The pension fund manager closed its Chinese equity investment team last week, with five staff laid off in Hong Kong, spokesperson Dan Madge told Reuters. Teachers’ will “no longer have country-focused stock-picking teams based in Asia,” Madge said. (Reuters)

Talking point: Teachers’ halted direct investing in private Chinese assets in January, with geopolitical risk reportedly among the reasons for the change, though it planned to continue investing through fund partners. At the time, the pension fund manager had about $5 billion, or two per cent of its portfolio, invested in the country. Tensions are growing between China and Canada. In March, Ottawa announced it is launching investigations into foreign election interference amid claims China meddled in 2019 and 2021. In November, Ottawa ordered Chinese state-owned companies to immediately divest from three Canadian critical-mineral companies over national security concerns. Teachers’ did not respond to The Logic’s request for comment by deadline.