

Persons: Jeffrey Jaensubhakij, Reuters GIC, GIC's, GIC, Lim Chow Kiat, Beijing scrambles, Ang Eng Seng, Jaensubhakij, GIC's Lim, Yantoultra Ngui, Xinghui, Xie Yu, Julie Zhu, Kane Wu, Christina Fincher Organizations: SINGAPORE, Reuters, HK, Ant Group, Temasek, Infrastructure, Sovereign Wealth Fund, Thomson Locations: China, Singapore, United States, Beijing, U.S, Asia, Japan, Xinghui Kok

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Thames Water has become the poster child for a British water industry under fire for its poor environmental record and financial mismanagement. After a period as a listed company, Thames Water was acquired by German utility RWE (RWEG.DE) in 2001. Thames Water said on Monday they would provide 750 million pounds, and added it had strong liquidity of 4.4 billion pounds. FINANCESNearly 60% of Thames Water's debt is index-linked, according to ratings agency Standard & Poor's, saddling it with higher repayments as inflation soars. Thames Water was fined 3.3 million pounds last week, while Southern Water was fined 90 million pounds in 2021.

Persons: Margaret Thatcher's, Australia's Macquarie, Abu, Hermes, Ofwat, Sarah Young, Chiara Elisei, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Margaret Thatcher's Conservative, Water, Thames, Ontario, BT, China Investment Corp, Thames Water, Macquarie, Yorkshire Water, Severn Trent, United Utilities, The Times, Environment Agency, Southern Water, Thomson Locations: Britain, Here's, Abu Dhabi, Thames, Southern Water, United, England

☆ Iberdrola, Masdar to develop $1.5 billion Baltic wind farm, Expansion reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, July 5 (Reuters) - Spanish utility Iberdrola (IBE.MC) has signed an exclusive deal with Abu Dhabi's Masdar to develop a 476 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm in German waters in the Baltic Sea, Expansion newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified market sources. The Baltic Eagle wind farm being built off Germany's northeastern coast will have 50 wind turbines and is part of Iberdrola's strategy to sell advanced renewable projects to raise cash to help finance its 47 billion euro investment plan. Masdar, a renewable energy company owned by the United Arab Emirates' sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, could buy a stake of up to 49% in the project, Expansion said. The newspaper had previously reported that the top candidates jostling for the stake were Masdar, Swiss fund EIP and Australian asset manager Macquarie's green investment arm GIG. This would be the third agreement this year between Iberdrola and a large sovereign wealth fund, having previously agreed deals with Norway's Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) and Singapore's GIC.

Persons: Abu Dhabi's Masdar, Iberdrola, GIC, David Latona, David Goodman Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Baltic Eagle, Norway's Norges Bank Investment Management, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Baltic, Iberdrola

☆ Exclusive: Bain Capital nearing final close of Asia fund worth $6 billion - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Kane Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The committed capital to the fund has exceeded the firm's initial target of $5 billion, said one of the two people and a third source with knowledge of the fundraising. Bain Capital declined to comment. About $131.6 billion in total was raised in 2022 for Asia-focused funds, about half of 2021's $251.2 billion, Preqin data showed. Fundraising so far this year has totalled just $15.5 billion, the data showed. Last year, Bain Capital closed a $2 billion "special situations fund" for Asia Pacific to cover a range of asset types but with a focus on real estate.

☆ Explainer: How Kakao won a takeover battle against HYBE for K-pop pioneer SM Entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

For more than two decades, the K-pop industry was dominated by the trio until BTS rose to global fame in recent years, making its agency HYBE the largest music label in the country. It is the second-largest entertainment group in South Korea by market value at $2.8 billion, trailing HYBE, which is worth $5.5 billion. Lee filed an injunction request to block the deal that was approved by a court, and sold a 15% stake in SM to rival agency HYBE, setting up a takeover battle. Kakao, the most popular social media platform in South Korea, is expanding aggressively into the entertainment industry where it already owns a smaller K-pop agency, Starship Entertainment. In January, Kakao Entertainment announced a 1.2 trillion won ($966.27 million) investment from Singapore's GIC and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, giving it more firepower for the SM bid.

☆ This emerging markets fund outperforms by finding ideas in small- and mid-cap companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

A keen appreciation for ideas that fly under the radar helped one emerging markets fund outperform during the pandemic. Since starting at the Matthews Emerging Markets Small Companies (MSMLX) fund in 2020, Vivek Tanneeru said he has kept his focus on small- and mid-cap companies to generate alpha (returns above a benchmark). For example, his Matthews Emerging Markets Sustainable Future fund (MISFX) fund, which he founded in 2015, is also given five stars at Morningstar. One stock Tanneeru is particularly bullish on now is Legend Biotech . For Tanneeru, small caps are a more nimble way for investors to gain access to emerging markets and tap into consumer preferences there.

☆ S.Korea's Kakao Entertainment secures $966 mln investment from sovereign wealth funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Largest overseas investment in Korean content firm, co saysBusiness includes K-Pop, video, online comics and novels"Recession-proof" nature of business likely a draw -analystsSEOUL, Jan 12 (Reuters) - South Korean tech conglomerate Kakao Corp (035720.KS) said on Thursday unit Kakao Entertainment secured a 1.2 trillion won ($966.27 million) investment from leading sovereign wealth funds. Kakao, however, did not name the sovereign wealth funds in its statement. Kakao Corp shares rose 1% in early morning trade, outperforming a 0.2% rise in the wider market (.KS11). Unlisted Kakao Entertainment has a business portfolio ranging from K-Pop - including artist management - to shows, movies, and online-targeted, comparatively low-cost content such as comics called webtoons and serial web novels. "Having secured funds, Kakao Entertainment may seek to strengthen its artist lineup that can better target overseas markets via M&A or other ways."

☆ Direct ChassisLink changes hands in $3.6 billion deal-sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The deal marks a win for Apollo, which acquired a majority stake in Charlotte, North Carolina-based Direct ChassisLink and logistics and digital supply chain solutions company Blume Global from EQT in 2019 for around $2.5 billion, including debt. Excluding Blume's remaining value, Apollo made two times the money it invested, according to a person familiar with the matter. Blume separately raised money from outside investors in 2021 at a valuation of $500 million. Direct ChassisLink controls a fleet of over 151,000 marine and 100,000 domestic chassis. Reporting by David Carnevali in New York; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Singapore's GIC, partner to buy Canadian REIT Summit for $3.3 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and Canada's Dream Industrial REIT (DIR_u.TO) will buy Canada's Summit Industrial Income REIT (SMU_u.TO) for about C$4.46 billion ($3.30 billion), excluding debt, the companies said in separate statements on Monday. GIC and Dream Industrial REIT (DIR) will form a joint venture for the deal, with GIC owning 90% and DIR owning the rest, according to the statements. The deal builds on GIC's recent real estate purchases globally and gives it access to the Canadian industrial space. In September, GIC, along with another private equity firm, bought U.S. commercial REIT Store Capital Corp (STOR.N) for about $14 billion. Including debt, the deal is valued at C$5.9 billion, Summit said.

☆ Singapore's GIC says global recession scenario possible, eyes Australia opportunities
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Praveen Menon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, one of the world's biggest investors, said it is factoring in the potential for a global recession and was prepared to stress-test its portfolio if need be. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterFears of a global recession continue to grow amid challenges posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an inflation-driven cost-of-living crisis and a sharply slowing Chinese economy. Lim also said, however, that he was confident global central banks could contain inflation and eventually bring it down. GIC is ranked as the world's fifth-biggest sovereign investor with $690 billion in assets, according to research firm Global SWF. "If there are suitable projects or assets in Australia, our infrastructure team will definitely want to look at it very closely," he added.

☆ The golden age of globalization is clearly over, says Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Su-Lin Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"The golden age of globalization that we experienced in the last 30 years since the end of the Cold War has ended clearly and we are entering a new era, a new era that will be marked by greater geopolitical contestation," said Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe golden age of globalization has ended and a fundamental change to the way the world works is underway, said Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong. "Where previously the logic was, countries do not have to be friends to do business with one another. In fact, the hope was that the more we trade and invest in each other, we will tamp down geopolitical rivalry," Wong said. "The generation of Chinese born perhaps in the last generations, many of them idealized America and the American way of life.

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