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☆ Abu Dhabi's Mubadala commits $1 billion to Blue Owl Capital's credit platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Company has committed $1 billion to U.S.-based Blue Owl Capital's credit platform under a strategic partnership announced by the two companies on Monday. The investment will initially focus on providing financing for technology companies, Mubadala and Blue Owl said in a statement. Blue Owl is an alternative investment manager with $150 billion in assets under management. Private credit funds are increasingly competing with banks, including for financing large company buyouts. I would advise that for the next maybe one year, the credit space would be an interesting space to deploy some investment," al-Mahmoud said at the time.

Persons: Fabrizio Bocciardi, QIA, Mansoor Ebrahim Al, Mahmoud, al, Hadeel Al Sayegh, Susan Fenton Organizations: Mubadala Investment Company, Asia Pacific, Qatar Investment Authority, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Abu Dhabi, North America, Europe, Asia

A Barclays bank building is seen at Canary Wharf in London, Britain May 17, 2017. Barclays distributed a presentation on its domestic merchant acquiring unit to potential bidders - mainly specialist payments providers - over the summer, two of the people said, but plans may still be altered or dropped entirely. Our businesses continue to perform well and growing our global payments business is a priority for us." The group drafted in consultants to prepare separate financials for its domestic merchant acquiring operation in an initiative known internally as Project Hyperion, one of the people said. Barclays is also gauging interest in its German consumer finance operations, known as Barclaycard Germany.

Persons: Stefan Wermuth, Sanpaolo, Amy, Jo Crowley, Pablo Mayo, Milana, Lawrence White, Elisa Martinuzzi, Susan Fenton Organizations: Barclays, REUTERS, Barclays Plc, Reuters, Chief, CS Venkatakrishnan, Spain's Banco Sabadell, Italy's, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Germany, New York

A sign at the approach road leads to Albemarle's lithium evaporation ponds at its facility in Silver Peak, Nevada, U.S., January 9, 2019. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 4 (Reuters) - Australia's Liontown Resources (LTR.AX) shares shot 11.5% higher after the lithium developer's board on Monday backed a refreshed A$6.6 billion ($4.26 billion) bid from Albemarle Corp (ALB.N), the world's biggest lithium producer. The news prompted Liontown shares to shoot up 11.5% to A$2.92, the highest since July 14. Liontown controls two major lithium deposits in Western Australia, including its flagship Kathleen Valley project slated for first production in mid-2024, which is among the world's largest and highest-grade hard rock lithium deposits. Albemarle's latest offer for Liontown was its fourth, having also proposed A$2.20 per share on Oct. 20 last year and A$2.35 per share earlier in March before its rejected A$2.50 a share offer was made public.

Persons: Ernest Scheyder, Liontown, Albemarle, Kathleen, Greenhill, Scott Murdoch, Poonam, Jamie Freed, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Albemarle Corp, Australia, Ford Motor, LG, Co, UBS, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: Silver, , Nevada, U.S, Australian, Chile, Western Australia, South, Albemarle, Sydney

Hozon's IPO plan comes after it announced a 7 billion yuan pre-IPO fundraising late on Tuesday in a social media statement. More banks could be added to the syndicate working on the IPO as the deal progresses, they said. Local Hong Kong media reported earlier this week Hozon could raise up to $1 billion in a local listing. Hozon is building its first overseas plant in Thailand and aims to start production there in January 2024. Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Additional reporting Zhang Yan; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Morgan Stanley, CICC, Kane Wu, Scott Murdoch, Zhang Yan, David Holmes Organizations: Hozon, Beijing International Automotive, Auto, REUTERS, Rights, Zhejiang, New Energy Automobile Co, HONG, Hozon Auto, China International Capital Corporation, Hong, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Thomson Locations: Auto China, Beijing, China, HONG KONG, SYDNEY, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Sydney

☆ Lending startup Captain raised $107 million in the boom times. Now it's up for sale amid layoffs and a capital drought.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Melia Russell | Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Captain, a startup that aimed to quicken home repairs after natural disasters, is winding down. The Louisville-based company had previously raised $107 million across venture and debt equity. CartaMany early-stage startups such as Captain, which had raised $107 million across equity and debt capital, have struggled to raise new funding as a drought in venture capital spreads through Silicon Valley. Liabilities pile upThe company relies on debt financing to pay contractors upfront for materials, supplies, and labor costs. In his email, Gray said prospective buyers were aware of the outstanding liabilities and the sale price would be used to satisfy those liabilities, "with wages being the most paramount," he said.

Persons: Demetrius Gray, Gray, Captain, Red Swan, Pete Flint, Flint, PATRICK T, FALLON, Talent, Melia Russell, Rob Price Organizations: quicken, Carta, TechCrunch, GGV, fintech, Munich Re, San Francisco Superior Court Locations: The Louisville, Silicon Valley, Carta, Louisville , Kentucky, NFX, CoVenture, Munich, Maui

A man walks past a sign of Geely's new premium electric vehicle (EV) brand Zeekr at its factory in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China April 15, 2021. Geely in December said Zeekr had confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO, without detailing size or listing date. If successful, a $1 billion IPO would be the largest U.S. listing by a Chinese firm for over two years since ride-hailing giant Didi raised $4.4 billion in mid 2021. Geely, formally Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (GEELY.UL), established Zeekr in April 2021 to tap into increasing Chinese demand for high-end EVs. ($1 = 7.2883 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: HONG KONG, Geely, Zeekr, Didi, Andy, Julie Zhu, Scott Murdoch, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Yilei, U.S, Zhejiang Geely Holding, Thomson Locations: Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, HONG, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Singapore, London , New York, Boston , California, U.S, Zhejiang, Netherlands, Sweden, Israel, Kazakhstan, Sydney

[1/2] A general view shows the brine pools of Albemarle Chile lithium plant placed on the Atacama salt flat, Chile, May 4, 2023. "It seems like the cheapest way to get lithium units is via the drill bit," said analyst Kaan Peker of RBC in Sydney. "Even though battery chemistry is evolving and impacting certain metals, lithium is a mainstay and the demand story remains robust. The battery metals landscape, and lithium in particular, looks poised for further M&A activity,” said Gavi Friedland, head of metals and mining at Goldman Sachs in Australia & New Zealand. Mineral Resources is deciding whether to build an Australian lithium battery chemical plant, while Albemarle is expanding production at its Kemerton hydroxide plant and SQM is also building a lithium hydroxide plant.

Persons: Ivan Alvarado, acquirers, Kaan, ”, Gavi Friedland, Goldman Sachs, Guy Alexander, Buyers, Japan's Idemitsu, Delta, Tony Chong, Squire Patton Boggs, Jakob Stausholm, Stausholm, Dale Henderson, Melanie Burton, Veronica Brown Organizations: REUTERS, Chile, Albemarle Corp, RBC, Develop, Mineral Resources, Metals, Minerals, Liontown Resources, Climate Capital, Consultancy, EV, Goldman, New Zealand, Resources, Tinto, Patriot Metals, Canada, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Albemarle Chile, Chile, MELBOURNE, Australia, Sydney, Andover, Albemarle, Perth, China, U.S, Canada, Quebec

The company established the Allianz Global Diversified Private Debt Fund (AGDPDF) II in Luxembourg in mid-June, company filings show. Money managers are vying for a slice of the growing private credit market, which emerged in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and is currently estimated to have assets of $1.5 trillion. Private credit funds are increasingly competing with banks, including for financing large company buyouts. The fastest escalation in borrowing costs in decades has posed a test for private credit but so far defaults by borrowers have been limited. Rather than lending directly, the Allianz Global Diversified Private Debt Fund invests in other credit funds and also makes co-investments.

Persons: Michaela Rehle, Proskauer, Pablo Mayo, Elisa Martinuzzi, Jane Merriman Organizations: Allianz, REUTERS, Allianz Global Investors, Allianz Global, Debt Fund, Fund, Reuters, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Thomson Locations: Unterfoehring, Munich, Luxembourg, London

AMSTERDAM, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Investment company Exor (EXOR.AS) was able to build a 15% stake in Dutch healthcare group Philips (PHG.AS) without triggering the usual disclosures thanks to derivatives deals through Goldman Sachs, regulatory filings show. Exor's investment was seen as a vote of confidence in Philips and boosted the Dutch company's shares. Filings by the Dutch Financial Market Authority AFM dated Aug. 14 but published late on Wednesday showed Goldman Sachs had taken an 12.11% stake in Philips using a derivatives structure that included 95 million call options. Sources confirmed to Reuters earlier this week that Goldman Sachs acted on behalf of Exor but could not give more details. Exor and Goldman Sachs (GS.N) declined to comment.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Italy's Agnelli, Roy Jakobs, Exor, Allen, Overy, De Brauw, Philips, Toby Sterling, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Andres Gonzalez, Valentina Za, Victoria Farr, Jane Merriman Organizations: Investment, Philips, Dutch, US Securities and Exchange, Reuters, Overy, Thomson Locations: Philips, Dutch

A view of logo of New Development Bank (NDB) at its headquarters in Shanghai, China July 10, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJOHANNESBURG, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The development bank founded by the so-called BRICS countries closed the auction for its first South African rand bonds on Tuesday, as it comes under pressure to boost its local currency fundraising and lending. The South African bond market has struggled in recent years to attract new issuers to match growing demand from domestic investors looking for quality credit assets. The most recent comparable South African government bonds were a 4.5-year bond priced at Jibar +90 bps and a seven year priced at Jibar +120 bps, said Raphi Rootshtain, a portfolio manager at Sasfin Wealth. The bond sale was arranged by Standard Bank, which declined to comment, and Absa Bank.

Persons: Aly, Leslie Maasdorp, Raphi Rootshtain, Rootshtain, Kumeshen Naidoo, Rachel Savage, Josie Kao Organizations: New Development Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Sasfin, State Owned Companies, Standard Bank, Absa Bank, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights JOHANNESBURG, Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, Johannesburg, Absa

LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - U.S. hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management (DK) said on Friday it had agreed to sell Prelios to fintech firm ION Group, in a long-awaited deal which two sources said valued the Italian credit manager at 1.35 billion euros ($1.5 billion). DK, which did not disclose the sale price, had been looking for a buyer for years, and held discussions for several months with ION. Dublin-based ION Group was in turn in talks with banks for months to secure funding for the deal. Founded by former Salomon Brothers trader Andrea Pignataro, ION Group provides services of trading, analytics, treasury and risk management for capital and commodity markets. In 2021 in Italy alone, ION bought banking software provider Cedacri for $1.8 billion and acquired Cerved in a deal that valued the credit data and management group at nearly 2 billion euros.

Persons: Salomon, Andrea Pignataro, UniCredit, Intesa, DK, Lazard, Prelios, Mediobanca, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Riccardo Serrini, Valentina Za, Pablo Mayo, David Goodman, Susan Fenton Organizations: Davidson, Capital Management, ION Group, ION ., ION, Reuters, BNP, Banco, Standard Chartered Bank, Mediobanca, UBS, X3, DK, Thomson Locations: ION . Dublin, Italy

A Midea company sign is seen at the Appliance and Electronics World Expo (AWE) in Shanghai, China March 23, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoAug 9 (Reuters) - Chinese home appliance maker Midea Group (000333.SZ) said on Wednesday it is studying a potential listing in Hong Kong as part of its global strategy. The new shares to be issued would account for no more than 10% of enlarged capital, Midea, already listed in the Shenzhen stock exchange, said in a filing. Midea's market capitalisation was $56.47 billion before the listing plan was made public, meaning a deal of up to 10% would be one of the largest listings in Hong Kong since 2021. The initial filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange would be made this year, with a likely share sale sometime in 2024, one of the sources added.

Persons: Aly, Midea, Scott Murdoch, Roxanne Liu, Kane Wu, Jason Neely, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Appliance, Electronics, REUTERS, Midea, Bank of America, China International Capital Corp, HK, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Hong Kong, Midea, Shenzhen, Sydney

Sentiment rebounded in China as the blue chip CSI300 index (.CSI300) turned positive to be up 0.07% after initially losing 0.54%. Australian shares (.AXJO) were up 0.15%, while Japan's Nikkei stock index (.N225) rose 0.29% after early trading up by nearly 0.8%. ANZ predicts China's July consumer price index to come in at minus 0.4% year-on-year. "Weak inflation in China should be a global disinflationary force in goods markets going forward." Minor measures to help property markets have been delivered in the past fortnight, but no broad stimulus has been outlined.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Hoon SYDNEY, Hong, HSI, Mizuho, Brent, Scott Murdoch, Lincoln Organizations: Yen, REUTERS, Federal, Japan's Nikkei, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Global, ANZ, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, China, United States, Asia, Pacific, U.S, Sydney

Logo of Bain Capital is screened at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2017. Shares of Estia Health were up 9.9% at A$3.12 as of 0045 GMT, their highest since Sept 2018. Bain Capital did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. In June, the company updated the market on its intentions to back Bain Capital's increased offer of $A3 per share to A$3.20. "If they acquire Estia Health they may be stuck with it in the days ahead."

Persons: Kim Kyung, Estia, Bain Capital's, Gary Weiss, Estia's, Brad Smoling, Smoling, Rishav Chatterjee, Scott Murdoch, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Stephen Coates Organizations: Bain Capital, REUTERS, Global, Estia, Bain, Virgin Australia, Australia, Health, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Sydney, Australia, Bengaluru

Logo of China Life Insurance is seen on a door at a branch in Beijing, China, March 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File PhotoHONG KONG, Aug 7 (Reuters) - China Life Insurance (Overseas) Hong Kong has mandated banks for its 10-year subordinated bond offering, according to a preliminary term sheet seen by Reuters on Monday. China Life did not respond to an email from Reuters seeking comment on the deal. The last time China Life tapped the bond market was in March 2019, when it issued 35 billion yuan's worth in China's interbank bond market. Reporting by Georgina Lee in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jason Lee, HONG KONG, Georgina Lee, Scott Murdoch, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: China Life Insurance, REUTERS, Reuters, P Global, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, HONG, Hong Kong, Sydney

☆ UBS rejigs investment bank in bid to better compete with Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Logos of Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are seen in Zurich, Switzerland, March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoLONDON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - UBS (UBSG.S) announced an overhaul of its investment banking division on Monday, including naming the unit's M&A chiefs, marking a key step in integrating Credit Suisse. Sergio Ermotti is seizing on the opportunity presented by the rescue takeover of Credit Suisse in March to reorganize UBS' investment bank to better compete against Wall Street firms. Hundreds of Credit Suisse bankers have already left to other institutions and UBS has been laying off employees from Credit Suisse's investment bank around the globe. Hong Kong makes up Credit Suisse's biggest share of investment bankers in Asia.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, Sergio Ermotti, David Kostel, Tom Churton, Christian Lesueur, Nestor Paz, Galindo, Marc, Anthony Hourihan, Michael Santini, Marc Warm, David Slade, Scott Lindsay, Robin Rankin, Andres Gonzalez, Oliver Hirt, Elisa Martinuzzi, Alexander Smith Organizations: UBS, Credit Suisse, REUTERS, Wall Street, Global, Staff, Reuters, TMT Investment, Global Banking, Credit, Suisse's, Debt, Thomson Locations: Zurich, Switzerland, Credit, Swiss, Hong Kong, Asia

HONG KONG, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Shares of debt-laden Chinese property giant Country Garden (2007.HK) fell on Tuesday after it scrapped a share placement to raise $300 million, citing "internal considerations" though bookrunners said the sale was fully covered. Shares and bonds in Country Garden have come under pressure recently due to liquidity concerns, and investors were worried about further contagion in a sector that has already seen many firms default. Country Garden did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At 0220 GMT, shares of Country Garden were down 3.8% to HK$1.52, narrowing losses from 10.8% in early trading. Country Garden had nearly $4.9 billion of bond payments to make over the next 6 months, JP Morgan analysts said in a report last week.

Persons: bookrunners, JP Morgan, Morgan, Clare Jim, Scott Murdoch, Summer, Jacqueline Wong, Kim Coghill, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: HK, Mainland Properties, Reuters, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, HK, Hang

U.S. Capitol police stand outside the Capitol building as the Senate votes on debt ceiling legislation to avoid a historic default at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2023. Fitch downgraded the United States to AA+ from AAA, citing fiscal deterioration over the next three years and repeated down-the-wire debt ceiling negotiations that threaten the government’s ability to pay its bills. With the downgrade it becomes the second major rating agency after Standard & Poor’s to strip the United States of its triple-A rating. Investors use credit ratings to assess the risk profile of companies and governments when they raise financing in the debt capital markets. Other analysts had pointed to the risk that another downgrade by a major rating agency could affect investment portfolios that hold top-rated securities.

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, Fitch, Joe Biden, Janet Yellen, Biden, Karine Jean, Pierre, Keith Lerner, Raymond James, Ed Mills, Mohamed El, Davide Barbuscia, Jyoti Narayan, Lewis Krauskopf, Saeed Azhar, Megan Davies, Arun Koyyur, David Gregoiro, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Capitol, U.S, REUTERS, White, AAA, Standard, Democratic, Republican, Treasury, Advisory Services, ” Treasury, Fitch, AA, Queens ' College, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, States, United States, Atlanta, New York, Bengaluru

☆ US bank preferred capital issuance makes a tentative comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Shankar Ramakrishnan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

So-called preferred securities, which are one of the riskiest forms of debt but also have some characteristics of stocks, are popular among banks as a way to boost their capital for regulatory purposes. More than $160 billion of preferreds were issued in 2020 and 2021 each, when rates were low. Volume dropped last year to $70 billion as the U.S. Federal Reserve embarked on an interest rate hiking cycle. When Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) issued a new public preferred security earlier this month, investor demand far outweighed supply. The $1.725 billion deal received orders of over $6 billion, bringing total issuance for the year to $37 billion.

Persons: preferreds, Wells, ”, Daniel Botoff, Allie Quine, Cohen, Steers, Quine, WELLS, Wells Fargo, RBC's Botoff, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Paritosh Bansal, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S . Federal Reserve, Credit Suisse, UBS Group, Wells Fargo & Co, Treasury, RBC Capital Markets, Informa Global, Thomson Locations: U.S, preferreds, New York

SYDNEY, July 26 (Reuters) - Asian markets were trading mostly weaker on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's expected interest rate rise to be delivered later in the day, as investors also weighed the likelihood of a Chinese economic stimulus package. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was flat, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild gains. The two-year yield , which rises with traders' expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 4.8848% compared with a U.S. close of 4.893%. Australia was the only major market across the Asia Pacific region to see shares rise, with the S&P/ASX 200 index (.AXJO) up 0.81%. On Wall Street, the three main indices closed higher, led by gains in shares of technology, materials and communication services companies.

Persons: Karen Jorritsma, Brent, Scott Murdoch, Jamie Freed Organizations: SYDNEY, U.S, U.S . Federal, Nikkei, CSI, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Global, ANZ, RBC Capital Markets, Thomson Locations: U.S ., Asia, Pacific, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Sydney

☆ The Fed's 2% inflation target is far from mission accomplished, says Barclays' Meghan Graper
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe Fed's 2% inflation target is far from mission accomplished, says Barclays' Meghan GraperMeghan Graper, Barclays global co-head of debt capital markets, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the Fed's rate hike campaign, what to expect this week and rest of the year, recession concerns, and more.

Persons: Meghan Graper Meghan Graper Organizations: Barclays

Data centres are facilities that host IT systems and applications. In April, Brookfield Infrastructure acquired French data centre group Data4 in a deal said to have valued the company at close to 3.5 billion euros, including debt. Asterion formed Nabiax in 2019 through the acquisition of 11 data centres from Telefonica across Spain and Latin America. In March, the group sold its Latin American operations to British infrastructure fund Actis, with a view to focusing on its home market. A sale of Nabiax could help Telefonica pay down debt, a focus for the Spanish telecoms giant.

Persons: Nabiax, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Amy, Jo Crowley, Andres Gonzalez, Jesus Aguado, John O'Donnell, Louise Heavens Organizations: Reuters, Infrastructure, Asterion Industrial Partners, BBVA, Citigroup, Telefonica, Brookfield Infrastructure, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Telefonica, Spain, Latin America, British, London

HONG KONG, July 12 (Reuters) - China's major tech companies have shed more than $1 trillion in value -equivalent to the entire Dutch economy - since the government's regulatory crackdown on the sector began more than two years ago, according to Refinitiv data. Reuters GraphicsTechnology stocks (.HSTECH) in Hong Kong have rallied 4.1% since Monday as investors bank on an easing regulatory environment to boost earnings, but some analysts have sounded a note of caution. "Mega-cap tech companies will allocate increasingly large amounts of capital expenditure towards developing generative AI technologies and products in a hostile external environment, potentially impacting profitability," said Redmond Wong, Saxo Markets strategist in Hong Kong. Steven Leung, UOB Kay Hian sales director, said current valuations would last "until we see more supporting policies from authorities". Reporting by Donny Kwok in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tencent, Redmond Wong, Steven Leung, UOB Kay Hian, Donny Kwok, Scott Murdoch, Kevin Liffey Organizations: People's Bank of China, Tencent Holdings, HK, Alibaba, Baidu Inc, Reuters Graphics Technology, Saxo Markets, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Sydney

NEW YORK/LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - One of the world's top insurers is mulling offloading its property reinsurance business in a bid to cut its exposure to natural disasters like hurricanes, according to three people familiar with the matter. Prices for U.S. property catastrophe reinsurance rose by as much as 50% at a key July 1 renewal date, broker Gallagher Re said in a recent report. AXA has been trying to reduce the exposure of its AXA XL property and casualty (P&C) division - which houses XL Re - in an effort to make earnings more predictable. This has caused the reinsurance business to shrink, with revenues dropping by nearly a third last year to $3.2 billion, according to AXA's 2022 accounts. In May, American International Group (AIG.N) agreed the sale of its reinsurance arm Validus Re for roughly $3 billion, or about 1.4 times the unit's book value.

Persons: Reinsurers, Hurricane Ian, Gallagher Re, David French, Pablo Mayo, Amy, Jo Crowley, Carolyn Cohn, Echo Wang, Silvia Aloisi, John O'Donnell, Conor Humphries Organizations: AXA SA, XL, Covea, AXA, AXA XL, American International, Fidelis Insurance Holdings, Reuters, Hamilton Insurance, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Thomson Locations: Bermuda, New York, London, Paris

HONG KONG, July 10 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group (9988.HK) and Tencent (0700.HK) shares rose in Hong Kong on Monday after China's $984 million fine against the Jack Ma-founded Ant Group appeared to signal the end of a regulatory crackdown on the country's technology sector. Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares were up nearly 4% by 0230 GMT on Monday, outpacing a 1.3% gain for the broader market (.HSI), while Tencent's shares were up 1%. ANT GROUP VALUATION SLASHEDAlibaba, which spun off Ant 11 years ago and has a 33% stake, said on Sunday it was considering whether to participate in the buyback. Alibaba's U.S.-listed shares rose 8% on Friday after the penalty, one of the largest-ever fines for an internet company in China, was delivered. ($1 = 7.2310 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jack Ma, Ant, Dickie Wong, Oshadhi Kumarasiri, Scott Murdoch, Donny Kwok, Anne Marie Roantree, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Jamie Freed Organizations: Alibaba, HK, Ant, People's Bank of China, Kingston Securities, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Beijing, Alibaba's U.S, China, Sydney

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