All articles by Bee Ong
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IP Asia
Widening the scope for Islamic investment
Institutional asset owners customarily receive a surfeit of investment ideas and proposals, but Islamic institutions experience quite the opposite—a dearth of suitable assets. Bee Ong reports on the available investment options and where demand is coming from.
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IP Asia
Can PE deliver for Asian funds?
Major institutional asset owners, including Asia’s large public pensions such as Korea’s National Pension Service and China’s National Social Security Fund, intend to augment their exposure to alternatives including private equity. Bee Ong assesses how they might achieve this.
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IP Asia
Questioning investors’ capability to manage OTC risk
Institutional investors’ use of over-the-counter derivatives is running ahead of their ability to manage counterparty risks, reports Bee Ong.
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IP Asia
How trustees can build a robust framework
Bee Ong finds out the fundamental questions investment committees need to ask.
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IP Asia
Expanding beyond the resource rush
In the cities of Central Asia, a new kind of foreign visitor is beginning to emerge: Sovereign wealth fund officials. Bee Ong assesses what attracts them to places such as Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
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IP Asia
Asia's fixed income tide turning: Franklin Templeton
Asia and other emerging markets’ capital, currency and interest rate controls are shrinking opportunities in what are tiny fixed income markets in the first place.
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IP Asia
Religare plans expansion and acquisitions in Asia
Desai says Religare will sell different types of fund, such as private equity or hedge funds through Northgate or Landmark – as well a range of mutual funds. In India, the firm recently launched a domestic equities mutual fund focused on small and mid-cap companies that raised $105 million in three weeks.
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IP Asia
Sustainability: smoke and mirrors
by Bee Ong - If sustainability reporting is weighted towards appearances, how can investors get a reliable gauge of their risk of loss, or probability of improved financial performance?
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IP Asia
Passive index funds may rival ETFs in Asia-Pacific
by Bee Ong – Asia’s pension funds, sovereign funds and endowments have been increasing their use of exchange-traded funds particularly during portfolio transitions.
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IP Asia
Securities lending evolves
Lending shares is no longer such a simple way to boost returns. Bee Ong reports.
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IP Asia
Biodiversity and diversification for Kehati
Indonesia’s green endowment Kehati has gone from passive investing to active and back to passive.
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IP Asia
Central banks should take more risk with reserves
State Street Global Advisors’ Hon Cheung thinks central banks are too conservative when they diversify assets, and need to look beyond dollars, yen and euros.
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IP Asia
Quasi-private equity approach is a good way to invest
Prakash Ramaseshan at Kotak Mahindra explains to Bee Ong how to avoid volatility when investing in India
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IP Asia
ESG - Indifference and the impact of mega-trends
Where is the practice of environmental, social and governance investing headed? In Asia, sadly, the concept has not really taken hold in the way it has in other parts of the world. Bee Ong reports
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IP Asia
GIC sees challenges for the region
Shifting economic power could lead to conflicts among nations. Asia will increasingly face labour, natural resource, and commodity constraints to its high growth strategy.
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IP Asia
The long term view grows shorter
As institutions continually question their approach, fund managers have had to adapt to a client base that rejects the traditional assumptions. Bee Ong talks to Russell CEO Andrew Doman about meeting this challenge.
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IP Asia
China – could the great growth story all come crashing down?
Bee Ong talks to Satyajit Das on the structural risks that threaten to undermine China’s remarkable run of growth.
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IP Asia
Institutional investors and Sharia
by Bee Ong - Sharia investment professionals think that non-Muslims will find sharia investments attractive from the risk perspective.
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IP Asia
Islamic Finance – a glossary of terms
Bai Bithaman Ajil A contract for deferred payment on the sale of goods. A bank buys goods requested by the client. The bank sells the goods to the client at cost plus profit. They client settles payment in instalments within a predetermined period or in lump sum. Gharar Lit The ...
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IP Asia
More questions than answers as Sharia develops
Three years ago, when the US sub-prime crisis exploded, GS Khoo was already testing the ground for fissures in other parts of the financial services landscape. Islamic finance was one of the areas he predicted would face issues. Bee Ong reports
