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Tag: Banking

  • With Offices Closed, Students Turn to Virtual Work Experience

    With Offices Closed, Students Turn to Virtual Work Experience

    Citi Asia Pacific’s work experience program, covering careers in Investment Banking and Markets and Securities Services, has proven popular among undergraduates.

    Since its launch earlier in July, the bank said that close to 500 students from universities across Singapore have already enrolled in its Asia Pacific’s virtual work experience program, which is designed to provide students with insights into life as an analyst while helping them build the skills and confidence to pursue a career at Citi or in banking.

    As part of the program, students will get a taste of on-the-job tasks to better understand what a banking career can offer them, while developing valuable skills for employability, Citi said.

    In each module, students work on case studies designed by the bank, and submit their solutions to business problems. Students with submissions that stand out may be contacted for permanent roles at Citi or summer internship opportunities next summer.

    The bank developed the program when it noticed the challenges that students were facing in securing internships in the current Covid-19 environment, according to Joel Fastenberg, head of human resources for Citi Singapore and ASEAN. An added benefit of an online program is that it does not have a cap on the number of students, and is open to any Singaporean student regardless of where they are located.

    «Importantly, this program also supports Citi’s campus recruitment efforts enabling us to identify our future talent early on. Students who stand out may be contacted for summer internship opportunities or permanent roles in the bank,» Fastenberg said.

    The bank previously allayed fears that virtual internships amid the Covid-19 pandemic would make it more difficult for candidates to secure a job after completing the program, by promising to offer all 76 students of its incoming batch of interns a full-time analyst role if they meet the minimum requirements of the program.

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  • UOB Asset Management Brings Robo-Adviser to Retail Clients

    UOB Asset Management Brings Robo-Adviser to Retail Clients

    Its UOBAM Invest service, previously available to corporate clients, is being launched in the form of a mobile app for individuals.

    UOB Asset Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UOB, has rolled out a retail version of its UOBAM Invest online portal, which was first launched in 2018 for corporate investors in Singapore.

    The platform offers retail investors in Singapore personalized, dynamic investment portfolios based on their risk profile, aggregate financial goals, and investment horizon. It also automates the shift in retail investors’ portfolio allocation from higher-risk assets to safer ones systematically and gradually, particularly towards the end of their investment period, balancing their need for long-term growth with their capacity for risk, the announcement said.

    The portfolio planer also incorporates risk-profiling and goal-setting tools so that the proposed investment portfolios offer the maximum possible returns to suit the needs of retail investors.

    UOBAM acknowledged the popularity of robo-advisors as a simpler and easier way to manage investments and hopes to leverage its brand name and track record to alleviate concerns about credibility, security and long-term viability users might have about such platforms.

    UOBAM is the first regional asset management firm to offer a robo-adviser with personalized portfolios for retail investors. We have an established track record in managing risks actively while optimizing returns, Thio Boon Kiat, CEO of UOBAM, said.

    Given the current market volatility from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to bring the benefits of our risk-based approach – one that is trusted by institutional investors – to more retail investors through UOBAM Invest, Thio added.

    Robo-advisors promising retail investors low-cost, diversified, passive investing have proliferated in recent years. According to Statista, assets under management among robo-advisors in Singapore reached $4.5 billion in 2020 (49.2 percent growth year-on-year), with 265,000 users (39.6 percent growth year-on-year).

    However, competition in the digital investment advisory space is intense and has already resulted in Smartly, one of Singapore’s oldest and most well-established platforms shutting down earlier this year.

    Traditional banks have also joined the fray, with OCBC launching Roboinvest in 2018, and DBS rolling out its digiportfolio in 2019 for retail clients.

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  • BNP Paribas AM Names New APAC Chief

    BNP Paribas AM Names New APAC Chief

    The financial services industry veteran, who joins from rival J.P. Morgan Asset Management, brings a wealth of experience in the investment management industry and deep knowledge of key client segments in the region.

    BNP Paribas Asset Management on Wednesday announced the appointment of Steven Billiet as head of Asia Pacific, with effect from 8 August 2020. He succeeds Ligia Torres, who is retiring from the firm and will return to Europe in August.

    Based in Hong Kong, Billet will be responsible for further accelerating the strategic expansion of BNPP AM’s Asia Pacific business, and will facilitate a more integrated approach to driving growth in the region, the announcement said.

    Billet joined the firm in March as its Asia Pacific head of distribution and will retain these responsibilities alongside his new role. He reports to Sandro Pierri, BNPP AM global head of client group, and locally to Eric Raynaud, head of BNP Paribas in Asia Pacific.

    Billiet was previously chief executive officer for J.P. Morgan Asset Management (Singapore), responsible for overseeing all aspects of the firm’s asset management business in Singapore as well as in South and Southeast Asia and Korea.

    Before joining the firm in January 2014, Billiet spent 19 years with ING, 12 of which in Asia where he held a number of senior roles such as, CEO of Investment Management Asia Pacific (Singapore), CEO of Investment Management Australia, CEO of Investment Management Taiwan and India Country Head of Private Banking and Wealth Management.

    Billiet’s predecessor Torres retired after more than 23 years with BNP Paribas, including seven with BNP Paribas Asset Management.

    During her tenure at the firm, she contributed to significant growth in the region, and played a particularly important role in upholding the firm’s sustainability strategy and enhancing our external visibility on the sustainable investment agenda with our clients, Frédéric Janbon, BNPP AM chief executive officer, said.

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  • DBS Inks Digital Trade Financing Partnership

    DBS Inks Digital Trade Financing Partnership

    The bank will work with industry cloud software provider Infor to integrate digital trade financing capabilities into global supply chains.

    Under the partnership, the two sides will use innovative supplier financing tools, as well as Infor’s rich physical and financial supply chain data to bring new opportunities to fund suppliers and help reduce supply chain risk and friction, DBS said in a statement on Thursday.

    The first program under the partnership provides a faster and more cost-efficient digital trade financing to suppliers in an apparel company’s supply chain ecosystem, which comprises mostly small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The next program, planned for late 2020, aims to improve the pre-shipment finance by using supply chain data as the primary conduit to assess risk and creditworthiness.

    Infor’s Nexus platform has more than 68,000 businesses, including market leaders in aerospace, healthcare delivery, automotive suppliers, industrial distributors, as well as global banks, retailers, hotel brands, luxury brands, and more.

    Our collaboration with Infor enables greater transparency into complex supply chains and provides insights into the transaction patterns between an anchor and its ecosystem of suppliers, DBS’ Sriram Muthukrishnan said about the partnership.

    The bank’s group head of trade product management noted that quicker and more cost-efficient financing to suppliers provided earlier in the cycle, as compared to conventional post-shipment supplier financing programs, is especially relevant today, given the environment characterized by prolonged trade disruptions and tighter credit lines, where optimal working capital management is key to survival.

  • Standard Chartered to Pilot Crypto Custody Solution

    Standard Chartered to Pilot Crypto Custody Solution

    The bank’s ventures and innovation platform is reportedly building a crypto custody offering for the institutional market, with a pilot planned for later this year.

    SC Ventures developing a venture to meet the demands of institutional investors for an end-to-end institutional-grade custodian of digital assets, which meets regulatory standards, Alex Manson its Singapore-based global head, told Coindesk earlier this week.

    The custodial solution will be based in the U.K., but will be open to clients from around the world, Manson said, noting interest from 20 institutions.

    Manson highlighted the opportunity to kick-start the institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies by providing the fundamental market infrastructure. He told the blockchain news portal that solutions currently available lack the security required to secure millions of dollars in digital assets, and lack function segregation.

    Complementing its custodial initiative, SC Ventures participated in an oversubscribed $17 million Series A funding round for Metaco, which runs an institutional operating system for digital assets.

    German-based security technology company Giesecke+Devrient led the round, which also saw participation from Zürcher Kantonalbank and venture capital firm Investiere, as well as all existing strategic shareholders Swisscom, SICPA, Avaloq Ventures, and Swiss Post.

    The funds will be used to fuel the next phase of the company’s growth in sales, product, and partnerships, and broaden its presence in the U.S., Southeast Asia, and Western Europe, the announcement last week said.

  • UBS APAC Profits Surge Despite Global Setback

    UBS APAC Profits Surge Despite Global Setback

    Asia Pacific profits for UBS surged over 70 percent in the second quarter due to stronger trading activities despite a slowdown in the global business.

    APAC profit before tax at UBS reached $233 million, up $97 million year-on-year, due to significantly higher income, according to the bank’s latest results. Strong transaction-based income and net interest income from deposit revenue and loan growth led to an over six-fold increase in revenue from $104 million to $658 million, though net new loans were negative due to client deleveraging in the second quarter.

    Profit growth in the region contrasts with UBS’s global business which saw profits tumble due to expected loan provisions. The bank posted a 13 percent drop in pre-tax profits due in no small part to $272 million in credit losses, mostly in from its Swiss business.

    The region also registered lackluster net new money at just $200 million, compared to $1.1 billion last year. The bank globally posted $9.2 billion in new assets, dominated by the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region’s $8 billion.

    Overall, Asia was home to $449 billion in assets under management, accounting for 17 percent of the total globally.

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  • HSBC Job Cuts Reach Asia

    HSBC Job Cuts Reach Asia

    HSBC’s cost-saving drive is reportedly set to accelerate even in its most profitable markets in Asia following the departure of its global head of equities. Hossein Zaimi is leaving HSBC, according to a report citing two unnamed sources, after joining the bank more than 16 years ago. Zaimi also took on the additional role of co-head of securities financing in March shortly after HSBC revealed plans for its investment bank overhaul.

    Adrian Lewis, EMEA head of equity capital markets (ECM), has also left to pursue opportunities outside of the industry, the report added. Lewis will be succeeded by Andrew Robinson, head of EMEA equity syndicate, reporting to Ed Sankey who was named global head of ECM in June 2019.

    While the lion’s share of cost cuts reside in Europe, the report noted that Asia – the most profitable region for HSBC – will not be immune to restructuring. Following Zaimi’s departure, more exits are expected in the region in the coming weeks.

    The bank originally planned to cut 35,000 jobs, $4.5 billion in costs, and $100 billion in risk-weighted assets before postponing the overhaul in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. In June, HSBC reportedly resumed such activities in June and was considering deeper cuts including more job losses or the possible sale of some businesses.

    Simultaneously, the bank is also expanding its newly created wealth and personal banking unit – a combination of the whole private client business from retail to ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals – with around half of its $4 trillion in assets from Asia.

    Since 2017, the bank has hired 800 employees for its affluent and emerging high net worth client businesses – Premier and Jade, respectively – across Hong Kong, Singapore, and mainland China including relationship managers, investment counselors, UHNW solution specialists, and product specialists.

  • UBS Ventures Into Insurance Ecosystem

    UBS Ventures Into Insurance Ecosystem

    The wealth manager is partnering with reinsurer Swiss Re, in a bid to expand its reach with clients as challengers to the traditional finance industry lurk.

    The path to an ecosystem for banks and insurers is inevitably deals or partnerships: Switzerland’s hidebound financial center is seeing a revival of old constructions like «bancassurance,» which foundered in an initial effort 20 years ago.

    UBS is getting in on the idea, launching a mortgage solution offering together with Swiss Re on Wednesday. The bundling of banking and insurance products via Swiss Re’s insurtech subsidiary Iptiq is a bid to digitize production and distribution via platforms – an idea pioneered by Chinese internet giant Alibaba.

    Iptiq is poised to be carved out of Swiss Re’s life capital division next year. It will be placed into its own division reporting directly to CEO Christian Mumenthaler, underscoring its strategic importance to the reinsurer. The Swiss wealth manager’s initial efforts into platforms are the recently-launched Key 4 as well as Atrium, a mortgage broker launched in 2017.

    UBS wants to bake Iptiq into its domestic mortgage lending business – a step in the direction of an ecosystem for homeownership. Specifically, Iptiq is a data-backed product engine on which business clients can design tailored solutions – and maintain their client interface.

    For example, Iptiq could offer UBS’ borrowers protection against the invalidity or life insurance. UBS isn’t alone in its efforts to build a wider ecosystem to interest its clients: Raiffeisen and insurer Mobiliar plan to build a joint product and services platform.

    The cozy ties between Swiss Re and the Zurich-based bank are underscored by UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti, who is poised to take over as chairman of the reinsurer in April. Incoming CEO Ralph Hamers is a huge proponent of financial institutions as part of a wider, genuine ecosystem.

    The Swiss Re tie-up comes shortly after UBS in February partnered with Zurich Insurance to bank as well as insure start-ups. While bancassurance ventures are relatively common abroad, Switzerland still has considerable potential, UBS said. 

    With Iptiq, the world’s largest wealth manager is still proceeding cautiously: it will initially trial the partnership with a region in central Switzerland. UBS said it plans to unfurl the offering across Switzerland next year.

  • Healthcare Fund Assets Surge at Standard Chartered Private Bank

    Healthcare Fund Assets Surge at Standard Chartered Private Bank

    Assets under management within recommended healthcare funds surged at Standard Chartered Private Bank as part of a broader trend of increasing adoption in sustainable investing. Recommended healthcare fund AUMs surged 50 percent year-on-year, according to a recent Standard Chartered report, despite market volatility. Driven by the pandemic, this was in line with the growing demand for sustainable investing including a focus on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) like clean water and sanitation, and good health and well-being.

    There were also lower drawdowns year-to-date in healthcare funds and during the market pullback in March 2020, highlighting the resilience of the sector, the bank said. This strong performance stands out when compared to the broader equity market in particular, which has fallen 15 percent year-to-date (MSCI ACWI, as of 14 Apr 2020) versus the funds’ performance.

    Globally, as many 90 percents of investors are interested in sustainable investments, according to the bank’s recently conducted survey. Even Asia where sustainability is still in its nascency, the gap is closing with 43 percent of respondents considering allocating 5-15 percent of their funds in sustainable investments compared to 42 percent globally. 8 percent of respondents in the region are considering investing more than 25 percent of their funds in the space.

    Despite the growing relevance, investors remain resistant. Although 98 percent of affluent investors are interested in sustainable investing, 93 percent were apprehensive about the subject.

    Banks, therefore, play a critical role in providing essential guidance to clients to unlock the growing momentum for sustainable investing, the bank added. «Besides the lack of knowledge and apprehension, the other top barriers to investment in this segment are lack of motivation and advice.

    The report also highlighted Singapore’s promising future as a center for sustainable investment demand. In addition to 39 percent of Singaporean respondents willing to allocate 5-15 percent of funds in the space, the city-state was home to individuals who were globally the most knowledgeable in sustainable living, responsible investing, and social investing means.

    In fact, Standard Chartered kicked off an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) awareness campaign in June this year and has since seen a 90 percent spike in AUMs from ESG funds offered on the bank’s platform.

    There is definitely heightened interest and greater demand among investors in Singapore to make a positive impact on society and the environment, while still achieving their financial goals, said Sumeet Bhambri, ASEAN, and South Asia and head of wealth management, Singapore, Standard Chartered Bank. What is important is closing the gap between investor interest and awareness of the ESG solutions available to them.

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  • UBS Overseer’s Dealings

    UBS Overseer’s Dealings

    Dieter Wemmer is capping an illustrious finance career with a seat on UBS’ board. He is also partnering with a fearsome hedge fund – which may soon roil the financial industry.  In the Netherlands, the mention of Elliot Management is synonymous with unwelcome activism: the U.S.-based hedge fund in 2017 attempted to force AkzoNobel into an unwanted merger with American PPG Industries. The warring factions buried the hatchet – via a lengthy court battle.

    Elliott has a new target: it snapped up three percent of the largest Dutch insurer NN in February. Last month, Elliott called for NN to cut costs and to boost cash flow by taking more risk in its bond portfolio, in a website devoted to the campaign dubbed the time is now.

    Led by Paul Singer, Elliott has marshaled influential support for its efforts – Dieter Wemmer supports the U.S. hedge fund, and also bought a small stake in NN. There are ways to generate higher investment returns without taking on unusual risks, the German-Swiss executive told Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad last month.

    Wemmer and the activist fund are a surprising match, and a coup for Elliott: the 63-year-old looks back on a distinguished executive career in the insurance industry. He worked his way up to finance chief of Swiss insurer Zurich, where he was a leading contender to replace then-CEO James Schiro. Zurich’s board in 2010 picked Martin Senn instead – a five-year tenure that ended quietly in 2015 (Senn died by suicide six months later).

    Wemmer, a Cologne native, had moved to Allianz as their finance chief in 2011, a role he inhabited until reaching retirement age three years ago. He had in 2016 been elected to UBS’ board, where he is a member of the governance and nomination committee (as well as audit and pay bodies).

    The Rhinelander’s career enshrined him into Europe’s financial establishment, and Wemmer is also highly thought of both because he is sharp as a tack (he has a Ph.D. in mathematics) and because he is an excellent manager. In 2012, he was elected Swiss blue-chip finance boss of the year by CFO Forum. Those who have worked for Wemmer, who didn’t respond to a request for comment about his plans with Elliott, speak glowingly of him.

    Wemmer signaled a conciliatory stance in his comments to NRC Handelsblad about NN: «The team can either listen to us or ignore us (…) we trust the company and the management.» Given Elliott’s 70-slide barrage, Wemmer sounds like he has been assigned the good guy role in a good cop, bad cop strategy.

    Elliott’s efforts bore fruit: NN, led by David Knibbe, is dropping its initial resistance and dipping into somewhat riskier investments, which should lift free cash flow. The insurer last month promised to keep raising its dividend yearly.

    The concession paves the way for the kerfuffle to calm down – and what of Wemmer? In Switzerland, he is touted as a candidate to preside either UBS or Credit Suisse, where both banks are seeking a new chairman.

    At Credit Suisse, Chairman Urs Rohner is in the twilight of his a ten-year tenure overseeing the Swiss bank – a stay beyond April of next year would likely reignite a power play with the bank’s biggest shareholder. At UBS, Axel Weber is scheduled to hand over the reins in the boardroom by 2022.

    UBS’ succession search could be complicated by the bank’s domestic head, Axel Lehmann. The Swiss banker and insurance executive knows Wemmer: the duo worked side-by-side at Zurich Insurance as top finance and risk executives.

    Like Wemmer, the 60-year-old Lehmann was also passed over for the CEO role at Zurich. A further small-world quirk: incoming UBS boss Ralph Hamers was responsible for NN in its current form. It was the Dutch banker’s decision to spin off the former Nationale-Nederlanden in 2014, severing ties entirely four years ago.

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  • UBS Digital Chief Exits

    UBS Digital Chief Exits

    The bank is losing its chief digital officer after less than one year. She is leaving for a trading services provider to the financial industry.

    Elly Hardwick is leaving the Swiss-based bank and taking a board role at Itiviti, a finance-specialized technology and service provider. Hardwick was a linchpin in UBS’ $2 billion annual technology plan, led by chief information officer Mike Dargan.

    A spokeswoman for UBS said Dargan will take over Hardwick’s role.

    The move is a coup for Itiviti, a 33-year-old Stockholm backed company that helps banks digitize and automate their trading platforms. Hardwick is one of the few prominent women in financial technology and banking: she was Deutsche Bank’s head of innovation for two years before joining UBS.

    Her exit at UBS comes one year after Dargan divvied up a key tech role Hardwick and Rick Carey in what was viewed as shifting from a traditionally free-wheeling innovation and technology discovery towards projects with a tangible benefit for the bank.

    The financial services industry is seeing a significant increase both in opportunities for digitization and in demand for digitized services, Hardwick said in a statement by Itiviti, which is owned by private equity firm Nordic Capital.

    She is also a board member at Axis Capital and at Alpha Bank and previously worked for Booz Allen & Hamilton, Thomson Reuters (now Refinitiv), and was founding CEO of Credit Benchmark.

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  • DBS Launches Income Fund for Retiree Investors

    DBS Launches Income Fund for Retiree Investors

    The multi-asset Schroder Asia More+ fund includes a unique decumulation share class targeted at retiree investors.

    DBS Bank on Friday announced the launch of a new fund with Schroders that offers investors an income-generating solution with exposure to a range of investment growth themes across Asia, including technology, consumption, logistics and financial services.

    The fund is available in three share classes – accumulation, distribution, and decumulation – to cater for different investment objectives. The decumulation share class is designed for retirees and investors whose goals have shifted from accumulating wealth to drawing down from assets, and has an intended payout of 6.88 percent per annum, while drawing down from their capital over the long term.

    The concept of decumulation is still relatively new in Singapore, and we hope that this product will get more Singaporeans to think about managing retirement savings in their twilight years, Lim Soon Chong, regional head of investment products and advisory, DBS Consumer Banking and Wealth Management, said about the new fund.

    According to the announcement, the fund was developed using insights gained from the Schroders Global Investor Study, which revealed that Singapore investors have rising income expectations from their investment portfolios and that many are overly optimistic about how long their retirement savings will last.

    The embedded resilience features in this product will help it navigate through the current climate of uncertainty while generating income, through a combination of investing in new emerging growth drivers and income-generating assets, Lily Choh, deputy CEO, Singapore, and head of distribution, Southeast Asia, Schroders, said.

    Customers will be able to invest in Schroder Asia More+ from S$1,000 ($717). The dynamically managed fund has no lock-in period and low management costs, and is approved for investment using funds from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Supplementary Retirement Scheme. Although primarily invested in Asia, it is weighted towards Singapore-based assets. Investors may choose to invest in  SGD, AUD, or USD.

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  • DBS Offers Framework for Sustainable Development

    DBS Offers Framework for Sustainable Development

    The bank said its new framework will help clients on their journeys to more sustainable business models while providing timely transition finance and increasing transparency for transactions and projects.

    DBS has launched the world’s first sustainable and transition finance framework and taxonomy and will offer transition financing as part of the bank’s efforts to help clients from key industries to transition to a low-carbon economy, the bank announced on Tuesday.

    The bank said the framework will form the bedrock for DBS to engage with clients who are furthering their sustainability agenda and serve as a reference to guide clients to adapt and build resilience in the face of climate change, resource scarcity, and address critical global issues such as social inequality.

    At the same time, the taxonomy outlines the way DBS manages transactions that are classified as Green, Transition and/or contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), and summarises eligible economic activities.

    DBS said it will take a prudent, scientific approach to evaluate the transitional qualities of the economic activities and whether clients have a strategy to adapt their businesses to meet the threat of climate change and to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

    There are many interpretations of what constitutes transition finance. The bottom line is we cannot afford to dismiss clients who carry out activities which are less than dark-green but are nonetheless part of the mainstream economy instrumental to getting us below 1.5-degree temperature increase, Yulanda Chung, head of sustainability, institutional banking, said.

    Every transitional step towards reducing carbon footprint will make a significant, cumulative difference over time, Chung added.

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  • HSBC Nets Southeast Asia Equities Duo from Deutsche Bank

    HSBC Nets Southeast Asia Equities Duo from Deutsche Bank

    HSBC bolsters its Southeast Asian equities unit in Singapore with two new hires from Deutsche Bank, furthering its Asia expansion amid a major overhaul. HSBC hires Edward Lee as regional head of equity capital markets and Joy Wang as the head of Southeast Asia equities research, according to a report.

    Lee had over 20 years of industry experience and was most recently with Deutsche Bank as its co-head of investment banking coverage and head of equity capital markets, Southeast Asia.

    Wang was also most recently with Deutsche Bank where she was last its co-head of APAC property equity research in addition to other roles.

    Lee and Wang become the third joiners in less than a year from Deutsche Bank to HSBC in Singapore. In September last year, HSBC named ex-Deutsche Bank regional vice chairman Philip Lee as its new Southeast Asia vice-chairman.

    Restructuring at both HSBC and Deutsche Bank has led to a flurry of talent movement between the two lenders across business divisions. Just last month, Deutsche Bank hired former HSBC private banker Chow Shang-Wei to become the Southeast Asia head of its wealth arm.

    And outside of Asia, HSBC reportedly hired Deutsche Bank’s former co-head of corporate finance for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa Adam Bagshaw as its global co-head of advisory and investment banking coverage.

  • Axa IM Adds Japan Assets to Portfolio

    Axa IM Adds Japan Assets to Portfolio

    The acquisition forms part of the firm’s wider long term strategy on behalf of clients to invest in residential asset classes it believes are supported by strong demographic drivers.

    Axa Investment Managers (IM) – Real Assets has added to its €20 billion portfolios of residential assets under management spread across 15 countries, with the purchase of a multi-generational and multi-sector residential tower in Nagoya, Japan for ¥20 billion ($186 million).

    The newly built Grade A residential tower is located within walking distance of Nagoya’s central business district in a newly redeveloped area. It comprises 430 residential units and 130 co-living units, as well as 66 units comprising a mix of pure residential for the elderly together with care or nursing service options.

    Laurent Jacquemin, head of Asia-Pacific at Axa IM – Real Assets, said the deal «proved particularly attractive given the city’s continued investment in improving local infrastructure coupled with its growing population, both of which underpin the potential for us to generate stable income.»

    The acquisition is the firm’s fourth residential investment in Nagoya and its 12th in Japan, where it has invested more than ¥16 billion in residential assets on behalf of clients. Its previous deal was also for a residential tower in Nagoya, completed in November.

    Axa IM said the Nagoya residential market lacks affordable residential stock for rent that’s suitable for families, while demand is likely to continue to rise in line with robust economic growth and infrastructure investment.

     

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