Singapore’s GIC leads sovereign investor deals

LONDON: Singapore’s US$344 billion (RM1.5 trillion) GIC led the sovereign investor pack in the first three months of this year, sealing two of the biggest investments of the quarter.

Wealth funds and state pension funds participated in a total US$9 billion of deals in January to March.

GIC teamed up with private equity firm Hellman & Friedman in a US$1.9 billion deal for a 75 per cent stake in Spain’s Allfunds Bank, and paired with Paramount Group to acquire 60 Wall Street, a “trophy asset” in downtown Manhattan, for US$1.04 billion. The 47-storey tower serves as the United States headquarters of Deutsche Bank.

GIC, which was involved in at least 12 deals over the quarter, was also part of an investment with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and property owner Scion Group for three US student housing portfolios worth over US$1 billion.

The fund has been very active in the last six months, having secured the biggest real estate deal of the fourth quarter of last year, when it paid US$2.7 billion for P3 Logistic Parks, a European warehouse company.

In GIC’s last annual report, chief investment officer Lim Chow Kat said the fund would look for bargains during periodic spikes in market volatility. It continued to see opportunities in private equity, real estate and infrastructure, he said.

GIC is funded from government budget surpluses generated from trade rather than commodities, so it has been less constrained over the last two years compared with some of its oilbacked peers, hit by plunging prices.

At US$9 billion, total deal value for the first quarter was down 64 per cent from fourth quarter last year, with fewer of the chunky infrastructure and real estate deals that boosted the overall value in the previous quarter. Reuters