Weekly investors roundup: China family offices go direct; NPS increases US stocks
TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK
China's family offices usually adopt more active investment strategies than their overseas peers, with direct equity investment more favored, according to a family office report released on November 23.
The report was jointly written by UBS Wealth Management and the Shanghai Advanced Institute for Financial Research, which has been issued for the third consecutive year.
By polling a total of 45 Chinese family offices, experts from the two institutions discovered that equity investment in the primary market is most favored, as 84% of the interviewed family offices said they have included this in their portfolio, with an average ratio of 21.5%.
Source: China Daily
Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has raised holdings in US big-cap tech stocks such as Apple and Amazon in the third quarter.
According to the Form 13F submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the NPS on November 21, the Korean state pension fund had $47.92 billion worth of US shares as of the third quarter, down $590.29 million from the previous quarter.
NPS plans to expand its investment in overseas stocks in the long term. The ratio of overseas stocks on its investment portfolio will rise to 40.3% by 2027 from 27.8% this year, while that of domestic stocks will fall to 14% from 16.3%, NPS has said.
Source: Maeil Business News Korea
OTHER INVESTMENT NEWS
AUSTRALIA
Australia is planning to overhaul financial reporting requirements of the pensions industry to bring in more transparency for savers.
The government is tabling new legislation for the so-called superannuation sector that will require funds to disclose their performance in the same way as listed companies. It will include filing annual, publicly-available financial reports with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Source: Bloomberg
CHINA
China launched its first private pension scheme in 36 cities on November 25 as it grapples with a rapidly ageing population, allowing individuals to open retirement accounts at banks to buy pension products ranging from deposits to mutual funds.
The first batch of eligible cities will include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said in a statement. Pilot programmes have already been rolled out in some places.
Source: Reuters
GLP on November 22 announced the first close of GLP China Value- Add Partners IV fund with $1.2 billion in equity commitments and approximately $2.6 billion of investment capacity, from long-term institutional investment partners including Dutch pension investor APG Asset Management.
The fund will acquire existing assets through active management, including cold storage conversion. It will also capitalise on opportunities from ongoing deleveraging initiatives in China.
The fund is seeded with assets located in key logistics hubs in China with a total net leasable area of approximately 600,000 sqm.
Source: GLP
INDIA
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India approved multiple proposals in a meeting last week, including allowing private equity funds to invest directly in insurance companies, permitting banks to tie up with nine insurance companies.
Insurers were also given approval to raise alternative investments like subordinated debt and preference shares without prior regulatory approval.
Source: The Economic Times
JAPAN
Tokio Marine Holdings (Tokio Marine) increased its shareholding in PT Asuransi Tokio Marine Indonesia (TMI) from 60% to 80% through its wholly owned subsidiary, Tokio Marine Asia.
The stake was increased through acquisition of 20% of the shares held by joint venture partner, PT Asuransi Jasa Indonesia, at the price of Rp509 billion ($33 million).
“The Increase of shareholdings in TMI is in line with Tokio Marine Group’s international business strategy, to achieve sustainable growth and profit expansion as well as enhance diversified business portfolio through capturing growth opportunities in emerging countries,” Tokio Marine said in a statement.
Source: Tokio Marine Holdings
KOREA
Gaming giant Nexon is set to acquire a 50% stake in the Autoway Tower, an office building in Seoul's Gangnam business district, from the Korean Teachers’ Credit Union (KTCU).
South Korea’s largest real estate investment firm IGIS Asset Management Co. recently selected Nexon as the preferred bidder for the deal, according to investment banking sources on November 25. As a potential strategic investor, the gaming giant beat out other bidders in terms of the deal size and its real estate management plan.
Autoway Tower has 14 stories, five of which are underground, and a total floor area of 47,308 square meters. In 2014, the KTCU acquired the property from SK Networks via IGIS’s fund soon after construction was completed.
Source: Korea Economic Daily
North Korea’s five major insurance companies released new financial data on their websites that shows they fared well in 2021 despite the harsh lockdown and trade restrictions that have continued since the beginning of the pandemic.
Growth was slow but positive, and the insurers in the maritime sector specifically saw big jumps over 2020 when the pandemic first rocked the DPRK economy. Pyongyang was slow to release insurance business data last year, and no insurance company but Polestar refused to give any predictions about the national economy in the near future.
Source: NKnews
MALAYSIA
Malaysia’s Sarawak state plans to set up a sovereign wealth fund with an initial amount of RM8 billion ($1.1 billion) to strengthen the state's financial sustainability.
The state legislative assembly unanimously approved the Sarawak Sovereign Wealth Future Fund Board Bill on November 22.
Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg said the fund would enable the state to convert non-renewable assets to financial assets, invest for the future through forced savings and secure continued growth of financial reserves through diversified investments.
Source: The Star
TAIWAN
Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has increased the validity period of a scheme that gives qualified foreign asset managers special privileges and named eight firms that are eligible for the extension, including four from the US, two from Europe, and one each from Asia and the UK.
The scheme, known as “deep cultivation programme”, is aimed at encouraging foreign firms to be committed to Taiwan’s asset management industry for the long term.
The programme currently allows qualified firms to submit more fund products to the FSC for approval at one go if they meet requirements such as local employment and size of funds. But all privileges are only valid for one year, so firms have to keep applying annually.
The validity period has now been increased to two years for firms that qualified for three consecutive years, the FSC says in a statement on November 22.
AllianceBernstein, Franklin Templeton, Invesco and J.P. Morgan Asset Management from the US, Dutch asset manager NN Investment Partners, Germany’s Allianz Global Investors, Japan’s Nomura Asset Management, and the UK’s Schroder Investment Management qualify under the new criterion.
Source: Asia Asset Management