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Insto roundup: GIC, CPPIB form $2bn partnership for US offices; QIC hires three for private debt

QIC expands global private debt team with three new hires; Sydney Airport bid by consortium fails; Dajia Insurance Group up for sale for $5.18 billion; China Baowu Steel Group to launch carbon-neutral fund; Indonesia's new wealth fund studying 50 companies for investment; NPS adds Kosdaq-listed blue chips; Macau's SSF's income and returns fall; and more.
Insto roundup: GIC, CPPIB form $2bn partnership for US offices; QIC hires three for private debt

AUSTRALIA

AustralianSuper is set to embark on a A$5 billion ($3.7 billion) overseas spending spree, and increase its presence in London as the superannuation giant seeks more offshore opportunities. 

The A$270 billion fund aims to increase its London-based staff from 38 to 90 as it incrases its hunt for infrastructure and private debt assets. The move follows AustralianSuper opening a New York office last month, which is another key plank in its plans to invest the A$5 billion over the next 12 months. 

AustralianSuper currently employs about 170 investment professionals domestically and overseas. 

Source: Financial Times

Queensland state investor QIC has expanded its private debt global team with new hires Evan Nahnsen and Lindsay Scully, who are based in New York, and David Spiez in Brisbane. 

Nahnsen joins as head of private debt for infrastructure and will lead the global investment team based out of New York and London. He was most recently employed at AMP Capital where he was a principal in the infrastructure debt team. Nahnsen reports to Andrew Jones, head of private debt.

Scully joins QIC as principal in the same team, and will lead investments in the North American market. She was previously a director for energy and infrastructure at Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Banks where she specialised in power generation and midstream energy assets in North America.

Brisbane-based Spiez has also joined the private debt team as general manager for strategy and operations. He was most recently managing director for commercial real estate at Standard Chartered Bank, based in Dubai. All three joined the fund last week.

Source: QIC

The Sydney Airport board has rejected the A$22 billion takeover bid by a consortium comprising IFM Investors, QSuper and Global Infrastructure Management.

The investment consortium made a bid of $8.25 per share early this month, which was 40% higher than the airport’s share price at the time.

However, the board and its investors agreed that the offer was opportunistic and underpriced at levels far below pre-pandemic trading prices.

Source: Australian Financial Review

Industry super fund First Super awarded its first environmental, societal and governance (ESG) mandate to Edinburgh-based Cameron Hume.

The A$125 million mandate will be invested through the fund manager’s Global Fixed Income ESG Fund, which includes investments in sovereigns, corporates and asset-backed securities.

The mandate is First Super’s first since it implemented a Responsible Investing Policy, and has potential to increase to $500 million.

Source: Financial Standard

Louise Bradshaw, ESG lead at Australian Catholic Super and Retirement Fund's (ACSRF) has stepped down from her position.

Bradshaw left her position as ESG officer on June 16, and has joined Aware Super’s responsible investments team in Sydney, according to her LinkedIn profile. She joined ACSRF in October 2019 and managed the fund’s socially responsible investment option. She was also responsible for its ESG initiatives.

Previously, she held positions at Pimco, AllianceBernstein, First State Investments and T Rowe Price in various locations such as London, New York and Sydney.

An ACSRF spokesperson told the Financial Standard that the search for her replacement is underway.

Source: Financial Standard

CHINA

China's financial regulators are putting 98.78% of Dajia Insurance Group up for sale for Rmb33.57 billion ($5.18 billion).

The Beijing-based group was created three years ago to manage the assets of the collapsed financial conglomerate Anbang Insurance Group.

Dajia operates as a financial holding company and has stakes in insurance and financial institutions, including one of South Korea’s largest insurers.
 
It has Rmb20.5 billion of net assets and posted a net profit of Rmb2.9 billion last year.

Source: South China Morning Post

China Baowu Steel Group is planning to launch a $7.74 billion carbon-neutral fund with partners China Pacific Insurance, CCB Financial Asset Investment and National Green Development Fund. 

The fund has an initial investment of Rmb10 billion and aims to have a total investment of Rmb50 billion in clean energy, green technology, environmental protection and pollution control.

The fund will be the biggest carbon themed fund in China, Baowu said.

Source: Caixin

INDONESIA

Indonesia’s new wealth fund, the Indonesia Investment Authority, is studying 50 companies for potential funds, and has a $200 billion final asset target, Ridha Wirakusumah, president director told Bloomberg. 

The fund has so far received pledges from investment managers in the United Arab Emirates, Japan, the US and Canada. It previously had its first $3.75 billion deal signed with pension funds Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and APG Asset Management, as well as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

“People ask me if I’m afraid of the $200 billion target. No, I’m not,” Wirakusumah said. “What I’m afraid of is the first $1 billion and the first $5 billion -- those are the hardest ones.”

Source: Bloomberg

KOREA

The National Pension Service (NPS) will raise exposure to up-and-coming biopharmaceutical, electric vehicle parts, entertainment and gaming companies in South Korea by adding the Kosdaq-listed blue chips to the basket of stocks it tracks.

In its first extensive revision to the internal stock benchmarks in 15 years, the Korean pension fund is aiming to better keep track of changes in the industrial landscape to achieve higher returns on a steady basis, starting from next year.

Source: Korea Economic Daily

The Public Officials Benefit Association (Poba) has made an additional commitment of €200 million ($274 million) to CBRE Global Investors to build a diversified European real estate portfolio.

After leveraging, this discretionary commitment provides additional investment capacity in excess of €400 million.

Source: CBRE Global Investors

Poba also recently picked GCM Grosvenor, a US alternative investor, as its new separate account manager to invest $300 million in private infrastructure, according to the Financial News.

The separately managed account (SMA) will target privately owned or unlisted infrastructure in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia with an investment period of 13 years, which can be extended by two years.

Source: Financial News; Korea Economic Daily

MACAU

Macau’s Social Security Fund’s (SSF) reported a 9.38% decline in investment income a 11.5% return for 2020, down from 15.66% a year earlier. 

The fund described the decline as “reasonable” in light of market volatility amid the coronavirus pandemic. Income from the investment portfolio was MOP47.03 billion ($5.82 billion) in 2020, down from MOP55.05 billion in 2019.

Investment income fell to $761 million, according to its annual report. Half of the assets was in bank deposits, and the remaining 49.5% in a mix of global stocks and bonds.

Source: Asia Asset Management; SSF

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Bahrain’s Mumtalakat have invested in UK car manufacturer McLaren Group.

Alongside private equity firm Ares Management, the sovereign wealth funds took part in a £550 million ($757 million) funding round. PIF becomes a minority shareholder, while Mumtalakat currently owns 62.55% in McLauren, according to its website.

The latest funding brings the carmaker’s total raised in the past two years to over £1 billion. The funds will be used to pay back loans taken out last year as well as invest in electric and hybrid cars.

Source: Financial Times

SINGAPORE

Singapore’s GIC, Qatar Investment Authority and Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional took part in Indian e-commerce startup Flipkart’s latest $3.6 billion fundraising. SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Tiger Global and Walmart also took part in the round.

The latest funding brings Flipkart’s valuation to $37.6 billion. In 2018, Walmart invested $16 billion for a 77% stake in the company, which competes with the likes of Amazon.

Source: Mint

Singapore's GIC formed a $2 billion partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and US developer Boston Properties to co-invest in office properties in the US. GIC committed $500 million while CPPIB and Boston Properties allocated $250 million each.

The joint ventures will seek to acquire and operate office assets in Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington and Seattle.

Source: Mingtiandi

GIC and China’s CNIC Corp are close to investing in hydropower firm China Three Gorges Corp as part of a consortium that includes other Chinese funds.

The consortium will acquire a 25% stake in its overseas asset portfolio valued at as much as $2 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.

China Three Gorges will use the proceeds to fund the development of the overseas portfolio, including acquisitions.

Source: Bloomberg

Singapore state investor Temasek invested a further $10 million in Singaporean alternative protein startup Next Gen. The $20 million round, in which venture capital firms K3 Ventures and GGV Ventures also participated, brings Next Gen’s total seed financing to $30 million.

The startup said it will use the funds to expand its presence in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and enter the US market. In the plant-based protein space, Temasek is also an investor in the US’s Impossible Foods and Australia's V2food.

Source: DealStreetAsia

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