Please send job moves to
[email protected]IFC loan
programme gets
US$1bn boost
INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION , the private-
SECTORûARMûOFûTHEû7ORLDû"ANK ûISûLOOKINGû
to deploy more funds in syndicated loans
following its recent tie-up with the HONG KONG
MONETARY AUTHORITY.
The HKMA signed on September 19 an
agreement committing US$1bn to the IFC’s
managed co-lending portfolio programme,
four years after China’s central bank signed
up to the scheme.
h7EûLAUNCHEDûTHEû-#00ûWITHûTHEûINITIALû
US$3bn investment from SAFE (the State
Administration of Foreign Exchange) and
now HKMA has committed an extra US$1bn,
ASûWELL vû'EORGINAû"AKER ûDEPUTYûTREASURERûATû
the IFC told IFR.
“They’ve made a commitment and they
WANTûTOûSEEûITûPUTûTOûWORKû7EûWONTûBEû
looking for new investors for a while, at least
until some of that money has been invested.”
The MCPP is a syndicated loan product that
allows investors to participate passively in the
IFC’s senior loan portfolio on the same terms
ASûTHEû4RIPLEû!ûRATEDûDEVELOPMENTûlNANCEû
institution.
Under the terms of the agreement, the
IFC originates, approves and manages the
portfolio of loans.
The loans are allocated across a number
of sectors, including infrastructure,
manufacturing and agri-business.
The programme was launched in 2013
after China’s SAFE, a subsidiary of the
0EOPLESû"ANKûOFû#HINA ûALLOCATEDû53BNû
across 70 deals.
The IFC declined to comment on the terms
of its agreement with HKMA.
“I think for HKMA it provides a
demonstration of their commitment to
the local banking market, since the goal of
the IFC is the crowding in of private sectorLENDING vûSAIDû"AKER
“Through the MCPP, HKMA is able to
invest across a number of different sectors,
whereas some of our other syndication
products, targeting just infrastructure for
example, tend to be more complex and
geared towards different types of investors.”
In 2016, the IFC launched a MCPP spin-
off, known as MCPP Infrastructure, which
invests exclusively in infrastructure projects.
It set an initial target of US$5bn from
global institutional investors and has since
raised US$500m each from Allianz Group
and Eastspring Investments, the Asian
asset management business of UK insurer
Prudential.
Earlier this month, the IFC also said it
had raised US$500m each from Munich Re
and Liberty Specialty Markets, a subsidiary
of Liberty Mutual Insurance, to invest in
MCPP Financial Institutions, a new platform
that would be used to provide loans to
commercial banks.
THOMAS BLOTTASIC warns of
risks in digital
coin offerings
Australia’s corporate watchdog warned
investors last Thursday of the high risks
associated with initial coin offerings.
It joins a chorus of global regulators
that have recently stepped up scrutiny of
cryptocurrencies to defuse potential asset
bubbles.
ICOs are popular with start-ups as a way to
lNANCEûPROJECTSûFROMûTHEûSALEûOFûDIGITALûCOINSû
or tokens. They have become a bonanza for
entrepreneurs globally, fuelling a surge in the
value of cryptocurrencies this year.
However, the surge has led to fears of an
asset bubble, prompting the regulators’ closer
scrutiny. The US Securities and Exchange
Commission warned in July that some ICOs
should be regulated like other securities.
Singapore and Canada followed with similar
warnings, while China banned ICOs this
month.
h7EûWANTûTOûENSUREûINNOVATIVEûlRMSû
understand the regulatory framework they
may be operating under and ensure they
meet any obligations they may have when
raising funds in Australia,” said John Price,
commissioner at the Australian Securities &
Investment Commission.
“ICOs are highly speculative investments,
are mostly unregulated and the chance of
losing your investment is high. Consumers
should understand the risks involved,including the potential for these products to
be scams, before investing.”
ASIC said ICOs might need to be covered
under Australia’s regular corporate law,
depending on the type of the offering,
while their legal status would need to be
ascertained on how the issue was structured
and operated.
Depending on the circumstances, an
ICO could either be treated as a managed
investment scheme, an offer of shares or an
offer of a derivative, it pointed out.
!USTRALIAûHADûITSûlRSTû)#/ûONLYûLASTûMONTHû
with Perth-based start-up Power Ledger
raising tens of millions of dollars. The pre-
sale sold out in just over three days, raising
A$17m (US$13.3m), while the public sale is
still open.
SWATI PANDEYWHO’S MOVING WHERE...
CITIGROUP has named Ashu Khullar head of
capital markets origination for Asia Pacific,
effective immediately, following the resignation
of Ken Poon.
A 29-year veteran of the US bank, Khullar was
most recently co-head of corporate banking for
Europe, the Middle East and Africa, a position
he was appointed to last year.
Khullar has held a number of senior positions
across Citigroup’s institutional clients group,
including in CMO, relationship banking, cash
management and trade.
He reports to Patrick Dewilde, head of markets
and securities services for APAC, and Tyler
Dickson, global head of CMO.
Poon is stepping down after 13 years with the
US bank. He is due to enrol at the Guanghua-
Kellogg executive MBA programme in Peking
University with a view to starting his own
company later, he said in a memo to Citigroup
staff.
An equity capital markets banker by
background, Poon was earlier head of ECM
at Merrill Lynch and, prior to that, held seniorpositions at Jardine Fleming and UBS. HSBC has promoted Joseph Incalcaterra to chief
economist for ASEAN, effective September 1.
Incalcaterra was previously covering pan-
Asian economics. He will remain based in
Hong Kong. MACQUARIE CAPITAL has hired Justin Ocampo
as managing director to lead its business in the
Republic of the Philippines.
He joins from First Metro Investment Corp,
where he was executive vice president and head
of investment banking. He was previously with