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Singapore's CapitaLand Investment launches first onshore master fund in China

Singapore's CapitaLand Investment launches first onshore master fund in China

Reuters21-05-2025

May 21 (Reuters) - Real estate investment manager CapitaLand Investment Ltd (CAPN.SI), opens new tab said on Wednesday that it has launched its first onshore master fund in China, backed by a total equity commitment of 5 billion yuan ($692.58 million).
The Singapore-based company said its new fund, CLI RMB Master Fund, will target business parks, retail, rental housing, and serviced residences, with a majority stake to be held by a local insurance company.
"This (the fund) allows us to tap into a rising trend of insurance companies increasing their capital allocation to real estate in China," said Puah Tze Shyang, chief executive officer, CapitaLand Investment China, adding that it will provide opportunities to invest in a diversified and resilient portfolio of stabilised assets with core returns.
The company expects the CLI RMB Master Fund to add 20 billion yuan to its funds under management once fully deployed.
($1 = 7.2194 Chinese yuan)

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Miliband is wasting billions on the wrong nuclear technology
Miliband is wasting billions on the wrong nuclear technology

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Miliband is wasting billions on the wrong nuclear technology

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Air India disaster deals heavy blow to 'world class airline' ambition
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Reuters

time4 hours ago

  • Reuters

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NEW DELHI, June 12 (Reuters) - The Air India plane crash in which more than 200 passengers were killed on Thursday has plunged the airline into its deepest crisis yet and will deal a heavy blow to its efforts to revamp its reputation and fleet. After taking the carrier over from the government in 2022, the Tata Group unveiled ambitious plans to reverse years of underinvestment in an ageing and outdated fleet and create a "world class airline", as CEO Campbell Wilson has repeatedly put it, on a par with rivals like Emirates. The turnaround has been aimed at tackling its myriad problems including persistent flight delays, disgruntled customers, a shortage of spare parts, delayed plane deliveries and years of financial losses. "Newer aircraft and better maintenance should be the hallmark for Air India to survive. Proper maintenance is what they should be looking into, because Air India has had a chequered past," said Vibhuti Deora, a former legal expert at India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. That past includes, while under government ownership, Boeing 737 flight from Dubai overshooting the runway at one domestic airport and crashing into a gorge in 2010, killing 158 people. More recently, its low-cost unit Air India Express saw one craft skid off a runway in India in 2020, killing 21 people. Only a few days ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told an international gathering of hundreds of airline executives in New Delhi that the country's aviation industry stood at a crucial point of takeoff. On Thursday, however, Air India swapped the bright red colour scheme and logo on its website for a more sombre black and grey one, covering it with a banner that carried the crashed flight's number: "AI-171". "For an airline, the most important thing is the brand's identity with safety. This will be a major setback for the brand in that aspect," said Dilip Cherian, a communications consultant and co-founder of public relations firm Perfect Relations. With its maharajah mascot, Air India was once renowned for its lavishly decorated planes and stellar service championed by its founder, JRD Tata, India's first commercial pilot. But since the mid-2000s, the carrier's reputation has worsened as financial troubles mounted. It has flown widebody planes with business class seats in poor condition and grounded some of its new Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab 787 Dreamliners for lack of spare parts. When Tata regained control, the airline was "just in absolute shambles", its CEO Wilson told Reuters in a 2024 interview, noting that some of its planes hadn't had a product refresh since they were delivered in 2010-2011. Air India, which has a 30% share of the domestic passenger market, has a fleet of 198 planes, of which 27 are 10-15 years old and 43 are more than 15 years old, the civil aviation ministry told parliament in March. Air India Express had 101 planes, with 37% of them more than 15 years old. The plane that crashed on Thursday was 11 years old, according to Flightradar24. Rival Indian airlines like IndiGo ( opens new tab operate newer planes. Air India, which is part-owned by Singapore Airlines ( opens new tab, has placed orders for 570 new jets in recent years and is in talks for dozens more. It has even aggressively expanded its international flight network in the face of the fury of its passengers, who often take to social media to show soiled seats, broken arm rests, non-operational entertainment systems and dirty cabin areas. It has also been ranked the worst airline for flight delays in Britain, where its departures were on average just under 46 minutes behind schedule in 2024, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data by the PA news agency published in May. It has also been reporting losses since at least fiscal 2019-20. In 2023-2024, it reported a net loss of $520 million on sales of $4.6 billion. Before it can make any further progress on these problems, however, it faces the difficult task of investigating one of India's worst aviation disasters ever. "This is a difficult day for all of us at Air India," CEO Wilson said in a video message. "Investigations will take time."

IMF says July forecasts to take into account trade deals, uncertainty
IMF says July forecasts to take into account trade deals, uncertainty

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time5 hours ago

  • Reuters

IMF says July forecasts to take into account trade deals, uncertainty

June 12 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that its next global growth forecast in July will take into account both positive and negative trade developments but declined to predict a tariff-driven GDP downgrade similar to that released by the World Bank this week. IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said that since the last release of the Fund's World Economic Outlook in April, there have been some positive developments that could support improved economic activity, including a major tariff reduction between the U.S. and China and an initial trade deal between the U.S. and Britain. "So taken together such announcements combined with the April 9 pause on the high level of tariffs, these could support activity relative to the forecast that we had in April," Kozack told a regular IMF news briefing. "But nonetheless, we do have an outlook for the global economy that remains subject to heightened uncertainty, especially as trade negotiations continue." The IMF also will take into account U.S. President Donald Trump's added steel and aluminum tariffs, she said. These have now reached 50% for all exporters. The World Bank on Tuesday slashed its 2025 global growth forecast by four-tenths of a percentage point from its January forecast to 2.3%, saying that higher tariffs and heightened uncertainty posed a "significant headwind" for nearly all economies. The development lender cut forecasts for nearly 70% of all economies - including the U.S., China and Europe, but the prior forecast came before Trump took office and imposed tariffs on nearly all trading partners. The IMF's steep April forecast cut did take into account Trump's initial tariff assault, reducing the 2025 global growth outlook by half a percentage point from its January forecast to 2.8%, with a slower decline in inflation. Kozack said the next IMF World Economic Outlook update will be issued toward the end of July, but did not provide a specific date. Trump's "reciprocal" tariff pause is currently scheduled to expire on July 8, with many countries seeking to negotiate tariff-reducing deals before then. And Trump has said there could be extensions of that deadline for countries engaged in good faith negotiations with the U.S. Kozack said that more recent activity indicators reflect "a complex economic landscape" with first quarter front-loading activity to beat tariffs, while there has been some diversion of trade and an unwinding of import activity in the second quarter. There also could be more trade deals or other developments to take into account. "So all of this creates kind of a complicated picture for us, with some upside risk, some other developments, and we'll take all of these developments together into account as we update our forecast," Kozack said.

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