Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Toronto, plans to shut down its office in Hong Kong and wind down operations there over the next 18 months, confirmed a spokesperson for the pension fund.
“We will be optimizing our footprint in the Asia-Pacific region through our offices in Singapore and Mumbai, where we have teams focused across asset classes and regional markets,” the spokesperson said. “We established our Hong Kong office in 2013 as our first office in the Asia-Pacific region. Since that time, we have opened additional regional offices in Singapore and Mumbai.”
The Hong Kong team primarily focuses on outward markets such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, the spokesperson noted.
“We believe these activities can be effectively and efficiently served out of Singapore, which enables us to bring together teams currently split across two locations,” the spokesperson added.
As part of this change, certain Hong Kong-based employees will be offered the opportunity to transfer to Singapore. However, others will leave the organization and OTPP is “working to support each of them,” the spokesperson said.
The Asia-Pacific region will continue to be part of the pension plan’s long-term strategy. “We are committed to having a strong presence across the region moving forward in Singapore and Mumbai,” the spokesperson added.
The pension fund has C$22 billion ($15.3 billion) in gross investments across the APAC region and more than 60 employees.
OTPP had C$255.8 billion in net assets as of June 30.
