Daily Briefing: Temasek's philanthropic arm launches impact investing PE fund; Morgan Stanley cuts down Asian equities team

And e-scooter platform Beam is expanding to Malaysia.

From Dealstreet Asia:

Temasek Trust, the philanthropic arm of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, on Friday announced the launch of ABC World Asia, an Asia-focused private equity fund dedicated to impact investing.

Headquartered in Singapore, ABC World Asia will invest in companies primarily in South Asia, Southeast Asia and China. The fund manager is backed by Temasek Trust, Temasek and Pavilion Capital.

“There is scope for impact investing to help bridge the financing gap in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Temasek Trust seeks to play an active role in impact investments through sustainable philanthropy, beyond our usual approach of grant-making,” said Temasek Trust CEO Cheo Hock Kuan in a statement.

The impact fund will focus on themes including financial and digital inclusion, better health and education, climate and water solutions, sustainable food and agriculture, and smart and liveable cities.

Read more here.

From eFinancialCareers:

Morgan Stanley has culled about half a dozen mid-level equity sales, trading and research jobs in Asia (including in Hong Kong and Singapore), as part of a global cost-cutting drive.

The US bank has not responded to a request to comment on the layoffs, which come just two months after Nomura trimmed eight people from its Singapore equities research team under a new plan to scale back outside of Japan.

Deutsche Bank made cuts to its Asian equities team last year, whilst Credit Suisse culled dozens from its regional equities operations in 2017. Barclays trimmed Asian equities jobs in 2016, whilst Standard Chartered has shuttered its team altogether.

A recent report from the Monetary Authority of Singapore suggest that the job cuts could continue for even longer.

Read more here. 

From e27:

E-scooter service Beam announced that it has set up operations in Malaysia.

Its corporate affairs vice president Christopher Hilton said that the e-scooters will be available at various designated parking areas in Bukit Bintang, Lot 10 mall, and Mont Kiara township because of its high foot traffic, wide walking paths, and convenience to public transport.

During the launch, the company expressed that it welcomes businesses and shop owners that wish to have more traffic to offer parking spaces for Beam’s e-scooter.

By downloading the app, customers can use e-scooter connecting to Bluetooth and mobile data, and entering their credit/debit card details.

Read more here.