Latest news with #Asia-Pacific-focused
AllAfrica
29-07-2025
- Business
- AllAfrica
Xi's charm offensive cuts both ways in the Global South
Chinese President Xi Jinping is on an economic charm offensive across the Global South's emerging markets. As tensions with the West escalate and economic headwinds gather at home, China's president has turned to emerging markets with promises of investment, infrastructure and deeper trade ties. From Southeast Asia to the Gulf, Chinese officials have been busy striking deals and hosting summits, pitching Beijing as a stable, pragmatic alternative to a more unpredictable United States. A notable example of this offensive is Chinese Premier Li Qiang's attendance at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)–ASEAN summit in May 2025, which aimed to 'offer vast opportunities to synergize our markets, deepen innovation, and promote cross-regional investment.' Notably, Beijing opted to attend the summit instead of the Asia-Pacific-focused Shangri-La Dialogue, where the US and its allies regularly criticize China over its security practices. This development underscores Beijing's policy preference shifting away from fighting the rhetoric about its territorial disputes to crafting a narrative about China as an alternative economic partner amid global disapproval of Washington's trade policies. Washington's ongoing tariff war has dented China's economic confidence, with metrics such as retail sales and fixed-asset investment both slightly underperforming in April 2025, according to Dutch bank ING. Amid this uncertainty, Xi's diplomatic appeals appear to be garnering a warm reception amongst emerging economies. A study by Australia's Griffith University and the Green Finance & Development Center in Beijing found that Chinese construction contracts and investments in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries totalled US$124 billion in the first half of 2025, up slightly from $122 billion the previous year. The BRI is a program through which Beijing and Chinese firms fund or build infrastructure across the world. This new BRI activity will likely contribute to China's macroeconomic strength by helping improve its real GDP growth. For example, the initiative has shifted from sovereign lending to foreign direct investment (FDI), which may help ease concerns about China's mounting sovereign debt exposure. However, behind the diplomatic fanfare lies a more fragile reality. China's sluggish internal growth continues to weigh heavily on Beijing and will likely curtail any lasting benefits from Xi's charm offensive. Indeed, the BRI expansion was largely prompted by 'slow domestic growth and the need to diversify supply chains and markets due to the trade war sparked by Trump's tariffs.' However, China's cooling economy, rampant overcapacity concerns and faltering demand amongst domestic consumers paint a bleak picture for potential Chinese trading partners. According to 2025 second-quarter data released by Beijing, the country's real economic growth remained steady at 5.2% year-over-year (YoY). However, nominal growth, which reflects what companies actually receive in revenue and workers in wages, was significantly weaker at 3.9% YoY. This gap highlights a broader and persistent trend: the decline of China's middle class. China's middle class has historically served as both the driving force behind and primary beneficiary of the country's economic growth. But now, 40% of that group has seen their wealth decline in recent years, particularly among the younger generations. The traditional markers of a secure middle-class life, a stable job in the public sector or in industries like tech and finance, home ownership and upward mobility, are in decline. The free fall of China's property market has been especially damaging, given that most middle-class wealth is tied up in real estate. Coupled with the country's harsh 996 work culture, many young Chinese are now questioning the socio-economic values that once propelled China to global prominence. This generational shift has produced a 'tang ping' or 'lying flat' mentality. This mentality shift is marked by a retreat from conspicuous consumption and a preference for domestic over imported goods. This shift in consumer habits poses a challenge for Xi's efforts to deepen trade with emerging economies. On one hand, Chinese firms benefit from new markets to sell goods and services. On the other, China's shifting domestic market no longer offers its partners reciprocal opportunities. The one-sided nature of this emerging economic model may give countries like those in ASEAN pause. This will be particularly true as these emerging markets come under increased scrutiny from the US and EU for their deepening integration into Chinese supply chains. As a result, emerging economies are likely to remain cautious about further integration with China unless there are clear signs of an improving domestic outlook. Yet such signs are increasingly difficult to detect as Beijing continues to obscure information about its socio-economic health. Analyses of China's National Bureau of Statistics have discovered that the agency has ceased publishing several key indicators, including unemployment and land sales data. This deliberate suppression of information comes amid rising speculation that Beijing has overstated its actual economic performance. This question about China's socio-economic health was raised in December 2024 when Gao Shanwen, chief economist at state-owned State Development and Investment Corporation (SDIC) Securities, publicly stated that real economic growth in China 'might [have been] around 2%' in recent years. Gao's remarks – which contradicted China's official narrative – led to his being 'disciplined' by Xi and banned from making further public comments. The episode highlights two critical concerns for emerging markets considering deeper ties with China. First, while China remains the world's second-largest economy, the health of its domestic market is potentially far less robust than Beijing portrays. That makes China a less attractive long-term investment opportunity, particularly as Chinese consumers increasingly favour domestically made products over foreign imports. Second, the Gao incident underscores a broader trend: Beijing's readiness to suppress dissent. More worryingly for foreign businesses, this supression may not just be targeted at domestic citizens but potentially foreign investors as well. Historically, the aforementioned repression targeted Chinese nationals and local businesses. But recent signs suggest that foreign executives are no longer immune. In one recent high-profile case, a Japanese pharmaceutical executive was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on espionage charges. This executive spent more than two decades in China and was active in the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in China. Other Japanese citizens have been held on espionage charges prior to this incident. However, the timing of the arrest, amid US-spurred efforts for Tokyo to economically decouple from Beijing and China's own military provocations, raises alarms. It suggests that as geopolitical pressure mounts, China may increasingly use its opaque legal system as a tool of coercion to ensure new and old trading partners do not drift from China's sphere of influence. This presents a broader risk if, for example, Trump intensifies efforts to push emerging economies seen as enabling the sale of cheap Chinese goods into the US, like Vietnam, to distance themselves from Beijing. Trump could use his tariff diplomacy style to force these emerging economies to make economic choices that are not necessarily in their own interests. In turn, China may respond by targeting foreign businesspeople in retaliation, using its opaque legal system to reinforce political-economic loyalty and prevent strategic drift. Against this increasingly tense backdrop, Xi's charm offensive may generate photo ops and pledges of cooperation. But it does little to address the deeper weaknesses at the heart of China's economic and political system. A shrinking middle class and an increasingly politicized business environment all point to a system under strain. The trade and investment opportunities Beijing offers may look appealing on the surface, but they come with conditions and risks that emerging economies would be wise to scrutinize carefully. Unless China undertakes serious domestic reform and opens its economy in good faith, those enticed by its charm offensive may find themselves entangled in unequal and unstable partnerships with more to lose than to gain. Hans Horan is a strategic analyst at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) think tank, specializing in the Indo-Pacific, cyber threat intelligence, and security and defense affairs. He previously worked for over seven years in the intelligence and security industry for both private and public sector organizations across the globe, where he served as their lead cyber intelligence and principal Asia-Pacific analyst.
Economic Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
PE groups Permira, CVC Cap, EQT in fray to buy Nuvama Wealth from PAG
Mumbai: Private equity buyout groups CVC Capital Partners, Permira and EQT are in talks with Asia-Pacific-focused private equity firm PAG to buy its controlling stake in Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd (NWML), formerly Edelweiss Wealth Management, in a buyout that's potentially worth $1.6 billion, said people in the know. ADVERTISEMENT Competing with them is HSBC, Europe's largest bank by market capitalisation, said the people cited, in a hotly contested race, as Nuvama's role as the local trading partner of Jane Street came under investor scrutiny. India's stock market regulator has barred Jane Street from the local securities market. Nuvama's shares plunged 11% in trading, the most in three months, after the interim order - over allegations of market manipulation by Jane Street - became public on Friday. The four contenders listed above have been shortlisted after non-binding bids were submitted late last month. Due diligence is ongoing with an aim to submit binding bids by this month's end, a deadline that most analysts said will be difficult to meet. A Fallback Option Also, Warburg Pincus is said to have made a verbal offer with an indicative value for the business and is being kept as a fallback option. ADVERTISEMENT Domestic fund ChrysCapital is also said to be in the fray. Sources said the potential buyers may be open to a smaller transaction for a lower stake and look to team up with others as co-investors. Consortia are likely to get formed as the cheque size is expected to be large, said the people cited. As promoter, PAG owns 54.78% of Nuvama, which has a market capitalisation of Rs 26,150.87 crore. Any deal involving a change of control will trigger an open offer for 26% of shares held by minority shareholders. At Friday close, PAG's stake is worth Rs 14,383 crore. ADVERTISEMENT With the stock surging 114% since the firm's listing in September 2023, PAG had decided to start a sale process earlier this year and appointed investment banks JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley as advisers. After an initial approach to strategic buyers, a wider circle of potential suitors including buyout funds were tapped. In the past year, the stock has jumped 55.02%.PAG, CVC, EQT, Permira and ChrysCap didn't respond to queries. ADVERTISEMENT HSBC declined to comment. Sources close to the bank said it's not pursuing the acquisition. Nuvama offers wealth management solutions, covering investment advisory, estate planning, asset management services, investment management, lending and broking services for individuals, institutions, senior executives, professional investors and family offices. NWML is the flagship entity of the Nuvama Group that also offers institutional equities, broking, custodian and settlement services and investment banking services to institutional clients. It was previously a wholly owned subsidiary of Edelweiss Financial Services Limited (EFSL), which announced the sale of a part of its stake in the wealth management business to PAG in September quarter of FY21. ADVERTISEMENT Revenue from asset servicesFollowing completion of the demerger process in June 2023, it got listed in September that year. PAG invested about $325 million for a controlling stake in Nuvama in March though 47% of revenue in the March quarter of FY25 came from asset services (custodian, settlement), equities and investment banking, at the profit after tax (PAT) level, 35% came from wealth management. Around 51% of consolidated PAT came from asset services and 18% from equities and investment banking, which includes M&A and capital market advisory for the full Street is among the largest clients of this vertical, sources said. While some analysts estimate 40% of business comes from that single client, this could not be independently verified. As per a company presentation, the vertical handled $14.7 billion of institutional assets in FY25, a breakout year when the business saw its revenues jump 85% from the year Sebi has not named Nuvama in its order, it got caught in regulatory crossfire as it had earlier responded to the NSE's investigation into Jane Street's trades, which the exchange closed in May. Strong show in FY25 Overall, Nuvama reported a strong performance in FY25 with a 58% YoY increase in profit after tax and a return on equity of 31%. The implementation of regulatory measures for strengthening the index derivatives framework in November 2024 and the moderation in market trends saw Nuvama's revenue from the institutional equities and investment banking segments declining by 27% in March quarter of FY25 from the best-ever performance in Q2 of the same fiscal to ICRA, the franchise's strengths are partially offset by exposure to the inherent volatility in the capital markets besides regulatory uncertainties and associated franchise and reputational risks.'The Jane Street episode will be a one-time hit but not have structural impact,' said one of the executives cited. 'However, valuation may be likely to get impacted if the matter drags on.'Most investors are keen on Nuvama because of its wealth platform. The sector in India is fragmented across different types of players. Currently, wealth under professional management in India stands at around 15%, as compared to ~75% in matured markets. Indian wealth managers have $130-160 billion of assets under management (AUM) of India's $1-1.2 trillion wealth management market.
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
PE groups Permira, CVC Cap, EQT in fray to buy Nuvama Wealth from PAG
Mumbai: Private equity buyout groups CVC Capital Partners , Permira and EQT are in talks with Asia-Pacific-focused private equity firm PAG to buy its controlling stake in Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd (NWML), formerly Edelweiss Wealth Management, in a buyout that's potentially worth $1.6 billion, said people in the know. Competing with them is HSBC , Europe's largest bank by market capitalisation, said the people cited, in a hotly contested race, as Nuvama's role as the local trading partner of Jane Street came under investor scrutiny. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Most Beautiful Women In The World India's stock market regulator has barred Jane Street from the local securities market. Nuvama's shares plunged 11% in trading, the most in three months, after the interim order - over allegations of market manipulation by Jane Street - became public on Friday. The four contenders listed above have been shortlisted after non-binding bids were submitted late last month. Due diligence is ongoing with an aim to submit binding bids by this month's end, a deadline that most analysts said will be difficult to meet. Agencies A Fallback Option Live Events Also, Warburg Pincus is said to have made a verbal offer with an indicative value for the business and is being kept as a fallback option. Domestic fund ChrysCapital is also said to be in the fray. Sources said the potential buyers may be open to a smaller transaction for a lower stake and look to team up with others as co-investors. Consortia are likely to get formed as the cheque size is expected to be large, said the people cited. As promoter, PAG owns 54.78% of Nuvama, which has a market capitalisation of Rs 26,150.87 crore. Any deal involving a change of control will trigger an open offer for 26% of shares held by minority shareholders. At Friday close, PAG's stake is worth Rs 14,383 crore. With the stock surging 114% since the firm's listing in September 2023, PAG had decided to start a sale process earlier this year and appointed investment banks JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley as advisers. After an initial approach to strategic buyers, a wider circle of potential suitors including buyout funds were tapped. In the past year, the stock has jumped 55.02%. PAG, CVC, EQT, Permira and ChrysCap didn't respond to queries. HSBC declined to comment. Sources close to the bank said it's not pursuing the acquisition. Nuvama offers wealth management solutions, covering investment advisory, estate planning, asset management services, investment management, lending and broking services for individuals, institutions, senior executives, professional investors and family offices. NWML is the flagship entity of the Nuvama Group that also offers institutional equities, broking, custodian and settlement services and investment banking services to institutional clients. It was previously a wholly owned subsidiary of Edelweiss Financial Services Limited (EFSL), which announced the sale of a part of its stake in the wealth management business to PAG in September quarter of FY21. Revenue from asset services Following completion of the demerger process in June 2023, it got listed in September that year. PAG invested about $325 million for a controlling stake in Nuvama in March 2021. Even though 47% of revenue in the March quarter of FY25 came from asset services (custodian, settlement), equities and investment banking, at the profit after tax (PAT) level, 35% came from wealth management. Around 51% of consolidated PAT came from asset services and 18% from equities and investment banking, which includes M&A and capital market advisory for the full FY25. Jane Street is among the largest clients of this vertical, sources said. While some analysts estimate 40% of business comes from that single client, this could not be independently verified. As per a company presentation, the vertical handled $14.7 billion of institutional assets in FY25, a breakout year when the business saw its revenues jump 85% from the year before. Though Sebi has not named Nuvama in its order, it got caught in regulatory crossfire as it had earlier responded to the NSE's investigation into Jane Street's trades, which the exchange closed in May. Strong show in FY25 Overall, Nuvama reported a strong performance in FY25 with a 58% YoY increase in profit after tax and a return on equity of 31%. The implementation of regulatory measures for strengthening the index derivatives framework in November 2024 and the moderation in market trends saw Nuvama's revenue from the institutional equities and investment banking segments declining by 27% in March quarter of FY25 from the best-ever performance in Q2 of the same fiscal year. According to ICRA, the franchise's strengths are partially offset by exposure to the inherent volatility in the capital markets besides regulatory uncertainties and associated franchise and reputational risks. 'The Jane Street episode will be a one-time hit but not have structural impact,' said one of the executives cited. 'However, valuation may be likely to get impacted if the matter drags on.' Most investors are keen on Nuvama because of its wealth platform. The sector in India is fragmented across different types of players. Currently, wealth under professional management in India stands at around 15%, as compared to ~75% in matured markets. Indian wealth managers have $130-160 billion of assets under management (AUM) of India's $1-1.2 trillion wealth management market.
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Permira, CVC Cap, EQT in Talks to buy Nuvama Wealth
Live Events Private equity buyout groups CVC Capital Partners Permira and EQT are in talks with Asia-Pacific-focused private equity firm PAG to buy its controlling stake in Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd (NWML), formerly Edelweiss Wealth Management, in a buyout that's potentially worth $1.6 billion, said people in the with them is HSBC, Europe's largest bank by market capitalisation, said the people cited, in a hotly contested race, as Nuvama's role as the local trading partner of Jane Street came under investor stock market regulator has barred Jane Street from the local securities market. Nuvama's shares plunged 11% in trading, the most in three months, after the interim order — over allegations of market manipulation by Jane Street — became public on four contenders listed above have been shortlisted after non-binding bids were submitted late last month. Due diligence is ongoing with an aim to submit binding bids by this month's end, a deadline that most analysts said will be difficult to Warburg Pincus is said to have made a verbal offer with an indicative value for the business and is being kept as a fallback fund ChrysCapital is also said to be in the fray. Sources said the potential buyers may be open to a smaller transaction for a lower stake and look to team up with others as co-investors. Consortia are likely to get formed as the cheque size is expected to be large, said the people promoter, PAG owns 54.78% of Nuvama, which has a market capitalisation of Rs 26,150.87 crore. Any deal involving a change of control will trigger an open offer for 26% of shares held by minority shareholders. At Friday close, PAG's stake is worth Rs 14,383 the stock surging 114% since the firm's listing in September 2023, PAG had decided to start a sale process earlier this year and appointed investment banks JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley as advisers. After an initial approach to strategic buyers, a wider circle of potential suitors including buyout funds were tapped. In the past year, the stock has jumped 55.02%.PAG, CVC, EQT, Permira and ChrysCap didn't respond to declined to comment. Sources close to the bank said it's not pursuing the offers wealth management solutions, covering investment advisory, estate planning, asset management services, investment management, lending and broking services for individuals, institutions, senior executives, professional investors and family is the flagship entity of the Nuvama Group that also offers institutional equities, broking, custodian and settlement services and investment banking services to institutional clients. It was previously a wholly owned subsidiary of Edelweiss Financial Services Limited (EFSL), which announced the sale of a part of its stake in the wealth management business to PAG in September quarter of completion of the demerger process in June 2023, it got listed in September that year. PAG invested about $325 million for a controlling stake in Nuvama in March though 47% of revenue in the March quarter of FY25 came from asset services (custodian, settlement), equities and investment banking, at the profit after tax (PAT) level, 35% came from wealth management. Around 51% of consolidated PAT came from asset services and 18% from equities and investment banking, which includes M&A and capital market advisory for the full Street is among the largest clients of this vertical, sources said. While some analysts estimate 40% of business comes from that single client, this could not be independently verified. As per a company presentation, the vertical handled $14.7 billion of institutional assets in FY25, a breakout year when the business saw its revenues jump 85% from the year Sebi has not named Nuvama in its order, it got caught in regulatory crossfire as it had earlier responded to the NSE's investigation into Jane Street's trades, which the exchange closed in Nuvama reported a strong performance in FY25 with a 58% YoY increase in profit after tax and a return on equity of 31%. The implementation of regulatory measures for strengthening the index derivatives framework in November 2024 and the moderation in market trends saw Nuvama's revenue from the institutional equities and investment banking segments declining by 27% in March quarter of FY25 from the best-ever performance in Q2 of the same fiscal year.
Business Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
BlackRock launches absolute return hedge fund for retail investors in Singapore and Hong Kong
[SINGAPORE] BlackRock has launched an Asia-Pacific-focused hedge fund for retail investors in Singapore and Hong Kong, the world's largest asset manager with US$11.6 trillion in assets under management announced on Wednesday (Jun 18). The fund, titled the Systematic Asia Pacific Equity Absolute Return Fund, employs a market-neutral strategy that is designed to be resilient to volatility in the broad equity markets by taking long and short positions in select stocks. Put simply, 'the strategy aims to give you non-market-driven returns', said Dennis Quah, head of Singapore wealth at BlackRock, in an interview with The Business Times. 'We pick stocks that we expect to do well, taking a long position on those, and take a short position (on) stocks that we expect not to do well. And we do it with a systematic investing approach,' he explained. A short position is the monetising of a stock-price or asset-value depreciation, he added. 'If you expect something to go up in value, you take a long position. If you expect something to go down in value, you take a short position.' The fund, which was open to institutional investors in Singapore in 2017, had US$727 million in net assets as at May 31, 2025, and more than 2,800 holdings. In 2024, it delivered a 23.7 per cent return, according to the fund fact sheet. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'In Singapore, the fund is available in UOB personal financial services, Citibank Singapore and other platforms,' a spokesperson said. Vital for investors to understand the approach Part of the challenge in launching a hedge fund for retail investors is ensuring that they understand the investment strategy, and managing the negative impressions people have of hedge funds. 'To those who are not familiar with hedge funds, some words that typically get associated with them, are risky, heavily leveraged, dangerous, opaque, black box… Hedge funds as a category of investment product generally have had a negative connotation to it emanating from past crisis events such as the Asian financial crisis (and) the global financial crisis,' Quah admitted. 'But if you actually break down the word hedge fund – hedging means, actually, to reduce risk, not necessarily to increase it. So a hedge fund is actually, by construct, supposed to hedge away the risk that you don't want, to isolate the risk that you want,' he said. Given the right framework and in the right hands, hedge funds can add value to a portfolio, he added. However, he warns that the fund should not be consumed on its own, but be commingled with a larger portfolio. In BlackRock chairperson Larry Fink's 2025 annual letter to investors, he said that the future standard portfolio will no longer be 60/40, where 60 per cent of assets are allocated to equities and 40 per cent to bonds. Instead, he noted, the proportion would be 50/30/20 – with 50 per cent and 30 per cent allocated to stocks and bonds, respectively, and 20 per cent to alternatives. Still, the fund is not without its risks, conceded Quah. It might not deliver returns if the portfolio managers get the investment strategy wrong by consistently going long on the companies that lose value and going short on the companies that rise in value. Also, if the dispersion between good and bad-performing companies narrows dramatically where everything goes up or down at the same time, there will be little or no opportunity to make money or deliver absolute positive returns. 'So that's an extreme situation that we don't expect to happen for protracted periods of time. It may happen sporadically, like what we saw with the Magnificent Seven a few months ago, but, even then, you saw that massive mean reversal later on,' he said. The Magnificent Seven refers to the top seven mega-cap companies in the S&P 500, and includes Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Meta. The fund has also put in place risk-mitigation measures, he added. 'We have a very diversified approach. We have 2800 securities in this portfolio, so it runs systematically. No one human being can manage that number of stocks in one portfolio on a purely fundamental basis. So we combine human expertise with technology to help us implement the investment strategy.' BlackRock's systematic platform brings research and measurement techniques to the investment process with the use of data and technology. This involves using machine-learning systems to weight investment signals that indicate how companies might perform – from tweets by chief executive officers, to public sentiment about a company that might indicate fundamental data such as sales and revenue numbers, for instance.
