10/06/2025

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | JUNE 10, 2025

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British Columbia Investment buys stake in KKR’s Pinnacle Towers SINGAPORE: Global investment firm KKR said yesterday that British Columbia Investment Management Corp (BCI) will acquire a minority stake in Pinnacle Towers, an Asia-based digital infrastructure platform with a focus on the Philippines, from KKR. KKR said in a statement that it would remain the majority shareholder. by the third quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. BCI is a Canadian-based institutional investor with C$250.4 billion (RM774 billion) in gross assets under management as of March 31, 2024. It manages investments on behalf of the British Columbia pension fund and institutional clients. essential digital infrastructure services,” Lincoln Webb, executive vice-president and global head of infrastructure and renewable resources at BCI, said in the statement. grown to become the largest independent tower firm in the Philippines with 7,000 towers, it added. US-based KKR first invested in Pinnacle Towers in 2021, according to its website. KKR said in yesterday’s statement that it made its investment in Pinnacle Towers from its Asia Infrastructure Funds I and II.

BCI’s infrastructure and renewable resources is a global portfolio with nine active investments in the Asia-Pacific region, including communications tower companies Rakuten Mobile and Altius, the statement said. Established in 2020, Pinnacle Towers has

South Korea president calls for extra budget to be ready swiftly SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae-myung urged officials yesterday to swiftly draw up a supplementary budget plan aimed at supporting economic recovery and spurring consumption. Lee, who took office last week, has made economic recovery a priority, launching an emergency economy taskforce with government officials. The economy contracted in the first three months of the year as exports and consumption stalled amid fear over the impact of US tariffs, fanning expectations of interest rate cuts. If the extra budget is finalised under Lee, that would add to the country’s earlier supplementary budget of 13.8 trillion won (RM41 billion) approved on May 1. During his election campaign, Lee had emphasised the need for an extra budget to provide short-term economic stimulus. At the taskforce meeting yesterday, he also asked for measures to stabilise prices, saying the increasing cost of living is causing“too much pain”. “Prices are causing too much pain for the people, so please check the current situation and see if there are any possible measures and report them even before the next meeting,” Lee said, referring to higher prices of instant noodles. Prices of chicken and eggs have risen since an outbreak of avian flu in Brazil, a vice finance minister told Lee during the meeting. The government has restricted chicken imports from avian flu-affected areas in Brazil. The left-leaning president is expected to pursue fiscal expansion policies, including increased cash subsidies and welfare, aimed at bolstering economic growth despite concerns over rising debt levels. – Reuters KKR’s Asia Pacific infrastructure platform was established in 2019 and now has about US$13 billion in assets under management. – Reuters deal declared invalid HANOI: Vietnam’s Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank has requested an official meeting with Japan’s Aeon Financial Service after the latter said last week that its deal to buy a financial company owned by the bank was invalid. Aeon said the deal was invalid because of “inappropriate accounting transactions”. “SeABank was extremely surprised by AEON Financial’s unilateral disclosure,”the bank said in a statement over the weekend. AEON Financial in February completed the acquisition of Post and Telecommunication Finance, a non-banking credit organisation, from SeABank for ¥26.2 billion (RM769 million). But the Japanese company later found that accounting information disclosed before the agreement “significantly diverged from reality”, it said in a statement last week. Shares of SeABank fell 0.27% in early trade yesterday to 18,150 dong. “SeABank promptly responded to Aeon Financial, requesting an official meeting between the two parties at the earliest opportunity to clarify the matter in a spirit of cooperation and in accordance with the rule of law,” the bank said in the statement. – Reuters SeABank seeking clarification from Aeon after M&A

“The Philippines represents a compelling market for long-term capital, especially in

It did not disclose the financial details of the transaction, which is expected to be completed

Shoppers carrying bags with promotional merchandise as they Shein’s bus tour in Manchester, Britain. – REUTERSPIC

Shein, Reliance aim to sell India-made clothes abroad o Plan comes as Sino-US trade war propels supplier diversification

stores, averaging 120% on-month growth, showed data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Offerings during its first four months have reached 12,000 designs, a fraction of the 600,000 products on its US site. In the women’s dresses category, its cheapest item is priced 349 Indian rupees (RM16.90) versus US$3.39 (RM14.34) on the US site as of June 9. Shein’s Indian partner Reliance, which operates the app, is working with suppliers to assess whether they can replicate Shein’s global best-sellers at lower cost, the two people said. Reliance aims to emulate Shein’s on demand manufacturing model, asking suppliers to make as few as 100 pieces per design before increasing production of those that sell well, they said. Executives from Reliance recently visited China to understand Shein’s “innovative” supply chain operations, “data driven” design processes and “disruptive” digital marketing, Manish Aziz, assistant vice-president Shein India at Reliance Retail, said in a LinkedIn post in which he called Shein’s scale and speed “truly incredible”. The partnership is one of dozens Reliance has with fashion brands, such as Brooks Brothers and Marks and Spencer. The firm also runs e-commerce site Ajio and its retail network competes with Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart as well as value retailers such as Tata’s Zudio. Reliance plans to work with new suppliers to source fabric – especially fabric made using synthetic fibres where India lacks expertise – and import required machinery, the people said. The firm will invest in suppliers and help them grow which in turn will help the Shein Reliance partnership go global, they said. – Reuters

In contrast, Shein’s other websites mainly list goods from China. Reliance, controlled by Asia’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani, has contracted 150 garment manufacturers and is in discussion with 400 more, said the two people, declining to be identified due to confidentiality concerns. The goal is 1,000 Indian factories making Shein-branded clothes within a year for both the Indian market and to service some of Shein’s global websites, the people said. Shein initially wants to list India-made clothes on its US and British websites, one of the people said. Discussions have been ongoing for months and the launch time of six to 12 months could change depending on supplier numbers, the person said. The scale of supplier expansion and export time frame is reported here for the first time. Shein has licensed its brand for domestic use to Reliance which “is responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, sales and operations in the Indian market”, Shein said in a statement. In December, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal told Parliament that the Shein-Reliance partnership aimed to create a network of Indian suppliers of Shein-branded clothes for sale “domestically and globally”. Shein is a fast-fashion behemoth earning annual revenue of over US$30 billion through low prices and aggressive marketing. Most of its products are from China with some made in countries such as Turkiye and Brazil. Its expansion in India mirrors interest in the country from the likes of Walmart and others throughout the global fashion and retail industries, particularly those looking for suppliers outside China due to the Sino-US trade war. The Shein India app has been downloaded 2.7 million times across Apple and Google Play

MUMBAI: Fashion retailer Shein and partner Reliance Retail plan to rapidly expand their Indian supplier base and start overseas sales of India-made Shein-branded clothes within six to 12 months, said two people with knowledge of the matter. The e-commerce firm – China-founded but Singapore-headquartered – has been discussing plans with the Indian retailer since before the US imposed tariffs on Chinese imports that intensified the need to diversify sourcing, the people said. The aim is to raise Indian suppliers to 1,000 from 150 within a year, they said. In a statement to Reuters, Shein said it licensed its brand for use in India. Reliance did not respond to queries. Shein sells low-priced apparel such as US$5 dresses and US$10 jeans shipped directly from 7,000 suppliers in China to customers in around 150 countries. Its biggest market is the US where it is adjusting to tariffs on low-value e-commerce packages from China which were previously imported duty free. The retailer launched in India in 2018 but its app was banned in 2020 as part of government action against China-linked firms amid border tension with its northeastern neighbour. It returned in February under a licensing deal with the Reliance Industries unit which launched SheinIndia.in selling Shein-branded clothes produced in local factories.