Author: Business News Asia

Financial technology (fintech) service provider Axiata Digital Capital and Great Eastern have signed a strategic partnership to provide affordable and customised insurance and takaful products for consumers, micro-entrepreneurs, and SMEs. The products will be offered on Aspirasi and its partner platforms, Axiata said in an announcement. The range of insurance and takaful products are designed to meet the different needs of the customers’ lifestyle, including but not limited to, life insurance and takaful, health insurance, home insurance, personal accident insurance, with premiums or contributions starting from MYR1.50 and IDR5,000. This marks the first insurtech alliance between a digital financial services…

The Swiss Blockchain Federation is convinced that the capital markets of the future will be digitized and that Switzerland is well-positioned to assume a pioneering and leadership role in this field. To make sure that not only large corporations with the necessary expertise are able to benefit, an expert group has developed these simple and concise guidelines, laying out the most important steps and recommendations around the issuance of equity tokens. The guidelines could further provide valuable insights to foreign issuers that consider creating security tokens under Swiss law. The document focuses on the digitization of well-established financial instruments, namely…

Global private equity firm KKR & Co and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC have completed their investments in Metro Pacific Hospitals Holdings Inc, the hospital unit of Philippine-listed Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC), BusinessReporter.ph reported Monday. The deal, valued at $685 million, gives the consortium of investors a 42.5-per cent stake in Metro Pacific Hospitals, operator of the largest private hospitals and healthcare network in the Philippines. The investments were made through a series of transactions in commons shares in Metro Pacific Hospitals and in mandatorily exchangeable bonds issued by MPIC.Proceeds from the sale of shares will be used to…

Cebu Landmasters, a listed housing developer in the Visayas and Mindanao areas, has expanded its landbank in key cities in the region to 1,245,485 sqm, a 36 per cent growth from the 2018 figure, according to BusinessReporter.ph. The properties will give rise to a range of projects with a projected investment of P50 billion, the company said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock exchange seen by Business Reporter. Land acquisitions in 2019 spanned highly strategic properties in seven key VisMin cities and were funded from a combination of internally generated funds and bank financing. These lots were secured for…

Philippine-listed SM Prime Holdings Inc, one of the largest integrated property developers in Southeast Asia, has officially received approval to proceed with the 360-hectare reclamation project within the municipal waters of Pasay City, according to a report by BusinessReporter.ph. This new reclamation project in Pasay City will be connected to the Mall of Asia (MOA) Complex, which is also a reclaimed-land project of both parties, and turned into a vibrant business district featuring world-class mall, offices, residences, entertainment arena, 5-star hotel, and convention center. As the City’s joint venture partner, SM Prime will undertake to develop the actual raw land…

Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health) has acquired 100 per cent of Healthway Philippines, one of the leading clinic networks in the country, from Hong-Kong based HKR International (HKRI) Limited, according to a report. The addition of Healthway’s seven mall-based multi-specialty clinics, and 40 corporate clinics expands AC Health’s clinic portfolio, which today includes 70 FamilyDOC community-based primary care clinics, and 10 corporate clinics, Ayala Corporation said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange. The agreement was signed on December 6, 2019 between Healthway Philippines, represented by Sidney Hui, President and CEO, and the AC Health leadership team led…

Global customer experience firm Telus International has announced its acquisition of Competence Call Center (CCC), a Berlin-based business process outsourcing (BPO) service provider, for approximately 915 million euros (about $1 billion). In a statement, Telus said it will acquire CCC from global independent investment house Ardian, making the most sizeable transaction in Telus International’s history. The deal is subject to customary closing adjustments. Once completed, the merger with CCC is expected to substantially increase Telus International’s enterprise value to approximately $3.8 billion, further enabling the company’s shareholders, including TELUS Corporation and funds affiliated with Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA), to…

The recently renovated Orchard Hotel Singapore was honoured as the “Top Employer Brand (Singapore)” in the Hospitality Sector at the 2019 Asia CEO Summit & Award Ceremony held in Bangkok by Influential Brands. The hotel chain has been celebrated for providing an outstanding employee engagement environment, company culture, and human resources practices in the digital age. Receiving the recognition showcases the hard work that Orchard Hotel Singapore puts into making the hotel a great place to work, according to Jean-Philippe Jacopin, the hotel’s general manager. “Our aim is to ensure that we not only have the right people for dedicated…

Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd (“Catalina”), an industry leader in the legacy (re)insurance space, has reached an in principle agreement to acquire Asia Capital Reinsurance Group Pte. Ltd. (“ACR”), a Singapore-headquartered reinsurance business. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2020, subject to regulatory and all other approvals. The acquisition will be Catalina’s first in Asia and marks a strategic move to increase its exposure to the significant run-off market across the continent – according to PwC’s 2019 Global Insurance Run-off Survey, Asian non-life run-off reserves are estimated at around US$100 billion. Catalina intends to use ACR…

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is extending a $400-million policy-based loan to the Philippines to reduce the number of out-of-school and unemployed youth, according to a report by Business Reporter. While some progress has been made in reducing unemployment in the country, one in five Filipinos between the ages of 15 and 24, including one-third of young Filipino women, are still not in employment, education, and training, compared with the average rate of 18 per cent in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The new ADB loan supports the government’s efforts to expand and transform operations of the Public Employment Services…

InfraRed NF provided an update on its investment in RedBox Storage Ltd in Hong Kong while luxury online fashion marketplace BlinQ has introduced two new services. Hong Kong’s Infrared NF Continues To Grow Self-Storage Investment InfraRed NF, the leading Greater China real estate investment manager, is pleased to provide an update on its investment in RedBox Storage Limited, a premium self-storage provider in Hong Kong. In an announcement, the firm said it acquired a 90 per cent stake in RedBox in April 2018. Since then total capital of USD$106 million has been invested, as RedBox has made a number of…

Mactan, Philippines – An international school is set to open in this tiny island south of the capital Manila through a joint venture with Japanese and Filipino investors. Details of the school have not been fully disclosed but sources said it will be a 200-room school of international standards, with a planned opening in 2021. The Japanese investors and their Filipino counterparts laid the time capsule recently, signalling the start of the school’s construction within the 6.5-hectare property in Barangay Bangkal, Mactan, Cebu. International contractor Engr. Joseph Frederick Pepito of JFAP Construction will lead the construction works of the new…

The large majority (70-80%) of Asia-Pacific and North American LPs believe their private equity portfolios need modifying to prepare them for the next economic downturn, according to Coller Capital’s Global Private Equity Barometer. European investors are more sanguine, with only 45% believing their portfolios need modification. Despite this difference, nine out of ten LPs acknowledge the significant risks to their medium-term PE returns posed by today’s macro environment and high asset prices. When the cycle does turn, almost all LPs expect to see a significant divergence in performance between GPs and between funds. “We have experienced one of the longest…

Food and beverage kiosk operator Fruitas Holdings has reached a milestone in the Philippines after hitting 1,000 stores through its aggressive store network expansion, according to a report by Business Reporter. As of November 26, Fruitas has 1,036 stores across the country, with new kiosks having recently opened in Metro Manila and key provinces like Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, Tarlac, Zambales, Cebu, Iloilo, Aklan, Davao and Cagayan De Oro. Fruitas also re-launched Coffee Talk, a coffee and tea kiosk concept. With its re-launching, the Group reinforces its commitment to create new brands and concepts to cater to the evolving demand…

Business process outsourcing (BPO) firm Wells Fargo Philippines Solutions Inc is set to receive P24.11 million ($474,000) in tax refund after the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) ruled in its favour, the PNA has reported. The tax refund is for excess payment of creditable withholding taxes (CWT) for 2014. The excess taxes were in connection with the deed of absolute sales of its assets to Wells Fargo Enterprise Global Services LLC amounting to P93.32 million that year. On Apr. 15, 2015, the Philippine BPO firm filed its annual income tax return (AITR), claiming CWT credits in the total amount of…

The banking industry in the Philippines remains optimistic on the country’s economic prospect amid global uncertainties and market volatility, the latest Banking Sector Outlook Survey for the first semester of 2019 showed. According to survey results, majority of the respondents projected the gross domestic product (GDP) to grow between 6 per cent and 7 per cent within the next two years. Similarly, the outlook on the Philippine banking system remains stable, with most of the respondents projecting double-digit growth in assets, loans, deposits and net income. “The bullish outlook on the banking system indicates that banks will continue to provide…

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Canada’s second-largest pension fund manager, has acquired a 24.9-per cent stake in the public-private partnership (PPP) contract for the trains, systems, operations, and maintenance of Sydney Metro, an Australian public transport project. Other investors in the A$150-million ($101 million) deal include MTR Corp Ltd, Marubeni Corp, Plenary Group, and CIMIC Group Ltd, according to an announcement. The Sydney Metro is Australia’s biggest public transport project covering both the North West and City & Southwest Lines. The Metro North West Line opened in May 2019 with 13 stations in Sydney’s North West. It…

A Filipina CEO based in Dubai has won the ‘Female Leader of the Year Award’ in Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) Awards 2019, one of the most prestigious award-giving bodies for businesses and business leaders in the Middle East. Dr. Karen Remo, the CEO and Co-Founder of New Perspective Media (NPM) Group, a leading 360-degree media, marketing and communications agency, the publisher of The Filipino Times, the largest Filipino newspaper in the UAE and the biggest digital platform for the Filipino in the whole Middle East, has bagged the distinction at the MEED Awards 2019 held on November 27 at…

Frasers Hospitality, a member of Singapore’s Frasers Property Group, emerged victorious and clinched two major awards at this year’s World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final Gala Ceremony held in Oman, Muscat. The awards include the World’s Leading Serviced Apartment Brand 2019 for the sixth year running and Fraser Suites Singapore as the World’s Leading Serviced Apartments 2019 for the second time. Both award categories were hotly contested with more than five other nominees. Bringing together leading industry figures and VIPs from across the globe, the 26th annual WTA is voted by travel and tourism professionals and consumers worldwide where these…

Food and beverage kiosk operator Fruitas Holdings Inc today begins a new journey as a listed company with the traditional bell-ringing ceremony at the Philippine Stock Exchange, with the ticker symbol FRUIT. The company offered 533,660,000 primary common shares with an over-allotment option of up to 68,340,000 outstanding common shares at P1.68 per share. The primary proceeds will fund Fruitas’ store network expansion and improvement, acquisitions and new concept introductions, commissary expansion and debt repayment. Fruitas Holdings Inc. President and CEO Lester Yu rang the PSE bell that signaled the start of the day’s trading. With him were Fruitas Holdings’…