Temasek puts $346m into China healthcare

SEATTLE • Temasek Holdings is investing US$250 million (S$346 million) in the China operations of Columbia Pacific Management, as the investment firm expands its healthcare holdings.

Temasek and Columbia will form a 50-50 joint venture aimed at providing China's growing middle-class population with affordable healthcare services, Columbia said in a statement. The partnership will enable Columbia China to further expand in China through acquisitions and new projects, according to the statement.

Temasek has been loading up on stakes in US pharmaceutical and healthcare firms over the previous financial year. The share of life sciences and agriculture-related assets in its portfolio has doubled to 4 per cent in the two years ending on March 31, according to its website.

BLOOMBERG

HSBC plans $1.4b injection in Indonesia

JAKARTA • British lender HSBC plans to inject US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) of additional capital into its combined Indonesian business with Bank Ekonomi Raharja, an official at the Indonesian financial regulator said yesterday.

HSBC separately said it would integrate its Indonesian business with Bank Ekonomi, but a bank spokesman in Indonesia declined to comment on the planned capital injection.

The move would help to resolve a long-running issue for HSBC in Indonesia, where the government has encouraged banks in the country to operate via a single locally incorporated entity.

REUTERS