Aug 3 (Reuters) – Britain’s competition regulator said on Wednesday that Canadian cloud-based software firm Dye & Durham (DND.TO) should sell TM Group after its investigation identified competition concerns.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said following an in-depth investigation it found Dye & Durham’s acquisition of TM Group reduces competition in the supply of property search services in England and Wales.
The watchdog served an initial enforcement order last September relating to Dye & Durham’s acquisition of TM group.
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In May, the regulator concluded that the deal could result in homebuyers paying higher prices for property search services.
“The merger of two of the biggest players in this market would be bad news for anyone buying or selling property in England and Wales,” Richard Feasey, chair of the independent CMA group conducting the inquiry, said.
Dye & Durham, which provides of cloud-based software and technology solutions, announced the acquisition of TM group for about $156 million in July 2021.
Dye & Durham and TM Group did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments.
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Reporting by Amna Karimi in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Shailesh Kuber
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A man wearing a protective mask, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walks past an electronic board displaying various countries’ stock indexes including Russian Trading System (RTS) Index which is empty, outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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HONG KONG, July 26 (Reuters) – Asian shares pared losses on Tuesday as investor sentiment improved on China’s reported plans to tackle a debt crisis in real estate development.
MSCI’s broadest gauge of Asia stocks outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) bounced back to a gain of 0.36% in afternoon sessions. Chinese stocks jumped after reports the country would set up a fund of up to $44 billion to help property developers. read more
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (.HSI) was 1.48% higher and China’s benchmark CSI300 Index (.CSI300) also widened gains to a rise of 0.91% at the morning close. Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) fell 0.08%, erasing some morning losses.
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FTSE futures edged up 0.15%. U.S. markets are likely to open lower, with E-mini futures for the S&P 500 index down 0.32%.
U.S. retailer Walmart Inc (WMT.N) cut its profit forecast on Monday and said customers were paring back discretionary purchases as inflation bit into household budgets. Shares fell 10% after hours. read more
Investors are also awaiting a likely 75 basis point Federal Reserve interest rate increase later this week – with markets pricing about a 10% risk of a larger hike, as well as waiting to see whether economic warning signs prompt a shift in rhetoric.
“We are leaning to the view that 75 bps is most likely but won’t be the end unless they see some demand destruction and some tempering of inflation,” said John Milroy, an investment adviser at Ord Minnett.
“We are fearful they have to materially slow the U.S. economy further.”
Big technology companies such as Apple (AAPL.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Amazon.com are due to report earnings this week.
“The market has stabilized” from rate hike expectations, said Redmond Wong, Greater China market strategist at Saxo Markets in Hong Kong. “The focus is now on earnings.”
In China, “maintaining stability is the key theme,” said Wong on likely outcomes from politburo meetings expected to begin this week.
In currencies, the dollar was marginally softer but not drifting too far below recent milestone highs as uncertainty continued to swirl around the interest rate and economic outlook.
The euro rose 0.21% to $1.0240 but was hemmed in by uncertainty over Europe’s energy security, which is not helped by a looming cut in the westbound flow of Russian gas. read more
The yen steadied at 136.54 per dollar. The U.S. dollar index , which touched a 20-year high this month, was down slightly at 106.380.
Oil prices rose further on expectations Russia’s reduction in natural gas supply to Europe could encourage a switch to crude, with Brent futures last up 1.27% at $106.45 a barrel and U.S. crude up 1.26% at $97.92 a barrel. read more
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell to 2.875% as growth worries gave support to bonds.
Gold hovered at $1,721.8 an ounce and bitcoin nursed overnight losses at $21,111.31.
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Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Sam Holmes
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A poster with a logo of Foxconn is seen at the IEEE Global Communications Conference in Taipei. Taiwan, December 9, 2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang
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TAIPEI, July 15 (Reuters) – Taiwan’s government is considering fining tech giant Foxconn up to T$25 million ($835,600) over its investment in a Chinese chip conglomerate without first getting regulatory approval, two sources briefed on the matter said on Friday.
Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, said this week it has become a shareholder in embattled Chinese chip conglomerate Tsinghua Unigroup via a 5.38 billion yuan ($797 million) investment by a subsidiary. read more
The investment comes as Taiwan turns a wary eye on China’s ambition to boost its semiconductor industry and has proposed new laws to prevent what it says is China stealing its chip technology.
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Foxconn did not seek prior approval from the Taiwan government before the investment was made and authorities believe it has violated a law governing the island’s relations with China, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Regulators are weighing whether to hand Foxconn the “maximum” fine possible, which is $T25 million, due to the large size of the Chinese investment, the person added,
Foxconn referred Reuters to an earlier filing on the stock exchange, saying it will deliver the documents to the Economy Ministry’s Investment Commission in the near future.
A second source said Foxconn could be given a fine of between T$50,000 and T$20 million for investing without approval, adding that regulators will scrutinise the investment and deliver a decision after they receive the company’s application.
“There’s a chance that an approval will be given. If not, Hon Hai will have to withdraw the investment,” the person said, referring to Foxconn’s formal name, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd.
Taiwanese law states the government can prohibit investment in China “based on the consideration of national security and industry development.” Those violating the law could be fined repeatedly until corrections are made.
Foxconn, best known for assembling Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) iPhone, is keen to make auto chips in particular as it expands into the electric vehicle market. The company has been seeking to acquire chip plants globally as a worldwide chip shortage rattles producers of goods from cars to electronics.
Taipei prohibits companies from building their most advanced foundries in China to ensure they do not offshore their best technology.
Originating as a branch of China’s prestigious Tsinghua University, Tsinghua Unigroup emerged in the previous decade as a would-be domestic champion for China’s laggard chip industry.
But the company fell into debt under former chairman Zhao Weiguo, prompting it to default on a number of bond payments in late 2020 end eventually face bankruptcy. read more
The conglomerate has yet to produce any global leaders in the semiconductor sector.
($1 = 29.9180 Taiwan dollars)
($1 = 6.7506 Chinese yuan renminbi)
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Reporting By Jeanny Kao; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by Michael Perry and Lincoln Feast.
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Bosch logo is seen on a bike during Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, Germany, September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
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BERLIN, July 13 (Reuters) – Technology group Bosch will invest 3 billion euros ($3.01 billion) in chip production by 2026, including in opening two new development centres and expanding its wafer factory in Dresden, the company said on Wednesday.
The investment, for which Bosch will seek European Union funding under the Important Projects of Common European Interests (IPCEI) framework, should boost Europe’s production capacity for chips in a global market still dominated by U.S. and Asian players.
“Europe can and must capitalize on its own strengths in the semiconductor industry,” said Chief Executive Stefan Hartung. “The goal must be to produce chips for the specific needs of European industry.”
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Bosch last year opened a 1 billion euro chip factory in Dresden, a record investment as it sought to stake its claim in the growing market for chips to equip self-driving and electric cars amid a global shortage. read more
A total of 170 million euros will go into the new development centres in Reutlingen and Dresden, with 250 million euros to be spent on expanding the existing Dresden site.
How the remaining funds will be spent is yet to be decided, Hartung said.
The CEO expects bottlenecks in chip supply, from strained shipping networks to low production capacity, to continue for several more months, even as inflation eases pressure on some parts of the sector by reducing demand for expensive consumer goods.
Bosch’s chips need to be shipped from Germany to Malaysia and back again in the production process, meaning any disturbance to shipping could add weeks to delivery times, Hartung said.
“There are areas where certainly demand will fall such that you can order substantive sums at any time…. there are however also areas where not as much capacity was added and demand is still very high,” he said.
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Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Miranda Murray, Rachel More and Jan Harvey
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TAIPEI, July 12 (Reuters) – Taiwan would be “happy” to see its chip firms invest in the European Union but deeper ties with the bloc akin to Taipei’s relations with Washington could help pave the way for that, a senior Taiwanese official told Reuters.
The EU has been courting Taiwan, a major semiconductor producer, as one of the “like-minded” partners it would like to work with under the European Chips Act unveiled in February, as it tries to deal with a persistent global chip shortage. read more
While Taiwan and the EU held-high level trade talks last month, less than a week after that meeting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) (2330.TW) said it had no concrete plans for factories in Europe, having flagged a year ago that it was in the early stages of reviewing a potential expansion into Germany. read more
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Taiwan Deputy Economy Minister Chen Chern-chyi, whose portfolio covers economic relations with Europe, said late Monday that while he could not speak on behalf of chip companies, he noted they have not said they are not going to Europe.
“But the government’s position is that we are happy to see our companies having a global footprint, including the United States and Europe, who are both our like-minded partners. On a policy level we are of course very happy to see them deploying globally, and would be glad to see it happen,” he said.
In the face of sustained Chinese political and military pressure designed to force Taiwan to accept China’s sovereignty claims, Taipei has been keen to bolster ties with other democracies even in the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
In one wrinkle for EU ambitions, Taiwan’s GlobalWafers Co Ltd (6488.TWO) failed in February in a 4.35 billion euro ($4.36 billion) takeover attempt of German chip supplier Siltronic (WAFGn.DE). read more
Chen said he was not aware the ministry, which has to approve large-scale oversees investments, had received any new applications for EU chip projects so far this year.
Taiwan, he added, wanted to have the kind of close, institutionalised trade, technology and economic dialogue ties with the EU that they have with the United States, where TSMC is building a $12 billion factory and GlobalWafers a $5 billion plant. read more
“Our interactions with the United States have been rather more, communication is closer. We also hope to develop the same close relationship with the EU,” Chen said.
“If it’s like this, it would be very helpful for our companies for their attention towards and knowledge of Europe.”
Taiwan has also been pushing for a bilateral investment agreement with the EU, though there has been no progress.
Chen said while that remains a policy goal, they were not ruling out deals that are currently “more achievable”.
“We even hope to have a free trade agreement with the EU, which would be the best. The EU has lots of FTAs with other countries, and if the EU is willing, we are too.”
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Reporting by Jeanny Kao and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Stephen Coates
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BOSTON/LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed a gap in socially-minded investing – a hands-off approach to geopolitics and human rights.
Before Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, Sberbank (SBER.MM), a Kremlin-backed bank already the target of international sanctions, enjoyed higher ratings for environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks than some western lenders.
MSCI Inc (MSCI.N) and Sustainalytics improved their ESG scores for Russia’s largest lender last year as recently as December, citing factors such as improved data privacy. S&P Global Inc (SPGI.N) also gave Sberbank a positive review late last year.
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The ratings firms quickly changed course after the offensive, downgrading or suspending their scores on Sberbank and other Russian government-linked companies citing pressures such as their exposure to new western sanctions.
The U-turns have sparked calls from some investors for an overhaul of how geopolitics, sovereign governance and human rights are factored into ESG ratings.
A first step would be to include warning signs of war, allowing the selling of stocks while they could still be sold, said Dana D’Auria, co-chief investment officer for the asset management division of Envestnet Inc.
“Wouldn’t it have been great to divest from Russian stocks before they became frozen?” D’Auria said. She and Envestnet declined to discuss specific holdings.
Simon MacMahon, head of ESG research for Sustainalytics, said the invasion of Ukraine was “a black swan event” because of its low probability and high impact, and said that investors were aware of the risks of investing in the region.
“To suggest that investors were relying solely on ESG ratings to tell them that investments in Russia, (Belarus) and Ukraine were increasingly high risk is nonsensical,” he said.
Still, Morningstar Inc (MORN.O)-owned Sustainalytics is revamping its methodology to capture companies’ exposure to unpredictable, unmanageable events.
Its new “Systemic Event Indicators” aims to capture any development it defines as “a sea change event that is somehow unpredictable in nature and that affects larger groups of companies at the same time and across a multitude of ESG issues.”
Sustainalytics gave Sberbank a 21.47 score pre-invasion, better than scores given to JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank at the time. The Russian bank’s risk rating was then raised to its current “high risk” rating of 33.4, incorporating the new systemic indicators.
MSCI, which in December upgraded Sberbank to an “A” rating from “BB,” said that it regularly reviewed its ratings methodology and that it had put a ceiling on Russian company ratings and removed them from its indexes.
MSCI spokesperson Melanie Blanco said that across all markets covered by MSCI, state-owned enterprises on average have lower ESG ratings, typically due to weaker corporate governance and higher corruption risk.
A spokesperson for S&P said it continued to review its coverage and methodology for affected companies in Russia but declined to discuss ratings in detail.
AUTOCRACY RISK
Funds that exclude or are underweight companies from countries with weak human rights records are a tiny fraction of the tens of trillions of dollars held in ESG investments.
MSCI Managing Director Meggin Thwing Eastman told Reuters that while Russia’s invasion was forcing “a revisiting of a lot of people’s thinking” in how they assess geopolitics many emerging markets (EM) investors still want exposure to countries despite their sometimes poor human rights records.
“If what you want to do is buy EM, that’s part of what you’re buying into,” she said.
But demand for strategies with a human rights screen is growing.
Julie Cane, CEO of Democracy Investments, investment adviser to the $5 million Democracy International Fund (DMCY.P), said it had a rush of new interest and inflows since Russia’s invasion. It attracted $3 million in net new deposits this year, including $1 million in each of February, March and April, according to Lipper data.
The fund reduces the weighting of some of its holdings if a company’s home country receives a low score in The Economist magazine’s Democracy Index.
That still leaves it with exposure to state-connected businesses, including in China, which has come under increasing international pressure over human rights in the Xinjiang region.
Cane said it was better to keep such stakes, however diminished, “to put pressure on authoritarians to become better citizens of the world.”
China’s foreign ministry and the State Council Information Office did not respond to requests for comment.
The United States says China is committing genocide against Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region. Beijing has denied all accusations of abuse.
Another fund, the $220 million Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF , takes a harder line. It excludes companies from countries that score low on a measure of “human freedom” kept by the Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute.
That makes it a rarity among EM funds because it omits Russian and Chinese holdings. Fund manager Perth Tolle said Russia’s invasion helped attract new money. Lipper data shows it has taken in $117 million so far this year.
“The invasion seems to have made investors more aware of autocracy risk than ever before, and they see that freedom works as a leading indicator,” Tolle said.
Moscow calls its invasion a “special military operation” to protect Russian speakers from Ukrainians intent on taking Kyiv into NATO, a move Russia says it cannot accept. The West and Ukraine say Russia is waging an unjustified war of aggression.
RUSSIAN EXPOSURE
To be sure, most ESG-focused funds had little or no exposure to Russia. Close to $320 million in securities linked to Russia’s government, including via sovereign debt and shares in Sberbank and other state-backed companies, was held across 75 ESG labelled U.S. and European funds as of March according to corporate accountability NGO Inclusive Development International.
Some $100 billion is held in passively managed funds linked to sustainable indexes compiled by MSCI and others according to Sustainable Research and Analysis.
Some ESG raters had flagged the sanctioning of government-connected Russian firms pre-invasion, but those assessments had a limited impact. In a Nov. 29 note a unit of S&P credited Sberbank for conducting risk assessments and strategic planning.
The note cautioned against corruption and centralized power in Russia, but said “the inclusion of the bank on international sanctions lists currently does not affect the effectiveness of its corporate management and does not create any immediate financial or operational risks.”
Despite being put on 2014 U.S. and European Union sanctions lists after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Sberbank grew in the following seven years, maintaining a sizeable presence in some European markets and reporting a 74% jump in net profits to a record 1.24 trillion roubles for 2021.
Sberbank said in a statement that its “impressive progress” on ESG ratings in 2021 reflected “internal ESG transformation efforts as well as its sustainability leadership in Russia.” It did not respond to specific questions about the ratings.
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Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston and by Tommy Wilkes in London. Additional reporting by Simon Jessop in London and Ryan Woo in Beijing. Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Carmel Crimmins.
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The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
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June 15 (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday requested information on the activities of financial information providers amid growing concerns over their influence on investment decisions, despite not being fully regulated.
Critics have expressed concerns that information providers, particularly index companies such as S&P Global, MSCI (MSCI.N) and FTSE Russell which assist in trillions of dollars of investment decisions globally, have acted as unregulated investment advisors.
“The role of these information providers today raises important questions under the securities laws as to when they are providing investment advice rather than merely information,” U.S. SEC chair Gary Gensler said in a statement.
Index providers are currently treated as data publishers by the SEC.
The information gathered will help the watchdog to understand whether information providers should be regulated, given the influence of these companies in driving investment decisions, the statement said.
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Reporting by Akriti Sharma and Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin
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DUBAI, June 15 (Reuters) – The prince who’s the international face of Saudi business may no longer be able to call all the shots.
For years, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Saudi Arabia’s self-styled Warren Buffett, has made hundreds of millions of dollars by investing in companies from Citigroup (C.N) to Uber (UBER.N) to Twitter (TWTR.N) with almost complete autonomy.
Now, his Kingdom Holding (4280.SE) investment firm counts Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) as a minority shareholder and the powerful sovereign wealth fund is unlikely to sit on the sidelines, sources familiar with the matter said.
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The wealth fund, which is at the heart of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious plan to diversify the Saudi economy, will want Kingdom Holding’s investment committee to have more power over decision making than in the past, two sources with knowledge of Kingdom’s business told Reuters
“(PIF) will want to be an active investor,” said a sovereign wealth fund investor in the Gulf. “The investment committee of Kingdom Holding is essentially Alwaleed, and I can’t imagine the PIF being at the whims of the prince.”
The PIF, Kingdom Holding, Prince Alwaleed and his spokesman all declined to comment when contacted by Reuters about what PIF’s minority stake would mean for future investments.
Alwaleed, 67, had long kept a tight grip on Kingdom’s shares, owning all but 5% traded on the Saudi stock market until PIF purchased a 16.87% stake for $1.5 billion last month.
The deal came more than four years after Prince Alwaleed was swept up in an anti-corruption drive ordered by the Crown Prince and held for nearly three months at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton along with scores of royals, senior officials and businessmen.
Most detainees were released after reaching financial settlements and Prince Alwaleed said in March 2018 that he had struck a confidential and secret deal with the government.
It was not clear whether the PIF purchase was related to the settlement. A spokesman for Prince Alwaleed, the grandson of Saudi Arabia’s first king Abdulaziz and Lebanon’s first prime minister Riad Al Solh, has said it was purely a business deal.
The PIF deal was struck at Kingdom Holding’s lowest share price this year, with no premium. Bankers who usually work with the PIF or Alwaleed were not engaged for this deal, two sources familiar with the matter said.
‘CHANGE OF TACK’
The Saudi state took direct controlling stakes in the businesses of some Saudi entrepreneurs detained in 2017, including the Binladen construction group and media company MBC, as part of the settlements securing their release.
Analysts said, however, that the intervention in Kingdom Holding marked a shift in strategy by the Saudi government, as the other stakes are being held by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) rather than the wealth fund.
“It is an indication of a change of tack,” said James Swanston, Middle East and North Africa economist at Capital Economics. “With PIF now holding the stake, it may now be seen more as an investment opportunity.”
The PIF’s role is to earn enough income through investments to develop new sectors in the Saudi economy whereas the Ministry of Finance is more the guardian of day-to-day spending and is much less strategic or interested in risk, said Jim Krane, research fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute.
Alwaleed’s investment style has focused on new opportunities that could be very lucrative but carry risk, as well as looking at undervalued assets, said one of the sources with knowledge of Kingdom’s business.
“The PIF is essentially buying a stake in Prince Alwaleed’s successful investing track record. As long as Alwaleed demonstrates he can still pick winners, Saudis will benefit,” said Jim Krane, author of “Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Survival in the Persian Gulf.”
Alwaleed rose to international prominence after making a big successful bet on Citigroup in the 1990s and he was an early investor in Apple (AAPL.O).
The prince and Kingdom also made a joint investment of $300 million in Twitter in 2011 and he raised his stake in 2015. Last month, he agreed to roll a stake now worth $1.89 billion into Elon Musk’s takeover deal, rather than cashing out.
SUCCESSION
While PIF’s move may affect Prince Alwaleed’s room for manoeuvre, Kingdom Holding will benefit from the sovereign wealth fund’s political and financial clout when it comes to dealmaking, the two sources close to Kingdom said.
Since becoming a more active investor in 2015, the sovereign wealth fund has taken some bold steps to raise its profile in the world of business and sport.
It took a $3.5 billion stake in Uber before its listing, invested $45 billion in Softbank’s inaugural technology fund, bought 80% of British soccer club Newcastle United last year and has disrupted the world of golf with its new LIV league.
The PIF now manages more than $600 billion of assets though its investment record has been mixed.
It made a huge profit from investing in electric vehicle maker Lucid (LCID.O) before it listed, but its Softbank investment has been more volatile as rising rates and geopolitical instability whiplashed high-growth tech stocks.
The wealth fund is backing the Crown Prince’s mega projects in his Vision 2030 economic diversification plan.
Property consultant Knight Frank estimates projects to develop Saudi Arabia’s nascent tourism industry and other sectors, which includes building a vast futuristic green city called NEOM for $500 billion, are worth over $1 trillion.
But Riyadh has struggled as many foreign investors as hoped and the PIF could benefit from Alwaleed’s relations with key players in the hotel industry thanks to stakes in Four Seasons as well as the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel chains.
Despite his high-profile image, Alwaleed has kept close to his roots. He often heads deep into the Saudi desert, where he spends time with guests and meets tribesmen and their families.
The fact his son Khaled bin Alwaleed has forged his own path, investing in technology, real estate, food manufacturing and vegan chains through his KBW Ventures and KBW Investments, has raised the question of succession, three sources said.
One source from the world of finance said PIF could propose a candidate to be groomed by the prince as a successor.
“You take the prince out of the equation, and it’s just a Saudi investment holding company,” the person said. “I don’t think many of these deals would have been done without him.”
($1 = 3.7518 riyals)
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Reporting by Hadeel al Sayegh and Saeed Azhar; Editing by David Clarke
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A view of the Carro signage at their showroom in Singapore June 15, 2021. REUTERS/Edgar Su
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SINGAPORE, June 6 (Reuters) – Singapore-headquartered Carro, a Southeast Asian online used-car marketplace, has acquired a 50% stake in the rental unit of Indonesian automotive group PT Mitra Pinasthika Mustika Tbk (MPMX.JK) for nearly $54 million, both companies said in a joint statement on Monday.
PT Mitra Pinasthika Mustika Rent (MPMRent) is one of Indonesia’s leading car rental firms with a fleet of more than 13,000 cars and provides financing services.
Carro counts SoftBank Group Corp’s (9984.T) Vision Fund investment arm, Singapore sovereign fund GIC and state investor Temasek (TEM.UL) among its biggest investors.
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Since being founded in 2015, Carro has raised more than $600 million in equity and nearly $300 million in debt.
Carro’s platform allows consumers and wholesale businesses to buy and sell used vehicles and also offers insurance and financing services.
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Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Shailesh Kuber
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SEOUL, May 24 (Reuters) – Samsung Group will invest 450 trillion won ($356 billion) in the next five years to accelerate growth in semiconductors, biopharmaceutical and other next-generation technologies, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) said.
South Korea’s top conglomerate said on Tuesday the investments through 2026 are expected to help Samsung drive long-term growth in strategic areas such as the chip sector, while pledging aggressive investments in the biopharmaceutical sector to make it as successful as its chip business.
Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chip maker, did not provide a breakdown of the figures, though it added that 80% of investments will be made in South Korea and that Tuesday’s announcement includes a 240 trillion won investment pledge made in August 2021. read more
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Samsung did not include electric vehicle batteries as a future growth engine in the announcement.
Samsung SDI, the group’s battery unit, and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, are scheduled to announce their new battery plant in the U.S. state of Indiana on Tuesday. read more
Securing domestic chip and bio supply chains will have strategic significance and be important for South Korea’s economic security, Samsung said in the announcement.
The 450 trillion won investments, expected to create 1.07 million jobs, are over 30% greater than the 330 trillion won Samsung invested in the five years to 2021.
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Reporting by Byungwook Kim; Editing by Sonali Desai
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