Archer-Daniels-Midland Co (ADM) raised its stake in Wilmar International Ltd, the Singapore-based company that trades almost half the world’s palm oil, as demand for the commodity grows.
ADM, the world’s largest corn processor, “opportunistically acquired shares of Wilmar in the open market” company spokeswoman Jackie Anderson said in an e-mailed statement.
Tuesday’s purchases represented about 22 percent of the Wilmar shares traded on the Singapore exchange — equating to about 5.2 million shares — according to Chicago-based ADM, which declined to disclose its current total stake.
ADM had an 18 percent stake in Wilmar — 1.16 billion shares — as of March 10, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
ADM, which makes food, fuel and feed from corn, soybeans and other crops, has tried to diversify beyond the US and boost its presence in the Asian market.
An offer to buy Australian crop handler GrainCorp Ltd to ship agricultural commodities to growing populations in Asia and the Middle East was blocked by the Australian government two years ago.
“This is another way for us to drive results for our shareholders,” Anderson said. “Our investment in Wilmar is one of the ways in which we are benefiting from Asian consumers’ growing and evolving food demand driven by rising populations and incomes.”
Wilmar shares jumped 8.9 percent to S$3.17 on Tuesday, the biggest gain in more than six years, as ADM shares fell 0.6 percent to US$45.70 in New York. ADM is Wilmar’s biggest shareholder.
Wilmar is a “strategic partner” and one of the company’s biggest customers, Anderson said.
ADM has worked with Wilmar for about two decades. It earlier had joint ventures and then in 2006 contributed direct holdings in its Wilmar-related agriculture processing joint ventures in China to Wilmar International Ltd in exchange for shares.
The stock is a good buy given the strength of the US dollar and because Wilmar is trading below book value, and ADM expects the return on its investment to exceed its long-term weighted average cost of capital of 8 percent, Anderson said.
“This move enhances our ability to benefit from growing consumer demand in Asia,” Anderson said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last