Daily Briefing: Mercuria, SG fund manager Envysion to co-invest in mining projects; Chip Eng Seng warns of net loss for FY 2020

And former BofA tech banker joins Jungle Ventures in Singapore.

From DealStreetAsia:

Trading house Mercuria and Singapore-based asset manager Envysion Wealth Management have agreed to co-invest in mining and energy projects, as default-hit banks tighten their purse strings and leave commodities firms seeking other funding.

The deal, signed on Wednesday, will see Mercuria present potential projects for investment to Envysion, founded and led by former Julius Baer banker Veronica Shim. Envysion will then decide whether to participate via a fund with a startup amount of $132.9m (US$100m) to $265.9m (US$200m).

Such tie-ups between companies and fund managers may help fill a financing void left last year after major banks downscaled commodity operations amid a series of defaults by trading houses.

“There used to be abundant funding for commodity traders but not anymore since major defaults like Hin Leong and ZenRock,” said George Liu, Mercuria’s Singapore-based business development manager.

Read more here.

From PropertyGuru:

Chip Eng Seng expects to report a net loss for FY 2020 compared to its $32.6m net profit for FY 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s adverse impact on the group’s businesses.

In a profit warning issued on 11 January, the group revealed that it expects the net loss for the whole FY 2020 to be wider than the $25.7m net loss reported for the first half of 2020.

For its property segment, the group’s ongoing development projects Grandeur Park Residences, Parc Komo, Kopar at Newton, and Park Colonial failed to achieve their construction milestone due to the closure of their construction sites for several months in FY 2020. This affected revenue recognition as well as progressive payments from property buyers.

“While construction works for Kopar at Newton commenced after the end of the circuit breaker period, the construction progress was very much in the initial stages. Accordingly, there was negligible revenue recognition for this development project in FY2020,” it said.

Read more here.

From DealStreetAsia:

Sandeep Uberoi, the former head of technology, media and telecom for Southeast Asia at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, has joined Jungle Ventures as a strategic adviser.

He will lead strategy and corporate development at the Singapore-based venture capital firm and oversee its portfolio companies across Southeast Asia and India, Uberoi said. His focus will include fundraising, partnerships, and key initiatives.

“The Southeast Asian tech space is at an inflection point with a large number of exciting companies at the forefront of innovation and execution,” the former banker said in an interview. “Jungle has ambitious plans for growth, and it’s a great time to be part of it.”

Read more here.