GIC Pte. Ltd., estimate US$690 billion
GIC chief executive Lim Chow Kiat said buying secondary private equity funds during the pandemic proved lucrative and has whetted the firm’s appetite to do more of this type of deal. “There’s a lot of optimism of where China is in its interest rate policy cycle, and the benefits that will bring for the region as well as the kind of gradual opening up,” she added.AustralianSuper chief investment officer Mark Delaney is taking a cautious approach. His pension firm, the largest in Australia, began turning defensive late last year, reducing its exposure to listed equities and credit.
“Most likely the first place we’ll go will be to deploy capital into fixed interest, as they respond to the end of the tightening cycle and eventual easing cycle,” he said. “From that, if share prices continue to adjust there will be opportunities in the share market and also by and large in the credit markets around the same time.”Chief executive officer Jo Taylor is looking to mining assets, with rare earth minerals and metals a key target.
And he’s also scouring markets to find scarcity trades more broadly, from battery manufacturing chains and chip-makers to water, food and Indian businesses where there are relatively few scaled business. In August, OTPP bought a majority stake in Sahyadri Hospitals Ltd. as part of its first private equity buyout in India.Partners Group chairman Steffen Meister is mindful of the suffering to people and businesses in recent years.
Longer term thematics such as aging populations are also a good sources of deals, Meister added. This could mean housing or residential apartments built for rent with affordability and inclusion becoming a major topic. Other investment ideas include logistics, cold storage and pharmaceutical storage.Temasek International’s chief investment officer Rohit Sipahimalani cited investment themes such as sustainable living, growing consumption, longer lifespans and healthcare.