Temasek continues to look for opportunities in China
SINGAPORE - Temasek Holdings will be looking for opportunities in China by looking at the solution to the problems as China pushes forward its reforms, the Singapore sovereign wealth fund said on Thursday.
"With the reforms that are coming, we believe that there will be more opening up," said Chia Song Hwee, head of investment group and co-head of China operations, at a press conference.
He cited the reform of the State-owned enterprises in China as an example, saying that it is expected to expand the base of invested stakeholders if it really takes place.
"We are looking at it as an opportunity to build on the portfolio rather than shrinking it," he said.
Record portfolio value
Temasek Holdings' portfolio value increased by 8.6 percent year-on-year to a record S$215 billion ($173 billion) as of March 31, 2013.
The total shareholder return (TSR), which is the key measure of its performance, was 8.86 percent for the financial year. The three-year TSR was 4.94 percent. Ten-year TSR was 13 percent, and the TSR since its inception was 16 percent.
Its net profit was down 0.9 percent at S$10.6 billion. The higher contribution from portfolio returns offset lower contributions from its portfolio companies.
Chief Executive Officer Ho Ching said that the company is almost entirely invested in equities, leading to a lot more year-on-year volatility in the gauge of its performance.
"We are prepared to ride through the large mark-to-market volatility on our portfolio value, because a portfolio of mostly equities also means we expect higher returns over the long-term from our portfolio," she said in a statement.
Temasek invested a total of S$20 billion and divested S$13 billion in the last financial year, leading to a net investment of $7 billion.
About 4 billion of net investments were made in the energy and resources sector and in North America and Europe, where Temasek's new investments included significant interest in the energy and resources sector, too.
