| Singapore's GIC is taking the unusual step of investing directly in unlisted firms, a move bankers say will be mimicked by other sovereign wealth funds as low yields spur fund managers to adopt a more hands-on attitude in their search for higher returns. In the first half of this year, GIC agreed to pay up to US$310 million (RM985.8 million) for minority stakes in two unlisted Philippine companies — food producer Century Canning Corp and hospital group Metro Pacific Investment Corp.
While the investments in the Southeast Asian archipelago nation formed just a tiny sliver of GIC’s estimated US$30 billion private equity portfolio, they marked a departure from GIC’s approach of putting money in a private equity fund that would then invest on its behalf, or co-investing with a buyout firm...............................................Full Article: Source
|