FROM THE PRESS RELEASE DESK THIS WEEK…
People moves
Fidelity has appointed Jenn-Hui Tan as global head of stewardship and sustainable investing. Previously, Tan was the firm’s head of capital markets and corporate governance for Asia-Pacific. In his new role, Tan will be responsible for providing external and internal leadership for Fidelity’s sustainable investing activities globally, including strategy and policies on engagement, voting and ESG integration. Based in Singapore, Tan will be responsible for Fidelity’s ESG teams in Europe and Asia…
Global alternative investment firm Värde Partners has appointed Ilfryn Carstairs as co-CEO, effective 1 January 2020. Singapore-based Carstairs, who first joined the firm in 2006, is a partner at Värde and will retain his role as global chief investment officer. Meanwhile, CEO George Hicks, who co-founded Värde 25 years ago, intends to transition to an executive chair role in 2022. Värde manages around $14bn in assets and invests in alternative asset classes, including corporate credit, real estate and infrastructure. The firm sponsors and manages private investment funds with a global investor base that includes foundations and endowments, pension plans, insurance companies and private clients…
BNP Paribas has appointed Chaoni Huang as Asia-Pacific head of sustainable capital markets for global markets. In this newly created role, Huang will be responsible for driving the bank’s sustainable finance solutions for corporates, financial institutions and investors with a focus on primary, asset finance and securitisation. Before BNP Paribas, Huang was at Natixis, where she was executive director for green and sustainable solutions for Asia-Pacific…
Southeast Asia
Mutual fund AUM in Southeast Asia contracted by 4% to $369.6bn last year, according to a Cerulli Associates report. Managers in Malaysia and Thailand expect 2019 to be a challenging year for new fundraising as well, due to the prevailing market sentiments as well as strong competition from deposits and structured products. Meanwhile, managers in Indonesia and the Philippines are hopeful that new distribution channels and favourable regulatory developments will help expand the investor base. The region is still expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 10% between 2019-2023, supported by a rising middle class, improving financial literacy and expansion of online distribution channels…
Business moves
Invesco has launched the Global Bond Fixed Maturity Fund 2022 in Hong Kong this week, according to a statement from the firm. The product will invest in a globally diversified portfolio of bonds with a maximum maturity close to the fund’s expiration date. Investors are expected to receive the targeted periodic income from bond coupons regardless of the fluctuating bond prices. The fund is open for subscription until 26 July and is expected to begin investing on 29 July…
DWS has acquired a minority stake of 2.68% in Frankfurt-based ESG scoring provider Arabesque S-Ray, which monitors ESG-related factors of around 7,000 companies globally. DWS plans to use S-Ray’s scores as an additional source for its ESG capabilities. In addition, DWS is in exclusive talks with Arabesque about a potential significant minority stake in Arabesque’s AI engine…
Singapore-based private capital raising platform Capbridge and Seoul-based Hana Financial Investment Company (HFI) have formed a strategic business partnership. HFI will offer companies and investors in South Korea more access to private markets through Capbridge’s platform. Both firms expect that the partnership will make it more convenient for unlisted companies in South Korea to attract investments from abroad…
