Blackstone to invest $25 billion in data centers and natural gas plants, COO says
Gray said Blackstone had identified several sites to build large data centers and would also later be announcing with a Pennsylvania utility a plan to build a number of natural gas generation plants.
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Independent Singapore
33 minutes ago
- Independent Singapore
Temasek strengthens bets on family businesses in India
SINGAPORE: Singapore's state investor Temasek is betting on Indian family-run businesses. This mirrors a larger trend of global capital backing family businesses that run multigenerational companies. Such firms have built deep community roots and loyal customers. This translates to brand equity and emotional resonance. It also makes them uniquely positioned to tap into the opportunities that India's rising middle class creates. In March 2025, Temasek bought a stake in Indian packaged foods company Haldiram. Started by the Agarwal family, which operates in the industry, the company was valued at S$10 billion. Temasek's India investments are themed around building a strong, future-oriented portfolio. This means backing companies that benefit from the growing middle class and consumer demand in India, digitalisation across various sectors; and sustainable living. The investment environment looks promising. Currently, India makes up 5% of Temasek's portfolio. It plans to invest up to US$10 billion in India over the next three years, adding to its existing US$50 billion investment. See also Temasek Holdings and GIC on worldwide buying spree Temasek's portfolio in India has increased by 35%, adding US$13 billion in value. The firm sees great potential in a market marked by steady growth and increasing sophistication. In a media interaction, Ravi Lambah, who heads Temasek's India operations and its strategic initiatives, notes: 'The market is getting bigger, so we need to focus.' Key sectors such as consumption, financial services, healthcare, sustainability, and industrials are part of where the investment firm is looking at developments. Recent investments demonstrate this strategic shift. Apart from its stake in Haldiram's, Temasek raised its stake in Manipal Hospitals to 59% in a US$2 billion deal. It then sold minority stakes to Novo Holdings and Mubadala while keeping majority control. Other consumer bets by Temasek include stakes in eyewear firm Lenskart, online food platform Rebel Foods, as well as a stake in Schneider Electric India. It's also backed SarvaGram, a rural fintech and productivity platform for underserved households. Family businesses attract investors because of their stability and long-term vision. 'When we partner with families, they have longevity of capital,' Lambah explains. See also The secret that is Ho Ching's salary – will we ever know? As India's economy grows, global investors like Temasek are positioning themselves to take advantage of its vast potential. Family businesses, once considered traditional, are now leading this new wave of investment. India is poised to become the world's third-largest economy by 2030. Nominal GDP is predicted to reach US$7.3 trillion, surpassing Germany and Japan. With a growth of 6.2-6.7% annually from 2025, driven by domestic consumption, structural reforms, and a youthful workforce, a. resurgent India is also expected to benefit Singapore. Singapore is a top FDI source for India, with US$159 billion invested in India since 2000. The city-state saw bilateral trade with India valued at US$35.6 billion in 2022-23. This is set to expand, with India targeting $1 trillion in merchandise exports by 2030.
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Nvidia's resumption of AI chips to China is part of rare earths talks, says US
WASHINGTON: Nvidia's planned resumption of sales of its H20 AI chips to China is part of US negotiations on rare earths, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday (Jul 15), and comes days after its CEO met President Donald Trump. "We put that in the trade deal with the magnets," Lutnick told Reuters, referring to an agreement Trump made to restart rare earth shipments to US manufacturers. He did not provide additional details. Nvidia said late on Monday that it is filing applications with the US government to resume sales to China of its H20 graphics processing unit, and has been assured by the US it will get the licences soon. The planned resumption is a reversal of an export restriction imposed in April that is designed to keep the most advanced AI chips out of Chinese hands over national security concerns, an issue that has found rare bipartisan support. It drew swift questions and criticism from US legislators on Tuesday. The decision "would not only hand our foreign adversaries our most advanced technologies, but is also dangerously inconsistent with this Administration's previously-stated position on export controls for China", Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, ranking member of the House of Representatives Select Committee on China, said in a statement. Republican John Moolenaar, chair of that committee, said in a statement he would seek "clarification" from the Commerce Department. "The H20 is a powerful chip that, according to our bipartisan investigation, played a significant role in the rise of PRC AI companies like DeepSeek," Moolenaar said, referring to a Chinese startup that claims to have built AI models at a fraction of the cost paid by US firms such as OpenAI. "It is crucial that the US maintain its lead and keep advanced AI out of the hands of the CCP." Shares of Nvidia, the world's most valuable firm, closed up 4 per cent and were nearly unchanged in after-market trading. Nvidia had estimated that the curbs would cut its revenue by US$15 billion. Nvidia's plan to resume sales has set off a scramble at Chinese firms to buy H20 chips, two sources told Reuters. The chips that Nvidia will resume selling are the best it can legally offer in China, but lack much of the computing power of the versions for sale outside of China because of previous restrictions put in place by Trump's first administration and then President Joe Biden's administration. But critically, H20 chips work with Nvidia's software tools, which have become a de facto standard in the global AI industry. CEO Jensen Huang has argued that Nvidia's leadership position could slip away if the company cannot sell to Chinese developers being courted by Huawei Technologies with chips produced in China. The significance of the shift depends on the volume of H20 chips that the US allows to be shipped to China, said Divyansh Kaushik, an AI expert at Beacon Global Strategies, a Washington-based advisory firm. "If China is able to get a million H20 chips, it could significantly narrow, if not overtake, the US lead in AI," he said. CHINA IS CRUCIAL "The Chinese market is massive, dynamic, and highly innovative, and it's also home to many AI researchers," Huang told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday. China generated US$17 billion in revenue for Nvidia in the fiscal year ending Jan 26, or 13 per cent of total sales, based on its latest annual report. Internet giants ByteDance and Tencent are also in the process of submitting applications for H20 chips, the sources familiar with the matter said. Central to the process is an approved list put together by Nvidia for Chinese companies to register for potential purchases, one of the sources said. Tencent did not respond to a request for comment. ByteDance denied in a statement that it is currently submitting applications. Nvidia declined to comment on the approved list system. Asked at a regular foreign ministry briefing in Beijing about Nvidia's plans to resume AI chip sales, a spokesperson said: "China is opposed to the politicisation, instrumentalisation and weaponisation of science, technology and economic and trade issues to maliciously blockade and suppress China." China halted exports of rare earths in March following a trade spat with Trump that has shown some signs of easing. It dominates the market for rare earths, a group of 17 metals used in cellphones, weapons, electric vehicles, and more. Huang's visit is being closely watched in both China and the United States, where a bipartisan pair of senators last week sent the CEO a letter asking him to abstain from meeting companies working with military or intelligence bodies. The senators also asked Huang to refrain from meeting with entities named on the United States' restricted export list. Rival AI chipmaker AMD also said the Department of Commerce would review its licence applications to export its MI308 chips to China; it plans to resume those shipments when licences are approved, it said. Its shares gained 7 per cent in trading on Tuesday.
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Tylenol maker Kenvue ousts CEO amid board's strategic review
Band-Aid and Tylenol maker Kenvue has fired its CEO Thibaut Mongon, the consumer health company said on Monday (Jul 14), laying what some investors expect will be the groundwork for an eventual sale of the entire company or pieces of it. Kenvue also said that an ongoing review of strategic alternatives is advancing. The company has been seen as an acquisition target this year as it faced mounting investor pressure to boost performance or consider a sale. Kenvue named director Kirk Perry as interim CEO, while Mongon also stepped down from the board. Perry, who worked at Procter & Gamble for 23 years, most recently served as CEO of technology and data analytics firm Circana. "The appointment of Perry increases the chance of a sale of a part or all of the portfolio," said Canaccord Genuity analyst Susan Anderson. The company's share price slowly climbed around 2.25 per cent on Monday after it struggled in early trading as some investors said they used the news as a reason to liquidate positions. Others were encouraged by the strategic review news, something many of them had long pushed for. Activist investors Third Point and Toms Capital were big buyers of the stock earlier in the year, according to regulatory filings, with Toms specifically pushing for a sale. Kenvue settled a proxy fight with activist investor Starboard Value in March, appointing its CEO Jeffrey Smith to the board. Kenvue, which was spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, has been working to shore up profitability, especially in its struggling skin health and beauty unit, which includes brands like Neutrogena and Aveeno. "This change in leadership does not come as a surprise to us (and most likely many investors) given the company's fundamental performance," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Nik Modi, adding that a brand divestiture now appears more likely. The company said it had created a strategic review committee, advised by investment bank Centerview Partners and consulting firm McKinsey, to weigh portfolio simplification and potential divestitures. The company was already exploring the sale of some of its non-core skin health and beauty brands, Reuters reported in June. Mongon's ouster follows the departure of CFO Paul Ruh in May, who was replaced by Amit Banati from Kellanova.
