The New Zealand Super Fund (NZSF) is looking to invest in catastrophe risk insurance due to the sector’s cyclical nature and strong liquidity, according to Pablo Matias Sosa, senior investment strategist at the $22 billion sovereign wealth fund (SWF).
Catastrophe reinsurance typically sees firms underwrite losses on large scale, tail-risk events, such as Hurricane Katrina, and Sosa said that this was an alternative investment the fund was considering diversifying into………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singapore’s Temasek Holdings sold its stake in New China Life, China’s third largest insurer, on Thursday after launching a 78 million share block trade after the market close.
Joint leads Goldman Sachs and UBS marketed the deal at HK$27.30 to HK$27.85 per share before pricing towards the bottom of the range at HK$27.45. This represented a 5.5% discount to the stock’s HK$29.05 close. About 100 accounts placed orders in the $276 million deal but allocations were skewed towards a couple of large anchor accounts, which the leads had built the deal around………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Speculation of Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) being merged with a budget long haul carrier has been dismissed by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which has a 69.4% stake in the ailing national carrier.
“Khazanah Nasional wishes to state that media reports of a possible merger between MAS and AirAsia X Bhd (AAX), are unfounded and speculative,” it said in a statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

It’s almost seven years since the Qatari Investment Authority walked away from its £10.6bn or £6 a share indicative bid for J Sainsbury, blaming its retreat on credit markets which made raising funding more expensive. It retained a 26 per cent stake and has remained a loyal shareholder. Until now.
Rumours suggest the Qataris were underwhelmed with Mike Coupe’s appointment as chief executive to succeed Justin King, who was credited with turning the group around during an impressive 10-year tenure. But with the shares still languishing just above £3 a pop and the grocer continuing to suffer increasing pressure from foreign discounters Aldi and Lidl, the Qataris are believed to be ready to go on the offensive again………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the three largest sovereign funds in the world, is emerging as a promising candidate for the acquisition of the State Tower Namsan located in Seoul.
According to industry sources, Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management and Savills Korea, which are moving ahead with the sale of the office building, have interviews with the ADIA and IGIS Asset Management on July 24 in order to select a preferred bidder.The final candidates include the ADIA, IGIS Asset Management, RREEF under Deutsche Bank, and Ascendas of Singapore. The preferred bidder is selected late this month after overall evaluation of funding and asset management capabilities……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s private-equity arm and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are considering joining Gavea Investimentos Ltda. in a bid for Brazilian medical-services company Fleury SA, people with knowledge of the matter said.
In joining Gavea, the two investors would be wading into a bid for a company that has been on the market for more than six months. Fleury, which has a market value of about 2.6 billion reais ($1.2 billion), said in March that it was in exclusive talks with Gavea………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Mubadala Development Company PJSC’s (Mubadala) Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR), senior unsecured rating at ‘AA’ and Short-term IDR at ‘F1+’. The Outlook on the Long-term IDR is Stable.
Mubadala Development Company -GMTN B.V.’s (MDC) global medium-term note (GMTN) programme and outstanding notes and MDC’s euro commercial paper programme (ECP) have also been affirmed at ‘AA’ and ‘F1+’, respectively………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Norway’s $890 billion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, has said it’s reassessing its investments in Russia as the European Union considers expanding sanctions against the country.
The fund will make “the necessary adjustments” if its holdings were to be affected by sanctions against Russia that Norway backs, Runar Malkenes, a Finance Ministry spokesman, said this week. Below is a list of the fund’s 20 biggest stakes in Russian companies, ranked by percent of ownership, as of Dec. 31, according to data from the wealth fund’s website………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Norway, whose government-managed investment fund is worth more than $900 billion, is considering selling its Russian-based investments, totaling as much as $8 billion, as the European Union mulls new sanctions against Russia following the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 last week.
Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that Norway, which is not an EU member country said it’s prepared to make the changes and quoted Runar Malkenes, a Finance Ministry spokesman, saying “If the oil fund’s investments become affected by economic sanctions against Russia that Norway supports,” the fund “will need to make the necessary adjustments to accommodate the new situation.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Russia has become deeply unpopular, even toxic. Europe and the U.S. are working non-stop on new economic sanctions, the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund is thinking of cutting its $8 billion Russia investment, and in Holland some people are calling for the deportation of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughter.
Not even the intention of Norway’s $890 billion sovereign wealth fund to review its $8 billion investment in 65 Russian financial instruments, the biggest of which is a 4.6 percent stake in VTB, is a serious threat: The fund can’t sell all its holdings at once and will protect its investment unless forced to act otherwise by some extra-severe sanctions, the likes of which are not even under discussion………………………………………..Full Article: Source