Wed, Jun 27, 2018 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  MACROECONOMICS

  HK most expensive city: poll

  Hong Kong is the world’s most expensive city for expatriates, according to an annual cost of living report produced by consultancy Mercer. The financial hub tops an Asia-dominated list, with Tokyo in second place, Singapore fourth, Seoul fifth, Shanghai seventh and Beijing in ninth place. Outside of Asia, European and African cities were among the priciest cities for employees. Zurich ranked third and Luanda came in sixth. “Asia’s cities, especially Chinese cities, have shown strong performance in terms of cost of living rankings, mainly due to currency fluctuations. Companies are moving top talent around the globe in response to skills shortages,” Mario Ferraro, Mercer’s global mobility practice leader for Asia, Middle East, Africa and Turkey, said in a release.

  FINANCE

  Ingenico on takeover radar

  Private equity firms are setting their sights on French payments processor Ingenico Group SA as they scout the market for their next target among Europe’s hottest fintechs, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Paris-based company, with a market value of about 4.73 billion euros (US$5.5 billion), is drawing preliminary interest from several buyout firms, some of which are discussing the feasibility of taking it private, the people said, declining to be identified as the deliberations are confidential. Potential suitors include CVC Capital Partners, Hellman & Friedman and Bain Capital, as well as rival fintech companies, they said. The company is in talks with advisers about preparing for a potential offer, they said.

  FOOD

  Zuellig plans feed firm sale

  A scion of Switzerland’s wealthy Zuellig family is seeking to sell Gold Coin Holdings, one of the biggest animal feed manufacturers in Asia, for about US$500 million, people with knowledge of the matter said. Peter Zuellig’s closely held holding company, Golden Springs Group, could find a buyer for the Singapore-based business this year, they said. Gold Coin is likely to attract interest from international feed producers, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the process is private. Rival animal feed producers PT Japfa Comfeed Indonesia and PT Charoen Pokphand Indonesia have each risen more than 20 percent in Jakarta trading this year. Agriculture-related deals have more than doubled in Southeast Asia this year to hit US$1.1 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

  HANDSETS

  Xiaomi IPO lures billionaires

  China’s richest people are buying into Xiaomi Corp’s (小米) imminent Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), conferring their imprimatur on the world’s biggest coming-out party in two years. Former CK Hutchison Holdings (長和集團) chairman Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠) plans to invest US$30 million for an unknown slice of the Chinese smartphone maker, people familiar with the matter said. Alibaba founder Jack Ma (馬雲) and Tencent chairman Pony Ma (馬化騰) have also agreed to take stakes in Xiaomi, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing personal investments. The billionaire triumvirate join a group of big names backing an IPO that could raise as much as US$6.1 billion — the world’s biggest IPO since Postal Savings Bank of China Co (中國郵政儲蓄銀行) raised US$7.6 billion in 2016. China Mobile Ltd (中國移動), the nation’s biggest wireless carrier, and US chipmaker Qualcomm Inc are among those that have agreed to participate as cornerstone investors, according to terms for the deal obtained by Bloomberg.
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