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- A + A (June 22): Malaysia’s state-owned investment firm Johor Corp could seek to raise about 1 billion ringgit ($227 million) in an initial public offering of its plantation unit, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The investment arm of the Johor State government is asking bankers for pitches for the potential listing of Kulim Malaysia Bhd, and is targeting a valuation of around US$1 billion for the unit, the people said. An IPO in Kuala Lumpur could happen as early as next year, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is private. The Kulim listing would come as a three-year rally in crude palm oil prices has begun to sputter, falling from its peak in March as Indonesia ramps up exports. Deliberations are ongoing and details of the IPO such as size and timing could change, the people said. Johor Corp is continuously reviewing its investments, and is committed to improving the value proposition of Kulim, said Hasnina Hafiz, … [Read more...] about Malaysia state firm Johor Corp weighs IPO for US$1 bil palm oil arm

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin There’s a lot of confusion in the marketplace regarding ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) and Sustainable, sometimes known as SRI (Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact) investing. Many people think the two terms are interchangeable – I’m here to tell you that they aren’t. Blackrock BLK , Vanguard, and other big investment houses are simply capitalizing on the growing interest in values-aligned investing. In fact, they have invested a significant amount of money in marketing ESG to have you believe that they are the same. Environment, social, and governance metrics are data points that hypothetically deliver insight into how responsible a company is. The problem is that there is no standard by which companies are judged – and the metrics are constantly changing. A recent Bloomberg article questions MSCI’s MSCI ESG ratings, which is where large firms like those mentioned above get their data. The article … [Read more...] about ESG Investing Is Not Sustainable Investing

Industrial and logistics parks developer IndoSpace has leased out 50,000 square feet of warehousing space in Chennai industrial park to Denmark-based hydraulic cylinder maker Lind Jensen Machinery (LJM). IndoSpace has expanded its tenant portfolio by onboarding LJM. The company will set up its first factory in India at Oragadam II in Chennai where it will produce hydraulic pitch, lock cylinders, and accumulators for the wind turbine industry, IndoSpace said in a statement. The facility is expected to be functional next month. It will be LJM's second manufacturing plant in Asia after China, it said. LJM plans to develop parts for the wind energy sector to cater to both local and international markets. The project has received an investment of 2 million euros so far, IndoSpace said. Jointly promoted by Everstone Group LLP, GLP and Realterm, IndoSpace is the country's largest developer and owner of Grade A industrial real estate and logistics parks. IndoSpace has an extensive … [Read more...] about Danish firm LJM leases 50,000 sq ft warehousing space in IndoSpace’s Chennai park

When the government announced a vaccination programme for 12-14-year olds earlier this year, Neeta Singh (name changed), an educator at one of India’s biggest edtech unicorns, was excited as she thought she would be back in the classroom after almost two years. Singh said she was very keen to get back to her previous employer, a tutoring company, despite the lower compensation as she wanted to get out of the ‘extremely toxic’ culture at the edtech unicorn she had worked at for almost 15 months. “I am a single mother of two and I cannot stop working as both my kids are still in school. The local tuition centre I was working at had asked us to look for different jobs in March 2020, when the government announced the first lockdown,” said Singh. “Back then e-learning platforms were offering huge packages so I accepted it. I thought working from home would be better as I would be able to manage things better. But my incentives and job security were linked to the number of classes, … [Read more...] about Layoffs, restructuring, slowdown: India’s edtech firms are struggling post-pandemic

Fundamental VC, an early-stage venture capital (VC) fund has launched its maiden fund with a target corpus of $130 million, at a time when early-stage funding is gaining traction among VCs in India. The Bengaluru-based fund will be focused on sectors such as consumer internet, healthcare, insurance, financial services, software-as-a-service (SaaS), gaming, and artificial intelligence (AI), among others, the company said in a statement on June 24. Fundamental VC said it received Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI’s) approval in March. The VC claimed that it already has started deploying capital and plans to lead investments in pre-seed and seed rounds. Founded by Saswat Sundar and Abhishek Rathi, former executives at startups like OYO, Stashfin, and Velocity, Fundamental VC said it plans to invest up to $1.5 million in each startup and aims to back 30 startups, over a period of two years. Earlier, both founders have individually invested … [Read more...] about Early-stage venture capital firm Fundamental launches maiden fund worth $130 million

Sales automation software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform LeadSquared has joined the unicorn club after the Bengaluru-based company raised $153 million from WestBridge Capital as a part of its Series C funding round. The company is India's 103rd startup to be valued at $1 billion or more even as concerns mount over funding and the growing number of layoffs in the industry. "(We will) start building in APAC and EMEA, add new offerings to our product portfolio, and fund acquisitions. To support our growth, we plan to double our headcount in the next 18 months,” LeadSquared's founder and chief executive office Nilesh Patel said on June 21. He was referring to the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, the Middle East and  African countries. The company would also use the funds to invest more for growth in its existing markets—India and North America, Patel said. LeadSquared follows edtech company PhysicsWallah and online beauty products marketplace Purplle to become the third … [Read more...] about Sales automation firm LeadSquared joins unicorn club with $153 million funding from WestBridge

Housing Development Finance Corp on April 20 said it has entered into binding agreements to sell 10 percent of HDFC Capital Advisors to a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the United Arab Emirates' biggest sovereign wealth fund, for Rs 184 crore. "...This investment will help leverage ADIA’s global expertise and experience to further propel HDFC Capital towards becoming a leading investment platform for global and local investors across multiple strategies and asset classes in the real estate and technology ecosystem,” said HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh. HDFC Capital is targeting to finance development of one million affordable homes in India and is in active discussions with global investors to raise additional funds, Housing Development Finance Corp said. HDFC Capital is the investment manager to HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Funds one, two and three and manages an approximately $3 billion funding platform. The stake sale comes after HDFC and HDFC … [Read more...] about HDFC to sell 10% of subsidiary to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority

- A + A (June 25): Just days after saying Singapore is “brutal and unrelentingly hard” on bad behaviour in the crypto industry, Sopnendu Mohanty, the chief fintech officer of the city’s regulator, struck a cordial tone. Mohanty, in a LinkedIn post summarising his thoughts from the Point Zero Forum in Switzerland, commended the leadership of some of the biggest firms in the sector. “Leaders from the crypto/token space (Binance, Crypto.com, Ripple and others) are fully committed to building a secure and sustainable innovation solving real problems, and identifying real-economy opportunities,” said Mohanty of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). “It is heartening to see the clarity among chief executive officers (CEOs) on the need to create a responsible and compliant industry. The future is on the right path.” Mohanty’s praise comes as the digital currency market continues to spiral downwards following a broad-based sell-off in digital assets and the collapse … [Read more...] about Singapore regulator praises leaders of crypto firms like Binance

Flags of South Korea | INQ STOCK PHOTO A unit of a South Korean company will produce tapioca starch in the Philippines via a P750-million project that is also expected to hire nearly 500 Filipino workers. In a statement, the Board of Investments (BOI) said it approved the application of Daesang Philippines Corp., which would use the same modern manufacturing technology used in its starch plants in South Korea. The project, which will be receiving tax breaks, is expected to start commercial operations in January next year. It will have a production capacity of 33,000 tons of tapioca starch and 4,446 tons of tapioca residue annually. It will be located in Misamis Oriental in Northern Mindanao, the second-largest cassava producing region in the country having accounted for 27.05 percent of total production in 2020, according to the BOI. “We are making strides in modernizing our country’s agriculture sector,” said BOI chair and Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez. “This is a … [Read more...] about South Korea firm to build P750-m tapioca starch plant in PH

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin As sinking stocks and recession fears spur interest in alternatives, fund managers and retail marketplaces are chomping at the bit for ‘mass affluent’ investors. After years of private equity firms aggressively marketing themselves to high-net-worth investors and their financial advisors, the message seems to be breaking through. Facing a bear market and bleak economic outlook, marked by inflation, supply chain imbalances and a hawkish Federal Reserve, more RIAs and high-net-worth investors are warming up to alternative investment funds – such as private equity, hedge funds, venture capital and private debt strategies – in their search for yield, according to advisors and investment managers who spoke with Forbes . “I think [retail] appetite is increasing,” says Donald Calcagni, Chief Investment Officer at Mercer Advisors, which oversees roughly $42 billion of client assets. “There is a sense among investors, … [Read more...] about Private Equity Bonanza Moves ‘Down Market’ Amid Bear Market Jitters