Daily Briefing: Retrenchments in Singapore declined in Q4 2020; GIC picks 47% in Altium

And Storms to expand to Indonesia, Africa with Series A financing.

From HumanResourcesOnline:

Singapore saw a decline in retrenchments in Q4 2020, the first decline to be recorded in five quarters. In particular, there were 5,640 retrenchments made in Q4, about 4,000 less than the 9,120 recorded in Q3.

According to the Ministry of Manpower's Labour Market Report Fourth Quarter 2020, released by the Manpower Research and Statistics Department on 16 March, fewer retrenchments were recorded in most industries, except in air transport and supporting services, which was still affected by global travel restrictions.

Among reasons cited for the retrenchments, the report noted two that emerged top: recession/downturn in the industry, which accounted for 49% of all retrenchments; and re-organisation/restructuring, which accounted for 39%.

On average for the year, these numbers stood at 58.6% and 36.1%, respectively.

Read more here.

From DealStreetAsia:

Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC will acquire a 47% interest in rigid plastic packaging and recycled resin company Altium Packaging from NYSE-listed Loews Corporation, per an announcement on 12 March.

The sale agreement pegs Altium at an enterprise value of $2b.

The transaction is expected to close within 30 days from the date of the announcement.

Loews Corporation said it will receive about $410m in cash, subject to post-closing adjustments, resulting in an approximate pre-tax gain of $490m.

GIC’s deals and acquisition proposals in the US so far this year include software consultancy company ThoughtWorks, Duke Energy Indiana, and smart window firm View Inc.

Read more here.

From e27:

Singapore-based gaming startup Storms announced today it has raised an undisclosed sum in Series A round of funding from EDB New Ventures, the arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

Other backers include Singtel’s founding investors — AIS (Thailand) and SK Telecom (South Korea).

Storms plans to use the money to strengthen its management and engineering teams in Singapore, multiply its user base and expand into new markets such as India, Indonesia, and Africa.

It also plans to invest strongly in research and developmentto advance its technology supporting mini e-sports tournaments.

Launched in 2019, Storms is a joint gaming venture between Singtel, SK Telecom, and AIS that operates as a publisher for gamers and people who want to create games.

Read more here.