Daily Briefing: Asia Pacific Exchange starts trading next week; Singapore ranks 7th amongst billionaire-filled countries

And GIC injected US$32m into the US$517m IPO of Turkish grocer Șok Marketler.

From Deal Street Asia:

GIC bought a US$32m minority stake in Turkish discount grocer Șok Marketler in its recently concluded US$517m initial public offering. 

"Șok Marketler operates 5,100 small-format stores that offer a wide range of products, including fruits, vegetables and personal care products. Part of the Turkish food corporation Yıldız Holding, it also operates 5,100 stores and 24 warehouses.

The grocer’s IPO is one of the largest equity issues on Borsa İstanbul, Turkey’s sole stock exchange, in a decade. GIC joined a group of foreign investors that bought 85 per cent of the 218.5 million shares on offer. The remaining 15% were bought by domestic investors, according to a Yıldız statement."

Read more here. 

From CNBC:

According to Wealth-X Billionaire Census, Singapore has more billionaires than every country except six: New York, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Moscow, London, and Beijing. The island nation has 44 billionaires in total.

"New York is still the billionaire capital of the world. But Hong Kong is catching up fast. New York has 103 billionaires, according to the Wealth-X Billionaire Census. But Hong Kong is now a close second with 93. And while New York's billionaire population is static (it only grew by one last year), Hong Kong added 21 new billionaires last year, for a growth rate of 29 percent.

'New York is the preferred location for those seeking a luxury blend of finance, culture, commerce, shopping and real estate,' the report said."

Read more here.

From Bloomberg Finance:

Chinese-backed Asia Pacific Exchange will start trading in Singapore next week on 25 May and it will offer dollar-denominated palm olein futures.

"The bourse will be the third derivatives exchange in the city-state, joining venues owned by Singapore Exchange Ltd. and Intercontinental Exchange Inc.

China has seen several outbound investments in trading venues as part of its efforts to integrate into the global financial system, with deals for stakes in markets in Bangladesh and Pakistan, and a joint venture with Deutsche Boerse AG in Frankfurt. While those efforts have the backing of one or more mainland exchange, Apex is privately funded and led by industry veteran Eugene Zhu, who previously ran the Dalian Commodity Exchange and the China Financial Futures Exchange."

Read more here.