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☆ Asia stocks slide amid China woes, Japan catches up on chip sell-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong's Hang Seng (.HSI) declined 0.3%, with a subindex of tech stocks (.HSTECH) sliding 0.7%. An index of mainland blue chips (.CSI300) fell 0.4%, while a subindex of property stocks (.CSI000952) was flat. Weakness in Asia came despite small gains for Wall Street overnight, with U.S. stock futures flat. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 90 cents, or 1%, to $92.38, just under a 10-month high reached on Monday. Brent crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.3%, to $94.70 a barrel.

Persons: John Pearce, HSI, Hang, Kevin Buckland, Lewis Jackson, Stephen Coates Organizations: Benchmark U.S, Treasury, Federal, Bank of Japan, Bank of England, Japan's Nikkei, Tokyo, Reuters, Unisuper, Hang Seng developers, HK, Garden Services Holdings, Wall, U.S, Traders, U.S . West Texas, Brent, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Hong Kong, Australia, Asia, U.S, Saudi Arabia, Russia

☆ Australia’s $2.5 trln pension stash is one to envy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Sure, mining giant BHP (BHP.AX) has its headquarters in Australia’s second-most populous city, it’s a self-anointed coffee capital and boasts top-notch restaurants. Two other factors have capital-hungry institutions knocking on super funds’ doors. This is especially true of so-called industry funds that are mutually owned and initially catered to specific sectors such as higher education employees or hospitality workers. Daniel Andrews, premier of Victoria, has earmarked industry super funds as minority investors in a state-run plan to build renewable energy plants. Recent ructions in real estate have prompted some super funds to reassess whether the risk and complexity are justified.

Persons: dwarfing, AustralianSuper, California’s CalPERS, London’s, Paul Schroder, Hostplus, Anthony, Daniel Andrews, Breakingviews, outsized, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: MELBOURNE, Reuters, Australian Stock Exchange, Association, Retirement, Canada, Plan Investment Board, Prudential Regulation Authority, APRA, Coal, IFM, Vienna Airport, KPMG, Reuters Graphics, Australian, Trust, Macquarie, Victorian State Department of, UniSuper, Sydney Airport, Victoria, Blackstone, CVC, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Melbourne, Australia’s, it’s, Australia, Heathrow, Edinburgh, Europe, United States, Indiana, New York, London

☆ Asia's private credit markets thrive as desperate borrowers find lenders
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Private lenders, meanwhile, had "significant liquidity" to deploy for such financings, proving to be a right fit. Besides property developers, borrowers thronging private markets include privately-held companies and start-ups whose private equity issuance has been stymied by broader stock market swings and the deepening discounts of their valuations, known as a 'down round' in the industry. Investment firm Muzinich & Co. recently announced it had closed a $500 million Asia Pacific private debt strategy. Australian superannuation fund UniSuper, which runs a $15 billion private markets portfolio investing in unlisted infrastructure and private equity, is looking to grow its portfolio. "Just given the pipeline of opportunities, we could see ourselves potentially ... (doing) another $3 to $5 billion," said Sandra Lee, UniSuper's head of private markets.

Persons: Bryan Clark, Andrew Tan, Tan, Sandra Lee, UniSuper's, Shane Forster, Benno Klingenberg, Timm, Rae Wee, Georgina Lee, Vidya Ranganathan, Kim Coghill Organizations: Star, JLL, Western, Muzinich, Asia Pacific, Muzinich's Asia Pacific, ICE, Bain Capital, India's, Mahindra Bank, Hong Kong's ADM, BlackRock, Data, Barclays, UBS, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Arizona, Asia, Hong Kong, Singapore

SYDNEY, July 4 (Reuters) - Australia's fourth largest pension fund suspended new work with PwC Australia on Tuesday, the latest in a string of funds to pause work with the accounting firm over a scandal which first surfaced in January over the misuse of government tax plans. The decision by UniSuper, which manages A$115 billion ($77 billion), means five of Australia's largest pension funds, managing a total of some A$865 billion, have paused work with PwC, which says it is a "leading adviser" to the sector. UniSuper said it was concerned by recent events at PwC and the fund had suspended new contracts for the "immediate future". PwC, which was UniSuper's internal auditor according to the fund's 2022 annual report, declined to comment. ($1 = 1.4972 Australian dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: UniSuper, Lewis Jackson, Alexander Smith Organizations: SYDNEY, PwC Australia, UniSuper, Reserve Bank of Australia, Thomson Locations: PwC

☆ China investment consensus cracks as politics fuel fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It is unlikely to be resolved quickly even if the markets keep rallying and China economy keeps global growth ticking. Data paints a murky picture, but supports brokers' analysis that the bid from long-only money managers is absent. Allocation analysis from data firm EPFR shows a broad downtrend, especially to U.S.-domiciled China funds. EPFR figures show allocation to China funds outside the U.S. has increased for two years and mainland markets' recent performance has also been encouraging. "Our reservations about China's long-term investment prospects are based on our outlook for returns to capital."

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