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’Vale and potash: ‘I (only) half believe them’
The Chinese – and more specifically, Sinochem – gained a respite this week from frenzied counter-bid speculation surrounding BHP Billiton’s hostile bid for PotashCorp, following a $1.75bn bond issue by Brazilian mining giant Vale.
A Potash warning: Sinofert is ‘very concerned’
Here’s a curious Chinese statement on Thursday that might give Marius Kloppers, BHP Billiton’s chief executive, pause for thought.
Sinofert, China’s largest fertiliser distributor – and subsidiary of Sinochem,
Adventures in equity knife-catching, SWF edition (updated)
If you’re a BP investor who thought twice about catching the falling knife of the firm’s post-Gulf spill shares this summer — well, spare a thought for Norway.
Thanks to the government’s sovereign wealth fund,
Soros goes to Bombay (Stock Exchange)
You know things are heating up when George Soros wants to invest, and in this case, it’s Asia’s oldest stock exchange.
As the FT reports on Wednesday, Soros is in final talks to buy Dubai Holding’s 4 per cent stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange (still somewhat anachronistically called after the old colonial name for the city of Mumbai) for about $40m,
China’s banks, more liquid-hot than ever
And the great Chinese credit bubble leap forward continues, with Tuesday’s datapoint coming from Bank of China.
After all, the bank led the charge on Tuesday with some really not too shabby results.
What’s Temasek up to now?
Temasek, Singapore’s state investment firm, often moves in mysterious ways – not all of them lucrative, although the low-key sovereign wealth fund (which prefers being called an “investment agency”) has made enough shrewd moves over the years to maintain an enviably large war-chest of about $121bn- not least its move in November to sell its first ever tranche of 30-year bonds.
M&A hots up in Asian insurance
Insurance – and particularly life insurance – has become one of Asia’s hotbeds for M&A activity. Here are just some of the deals or bids reported in the last month or so alone:
The biggest – and as yet unresolved – bid is the unsolicited A$11bn ($10.2bn) bid by Axa and Australia’s AMP on November 9 for Axa’s majority-owned Asian business,
Investors eye Axa’s Taikang stake
Foreign private equity funds are this week expected to submit bids for Axa’s minority stake in Taikang Life, China’s fourth-largest insurer, which has been valued at up to $1bn. First-round bids are due by Friday and various overseas investors have signalled interest in the French insurer’s 15.6% stake,
SWFs and the Noble chase for commodities
Forget unprofitable investments in western financial groups. The scramble is on among Asian sovereign wealth funds for a big piece of the commodities action. As the FT reports on Tuesday, China Investment Corp has agreed to take a 15 per cent stake in Noble Group,
Market rally hands Temasek $30bn
The global equities rally has added S$42bn ($29.7bn) to the market value of Temasek’s investment portfolio since the end of March, Singapore’s state investment company said on Thursday. The mark-to-market value of the portfolio fell to S$130bn at the end of the year through March,
Mideast SWF powers into chips as Temasek exits
An interesting deal on Monday brings further signs of recovering activity among Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds — and an emerging new force in the global semiconductor business.
Advanced Technology Investment Co.,
Temasek eyes listing prospects
Temasek Holdings, the Singapore state investment company, would be prepared to list some of its biggest holdings, including port operator PSA, Singapore Power, asset manager Fullerton Fund Management and Fullerton Financial Holdings,
Temasek may seek outside capital
Temasek, the Singapore state investment company, is considering expanding its stakeholder base and for the first time seeking outside investment capital from institutions and the public, Ho Ching, chief executive,
When is an SWF not an SWF?
For a secretive kind of outfit, Temasek is certainly generating a lot of publicity these days. Following the storm of media interest last week over news of the sudden departure of its chief executive-designate Chip Goodyear,
Temasek to eye internal candidates
Temasek Holdings said it will consider promoting an internal manager after abandoning plans to make Chip Goodyear the first foreign chief executive officer of Singapore’s state-owned investment fund,
Asian investors eye AIG asset management
Singapore’s Temasek and the Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li are close to joining a consortium led by Franklin Templeton, the US fund manager, that is the front-runner to buy AIG’s asset management business for around $500m.
Neptune Orient to raise $1bn
Shares in Neptune Orient Lines, Southeast Asia’s largest container carrier, surged the most in more than eight months after the company announced plans to raise S$1.44bn ($1bn) selling new shares to repay debt,
Temasek is not buying the ‘green shoots’ story
Singapore’s acquisitive Temasek is up to its old tricks again, buying high and selling low, as it emerged on Friday that the state-backed investment agency sold its 3 per cent stake in Bank of America in the first quarter of this year,
That mysterious BofA/CCB stake sale
The market rumour-mill was working overtime in Asia late on Wednesday about big business in shares in China Construction Bank. The chatter followed Tuesday’s news of Bank of America’s $7.3bn disposal of more than a third of its stake in CCB to a small group of investors led by buyout firm Hopu Investment Management,
Goldman’s required (Chinese) reading
Never one to pass up a chance to make money – or to let go of a lucrative project in-hand – Goldman Sachs has shown some uncharacteristic uncertainty over its maybe-maybe-not deliberations about whether to sell down its 4.9 per cent stake in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China – described by Bloomberg on Thursday as “the world’s most profitable bank”
Temasek portfolio falls 31%
Temasek Holdings, the Singapore state investment company, suffered a 31% fall in the value of its portfolio from S$185bn ($123bn) to S$127bn in the eight months to the end of November, the government said Tuesday.
Temasek’s Merrill losses could exceed $2bn
Temasek, the Singapore state investment fund, is sitting on significant paper losses related to its stake in Merrill Lynch, which was acquired by Bank of America last week. The state agency’s unrealised losses could amount to more than $2bn,
£1.8bn StanChart rights issue well received
Standard Chartered shares fell less than expected on Monday after the emerging markets bank confirmed plans to launch a £1.8bn rights issue to boost its capital reserves. The offer is the first issue by a UK-based bank since market turmoil cast doubt on the ability of banks to raise fresh capital from existing shareholders.
Reality bites at Standard Chartered
Management at the emerging markets bank have now had to eat several courses of their own words.
Here’s the latest dish – a deeply discounted rights issue to raise £1.78bn.
Highlights:
30-for-91 terms at 390p
Temasek,
Temasek offers finance in $2bn power sale
Temasek Holdings, the Singapore state investment agency, plans to arrange financing for the proposed $2bn sale of one of the island state’s power companies. Bids are expected Wednesday for Singapore’s Senoko Power,
Temasek lifts Merrill stake, defends strategy
Temasek, Singapore’s $130bn sovereign wealth fund, said Tuesday it is raising its stake in Merrill Lynch and has “great confidence”’ in Merrill’s CEO John Thain, reports Bloomberg. Temasek, already Merrill’s biggest shareholder,