Singapore GIC convert UBS stake with 70 percent lossesReuters reported on Feb 11, 2010 - Singapore GIC will convert 11 billion Swiss francs (US$10.33 billion) worth of UBS notes into shares next month. GIC , which invested in UBS two years ago, will exchange the mandatory convertible notes for 230.7 million ordinary shares of UBS on March 5, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing showed that GIC would have a stake of 6.6 percent in UBS after the notes are converted into shares. Under the original agreement between GIC and UBS, the minimum conversion price was 51.48 Swiss francs and the maximum 60.23 Swiss francs, but GIC officials had said there was a reset due to anti-dilution clauses. Based on Reuters calculations, the assumed conversion price will be 47.7 Swiss francs a share versus UBS's last closing price of 13.67 Swiss francs, at a price that may erode the value of its stake in the Swiss bank by 70 percent.or US$7 billions. "I sense their philosophy is you win some and you lose some. Clearly they didn't win this one," said David Cohen, an economist at consultancy Action Economics. News of GIC's losses on UBS comes just a month after the fund said it booked losses on its $675 million investment in Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village complex, an apartment complex in Manhattan, New York. The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), which manages over $200 billion in assets, was one of the first sovereign funds to pump billions into Western banks, which were rocked by the financial crisis and suffered deep losses. The potential loss is likely to draw fire from Singaporeans, who have been highly critical of sister wealth fund Temasek after it lost heavily betting on Western banks such as Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and Barclays. GIC Chairman Lee Kuan Yew, said last year the fund bought "too early" into global banks such as Citigroup and UBS, which were both hammered by the financial meltdown. For full story, please visit uk.reuters.com code pour embarquer la vidéo : >>> http://www.youtube.com/embed/sGvStlnjfRE <<< |