SINGAPORE -- GIC, a Singapore government-owned investment company, said on Tuesday that it sold more than half of its stake in Swiss banking group UBS, incurring a loss. GIC is feeling the pinch of dwindling returns in a challenging investment climate. By selling a significant chunk of a legacy investment dating back to the global financial crisis, GIC hopes to accelerate its shift toward the digital arena and other growth areas to generate much-needed revenue for the country.
The sovereign wealth fund said it pared its stake in UBS to 2.7% from 5.1%. It offloaded 93 million shares for about $1.6 billion through accelerated book-building to multiple institutional investors.
