Sovereign wealth funds have stepped up their private market investments after the coronavirus crisis, but with valuations still high despite a shaky economic backdrop there are questions about the prospects for future returns.
While funds have increased the portion of their outlay in public equities in 2020, private markets still account for the largest chunk of overall investment at $55.5 billion year to date, up from $35 billion last year after a pick-up in deals in the second half, according to the London-based International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds.
Current asset prices are still very high despite uncertain economic conditions, raising questions of whether 2020-21 deals will be a good vintage, said Will Jackson-Moore, global private equity, real assets and sovereign funds leader at consultancy PwC.
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Autonomous mobility company Zoox, an independent subsidiary of e-commerce giant Amazon, revealed its first fully-functional, self-driven electric vehicle.
The vehicle, which can carry four passengers, can move bidirectionally and is designed for busy city roads, the company said. It is a purpose-built robo-taxi that combines artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced vehicle engineering and sustainable energy.
Here are some details about the new prototype, its features and what to expect.
What is Zoox?
Founded in 2014, the California-based company is a developer of self-driving cars and is currently working to design autonomous ride-hailing vehicles. The company raised $1 billion and was valued at $3.2bn after a 2018 funding round.
Farmland board rules against investment group
by Sean Pratt
Saskatchewan’s Farm Land Security Board has issued its second decision on a case that could transform the way land is bought and sold in the province.
The decision reaffirms an earlier ruling that ordered Skyline Agriculture Financial Corp. to reduce its land holdings to the allowable 10 acre limit for foreign investors.
Skyline is attempting to use a complicated ownership structure involving mortgage agreements, swap agreements and derivative agreements to avoid being viewed as owner of the farmland.
The British Columbia company headed by Mark Reineking believes it can use the unique business structure to raise funds from outside Canada to buy Saskatchewan farmland because it wouldn’t actually own the land.
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Pressure from young climate activists is pushing investors to embrace so-called sustainable bonds, experts say.
December 14th 2020
“I don’t even feel 16 at this point,” says Aliya Hirji. “Climate action has aged me 20 years in a good way.” Photo provided
These days, as the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan decides where to invest its billions, every move it makes is green-tested by future investors environmental crusaders like Aliya Hirji.
At 16, Hirji, is younger than most organizers in her youth-led climate change advocacy group, Fridays for Future Toronto. She studies the financial markets and their intersection with climate change.
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