Canada’s largest pension fund has reportedly slashed 10% of its positions in Hong Kong, while Chinese OpenAI challenger MiniMax and new energy commercial vehicle manufacturer Zhizi have secured fundings.
Layoffs at CPP Investments’s Greater China public equities team
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) has slashed around a dozen of its employees at the Greater China public equities team this week, which equates to around 10% of its Hong Kong team, Bloomberg reported citing a source familiar with the matter.
The pension fund said it will transfer the affected employees to other investment teams, per the report, which added that post-reduction, the firm will have around 140 staff in the city.
CPP Investments is not the only investment firm that has been eliminating positions in its China team amid a deepening selloff in the local stock market.
Investment bank Morgan Stanley is reportedly slashing around 9% of its position at its asset management arm in China, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
In April 2023, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), Canada’s third-largest pension fund, also shut its Hong Kong-based China equity investment team, Reuters reported citing several sources with knowledge of the matter.
MiniMax pockets at least $600m in fresh round
Chinese tech juggernaut Alibaba is reportedly leading the latest financing round of MiniMax — a challenger of ChatGPT maker OpenAI — at a valuation of $2.5 billion, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Shanghai-registered MiniMax will secure at least $600 million in the funding round, making it the second-largest deal in the generative AI space. Other participating investors include HongShan (previously Sequoia Capital China), per the report.
The report comes around nine months after the firm was reportedly close to completing its $250-million fundraising round that could value the firm at $1.2 billion in June 2023, per Reuters.
New energy commercial vehicle maker Zhizi bags almost $53m
Zhizi Automobile Technology has secured 380 million yuan ($52.8 million) in a funding round that has roped in a slew of state-affiliated investors, according to a release on Wednesday.
State-affiliated investment firms such as Xi’an Investment Holding, Yulin City Investment, and an investment fund set up by commercial vehicle maker Shaanxi Automobile Group as well as China-focused investment firms including Virtue Capital and Orange Leaf Investment Fund Management participated in the round, per the release. Previous backer CAS Star also upped.
Founded in 2022, the Xi’an-headquartered firm will use the fresh funding in R&D and marketing.