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MSN MoneyCentral- A British hedge fund said Monday it will accept the Japanese government’s rejection of its proposal to raise its stake in a major utility — although it added that it still doesn’t agree with the reasoning behind the order.
The Children’s Investment Master Fund had proposed raising its stake in J-Power — Japan’s largest electricity wholesaler — to as much as 20 percent from 9.9 percent. The government rejected that proposal earlier this year, citing potential disruptions to public order.
The fund has contested the decision as lacking transparency and including incorrect information and false premises.
But it said the government was unlikely to change its mind. The fund will now instead focus on improving corporate governance at J-Power, it said in a statement.
TOKYO, June 27 (Reuters) – Japan has relaxed its tax code so foreign asset managers and hedge funds can avoid dual taxation, as part of Tokyo’s push to revive itself as a global finance centre.
In a two-step process that began in April with the revision of a cabinet order and finished on Friday, the government has retooled tax rules so offshore funds can avoid being classified as having a "permanent establishment" in Japan.
Commonly referred to as a "PE" in tax law, the classification would force offshore funds — which already pay taxes in their home countries — to pay domestic taxes on any returns made in Japan.
Faced with sluggish growth and a rapidly shrinking population, the world’s second-largest economy is desperate for foreign investment and is especially keen to woo hedge funds, which have an estimated worth of $2 trillion globally.
CityWire.co.uk- RWC Partners has recruited Carmel Peters and Kirsty McLaren for the launch of an Asian-focused fund.
Investment boutique RWC, which changed its name from MPC Investors earlier this month, has hired Peters and McLaren from Sofaer Capital.
The duo has been brought in to co-manage the RWC Asia Ascent Fund, which will be launched later in the year.
The new fund will invest across the Asia region and be benchmarked against the Asian (ex-Japan) indices. It will adopt Ucits III status to allow the flexibility to short indices and stocks.
Wealth Bulletin- Odey Asset Management has created a fund of hedge funds subsidiary to broaden its offering to wealthy investors.
It has hired two people from Credit Suisse to run the business from Guernsey. The business marks a new direction for the hedge fund manager. Last week, Financial News reported the firm will close its $39m (€25m) Japan hedge fund after it fell from more than $1bn in 18 months.
On July 8, 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy sailed into Tokyo Bay with four warships. The American show of force ended 200 years of self-imposed isolation for Japan, compelling it to end its strict limits on foreign traders and open up to commercial and political exchange with the outside world.
More than a century and half later, foreigners are once again banging on Japan’s door. Instead of seamen in their "black ships," the latest invaders are investors in grey suits trying to break down the closed portals of Japanese companies.
Reuters- U.S. hedge fund Steel Partners helped oust the president and most of the board of Japanese wig maker Aderans Holdings on Thursday, the first time management of a Japanese firm has been ejected under pressure from an activist fund.
The news pushed Aderans shares up nearly 9 percent and marked a big win in Japan for U.S.-based Steel Partners, which owns 26.7 percent of the wig maker, one of the 30 or so Japanese companies it has been pressuring to improve shareholder returns.
Reuters- British investor The Children’s Investment Fund (TCI) said it had bought stakes in Mizuho Financial Group, Kajima Corp, and about eight other shareholders in J-Power, in order to raise pressure on the electricity wholesaler.
Mizuho, Japan’s second-largest bank, and Kajima, a construction company, are among the largest shareholders in J-Power, which TCI is pressuring to raise dividends, appoint outside directors and cut cross-shareholdings.
News Channel 8- A U.S. Treasury official said Monday the global credit crunch is gradually calming following efforts by the Federal Reserve and other central banks.Clay Lowery, assistant secretary for international affairs at the U.S. Treasury, said the Fed and other central banks have coordinated their actions to protect the financial system from possible disruptions after the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis surfaced last year.
As a result, the availability of credit has improved "modestly," Lowery told the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan.
He said U.S. financial institutions reported more than $300 billion in subprime-related losses, but that was alleviated by the raising of an additional $200 billion in capital.
