Temasek sees revival after markets rally
SINGAPOREAN wealth fund Temasek said yesterday that it had recouped most of the losses on its portfolio due to rallying markets and was now in a position to do new deals.
Chief executive Ho Ching said any dip in markets could be a buying opportunity for the $122bn (£74.2bn) investment firm, which is still open to buying financials and investing in emerging markets.
Temasek lost an estimated $4bn on ill-timed sales of its stakes in Bank of America and Barclays, but said it had benefited from investing in rights issues for portfolio investments such as Standard Chartered, which had more than doubled by the end of July.
“We are in a very good cash position,” Ho said at Temasek’s annual review yesterday.
“We think there are lots of opportunities in China and India over the long-term.”
The review showed Temasek’s portfolio slumped S$55bn (£23.6bn), or around 30 per cent, to S$130bn in the year to the end of March.
The firm’s portfolio then rose 32 per cent to S$172bn by the end of July, and its August performance was in line with the performance of market indexes, Ho said.
The firm’s value-at-risk was S$28bn at the end of March, meaning it had a 16 per cent probability it would lose that amount or more this financial year, down from a value-at-risk of S$40bn a year earlier, the review said.
“We believe the worst of the global meltdown risks are behind us,” said Ho.