Covid Casts U.S. Industrial Conglomerates in New Light, Foreign Investment Pours Into China Despite Trade War, Pandemic, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala to invest in Asper’s Dhs 2.1bn investment vehicle.
Covid Casts U.S. Industrial Conglomerates in New Light – Bloomberg
“If anything, this pandemic has demonstrated the value of our diverse portfolio,” Chief Executive Officer Darius Adamczyk said in an email.
Even in 2020, a select group of U.S. companies are still operating multifaceted businesses — and they’re thriving.
In 1980, more than half of the largest U.S. industrial firms (as measured by the Fortune 500) operated in three or more sectors; by 1990, only 30% did.
After the financial crisis, diversified companies were simply a headache investors didn’t need.
At the end of the day, whatever that conglomerate is, if they are growing earnings better than the peers of each business unit and there’s less volatility in the stock because of diversity, to me, that makes sense,” Ed Garden, chief investment officer at Trian Fund Management.
The current coronavirus crisis has broken many parts of the economy; the conglomerate model wasn’t one of them.
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala to invest in Asper’s Dhs2.1bn investment vehicle
Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi, CEO of Mubadala Aerospace, Renewables and ICT said:
“This investment is highly attractive for us, as heating networks not only support the development of sustainable energy infrastructure but are also stable assets which provide predictable cash flows and steady returns”
Asper is Europe’s independent investment management firm specialised in sustainable real assets with investment vehicles dedicated to energy transition.
Global Investors Are Dumping Indian Bonds Like Never Before – Bloomberg
India still has some of Asia’s toughest restrictions on foreign funds. The country’s failure thus far to join China in global debt indexes is adding to investor concerns about meagre inflation-adjusted yields and a widening fiscal deficit.
Indian finance ministry official said the government is making progress on debt-market reforms and expects to join global indexes in mid-2021.
Modi’s administration quietly shelved a plan, initially floated in 2019, to sell its first foreign sovereign bonds.
India has taken some small steps to open its bond market this year, including by removing ownership restrictions on certain types of government debt. But the moves have done little to stem the tide of outflows, with foreigners holding just 2% of outstanding Indian bonds at the end of November.
Why Middle East investors should consider Northern Ireland’s fintech sector
Northern Ireland has a high concentration of product development activity with local tech companies and teams ‘owning’ product management, design, development QA and DevOps from end to end.
Having operated a regional office in Dubai for over 25 years, Invest Northern Ireland, the region’s economic development agency, is confident that local organisations from the region can collaborate and work with the Northern Ireland to expand and grow their businesses.”
Migrant Pay Gap in Rich Countries Was Widening Even Before Covid – Bloomberg
Migrant workers in the world’s richest economies are earning 12.6% less than national workers, and the gap is widening, according to the International Labour Organization. The new report covered 49 nations, mainly in Europe and the Americas.
Foreign Investment Pours Into China Despite Trade War, Pandemic – Bloomberg
New foreign investment is on track to set another record in 2020, hitting 94% of last year’s total by the end of November, according to Commerce Ministry data released this week.
“U.S. and other foreign firms will continue to invest in China as it remains one of the most resilient economies during the global pandemic and as future growth potential there remains stronger than most other major economies,” said Adam Lysenko, an analyst at Rhodium Group who researches Chinese investment.
Recent business surveys show many European and American companies are staying put in China.
The World’s CFOs Have a Dire Message for Real-Estate Investors – Bloomberg
While the coronavirus vaccine has thrilled investors worldwide and sent real estate stocks rebounding, celebrations may turn out to be premature.
The pandemic has also served to accelerate the demise of branch banking.
As workers prepare for some kind of return to buildings next year, long-term questions about real estate needs may even grow more urgent as concerns about health, safety and human interaction become more entrenched.