As an investment company, we want to grow our returns. But we recognise that high growth can also come with high risk. We make mistakes occasionally, but we learn from them.
— Lim Boon Heng, chairman of Temasek Holdings, at the investment firm’s 50th anniversary dinner on Sept 23
Hanwha Group explains rationale behind Dyna-Mac’s offer price
Hanwha Group issued a statement on Sept 25 to explain its reasoning behind its offer price for Dyna-Mac. The group, which is the substantial shareholder of Dyna-Mac, made a tender offer of 60 cents per share for the shares it does not own in the Mainboard-listed company on Sept 11.
So far, analysts covering the counter have asked shareholders to wait for a final offer.
The sentiment is shared by the estate of Dyna-Mac’s founding shareholder, the late Desmond Lim Tze Jong. The estate said that Hanwha’s offer is not compelling and “does not adequately reflect” Dyna-Mac’s value and growth potential after its transformation into a global multi-disciplinary contractor.
In a Sept 25 statement, Hanwha said that its offer was based on a “rigorous review” of factors on Dyna-Mac’s business outlook, which includes the company’s growth prospects, order book, as well as geopolitical tensions and other macroeconomic uncertainties.
The Korean conglomerate added that its offer of 60 cents represents a 21% premium over the “undisturbed” last transacted price per share on Sept 10. The offer also represents 5.7 times of Dyna-Mac’s diluted net asset value (NAV) per share as of June 3 and 13.2 times Dyna-Mac’s diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the 12 months ended June 30.
An offer document, which will set out Hanwha’s rationale and intentions, will be released no later than Oct 2. — Felicia Tan
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No increase of offer consideration for Silverlake Axis 5CP ’ privatisation exercise, says offeror
Following Silverlake Axis’ privatisation offer on Aug 26, the offeror, E2I, has announced that it does not intend to increase the offer consideration, according to a bourse filing on Sept 24.
The offer considerations are either 36 cents in cash for each offer share or a combination of 30 cents in cash and one new redeemable preference share in capital of the offeror for each offer share. The redemption amount for each new share in the offeror is 18 cents.
The filing notes that the offer remains open for acceptance until 5.30pm on Oct 7, or such later dates may be announced from time to time by or on behalf of the offeror.
E2I was incorporated on July 10 this year to undertake the offer. It has an issued and paid-up share capital of $2 comprising two ordinary shares, both owned by Zezz FundQ.
Goh Peng Ooi, the group executive chairman and founder of Silverlake Axis, his daughter Shiou Ling and Ng Lip Chi, Lawrence are directors of E2I. Shiou Ling is also the executive director and deputy CEO of Silverlake Axis. E2I does not own any shares in Silverlake Axis.
Zezz FundQ is a controlling shareholder of Silverlake Axis. It has 603 million ordinary shares in the company and 8.3 million redeemable convertible preference shares in the company. Goh owns 100% of the ordinary shares held by Zezz FundQ, while Merit Sigma owns 100% of the redeemable convertible preference shares (Merit Sigma RCPS).
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The directors of Zezz FundQ are the elder Goh, Shiou Ling, Kim Kenny and Ng. Merit Sigma is wholly owned by Asean private equity fund Ikhlas Capital Singapore. The directors of Ikhlas Capital are Nazir Razak, Kim, Gita Wirjawan, Cesar Purisima and Mok Cheok Meng Tony. The directors of Merit Sigma are Tay Ek Ming and Elaine Bee Choo Tan. — Nicole Lim
‘I am excited to work with Singapore’, says Malaysian PM Anwar
Singapore and Malaysia have collaborated on a great deal throughout our history and have had our share of problems, but these are minor and not impossible, says Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sept 26.
Anwar delivered the keynote speech at Invest Malaysia, an annual conference organised by Bursa Malaysia. For the first time since the conference began in 2005, this year’s event moved from Kuala Lumpur to Johor, reflecting the recent surge in global investor interest in the state.
Anwar’s speech comes ahead of the anticipated signing of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) later this year, which was first formalised through the signing of a memorandum of understanding in January.
“Everybody has problems with their neighbours, but these issues are not issues that could create tensions or invite reckless exchanges between one another,” adds Anwar.
Instead, Malaysia’s premier says these issues should be discussed and should not deflect from the focus that both countries have to succeed. “We can be great partners if we collaborate and benefit from a win-win situation,” he adds, “and that is why I am excited to work with Singapore.”
Anwar also addressed the political state of Malaysia. “It is unfortunate that Malaysia is sometimes associated with excesses such as high-level corruption and poor governance”, he says.
“That is precisely the reason why the crackdown against corruption is clearly a priority set by this government,” says Anwar. “Because through effective measures of good governance… we can achieve better efficiency, transparency and ease of doing business.”
Last week, Malaysia announced a series of incentives aimed at further boosting investor interest in Johor, particularly the “ghost town” of Forest City, which is located near the Second Link. The country also unveiled a 0% tax rate for family offices, a concessionary corporate tax rate between 0% to 5% and a special individual income tax rate of 15% for knowledge workers and Malaysians who choose to work in Forest City.
“This is quite a special consideration because we want to prepare Johor as one of the primary engines of growth in the country,” Anwar adds. “Politically, we’re stable, fortunately, after relative turbulence in the past years.” — Nicole Lim
Temasek to set aside $100 mil as concessional capital for climate action
Temasek Holdings will set aside $100 million from its community gifts as concessional capital to support climate action initiatives, announced Temasek chairman Lim Boon Heng on Sept 23 at the investment firm’s 50th anniversary dinner.
The commitment, named Concessional Capital for Climate Action (CCCA), marks the first time Temasek is contributing concessional capital towards the green transition.
The pace and scale of climate action is still “insufficient”, says Temasek. “With the annual global climate financing gap for developing countries expected to increase double fold by 2030, there is a clear and urgent need for more resources to be channelled towards climate action.”
In addition, the plans to decarbonise, particularly in regions such as Southeast Asia, would require the scale of “catalytic financing”, of which “innovative financial mechanisms” such as blended finance could accelerate the transition, said Temasek.
CCCA aims to support climate action initiatives by providing financing to address these market barriers. It will also help to drive the green transition and open pathways towards keeping to the 1.5°C threshold.
While Temasek did not specify the beneficiaries of the sum, the firm says examples of potential projects “include marginally bankable clean infrastructure projects in Asia”.
Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong was the guest of honour at the Sept 23 dinner, which was attended by more than 600 guests.
Temasek also launched a commemorative book charting its half a century of history. Titled By Generations, For Generations: Fifty Years of Temasek As Told By The People Who Shaped It, it is Temasek’s first and only official book chronicling the events and milestones of the company. — Jovi Ho and Felicia Tan
GIC, Temasek back Brookfield in emerging markets transition fund
Brookfield Asset Management has raised an initial US$2.4 billion ($3.1 billion) for a fund dedicated to investing in clean energy and transition assets in emerging markets, about halfway to its goal.
Investors in the Catalytic Transition Fund include Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, Prudential, Temasek Holdings and Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, which is Canada’s second-largest public pension manager, according to a statement seen by Bloomberg News.
“The support from the world’s most sophisticated investors for the CTF strategy underscores the unique combination of the major commercial opportunity and the climate imperative,” Mark Carney, chair of Brookfield Asset Management and head of its transition investing group, said in the statement. Carney is also chair of Bloomberg Inc.
Investments in emerging markets need to increase sixfold from current levels to reach the US$1.6 trillion annually required by the early 2030s to meet global net-zero targets, Brookfield said.
The fund expects to announce its initial investments later in 2024.
The fund, which targets US$5 billion, was introduced at the COP28 climate change conference with as much as US$1 billion of capital provided by United Arab Emirates investment firm Alterra. Brookfield has committed to provide 10% of the target.
Carney recently accepted a role as an adviser on economic policy to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party. Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre criticised Carney for doing so, alleging he is trying to dodge conflict-of-interest disclosures by taking on the work for a political party rather than for the government itself. — Bloomberg
