Temasek Holdings Private Limited is a Singaporean holding company, owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 25 June 1974 as a Commercial Investment Company, Temasek owns and manages a net portfolio of $313 billion, with S$28 billion divested and S$24 billion invested during the year, and 66% exposure to Asia - 26% Singapore and 40% Asia ex-Singapore. It is an active shareholder and investor, and its investments are guided by four key themes - transforming economies, growing middle income populations, deepening comparative advantages and emerging champions. Its portfolio covers a broad spectrum of sectors including financial services, telecommunications, media and technology, transportation and industrials, life sciences and agribusiness, consumer and real estate, energy and resources, as well as multi-sector funds. Headquartered in Singapore, Temasek has a multinational team of 800 people, in 11 global offices including two offices in Beijing, and one office in each of Shanghai, Mumbai, Hanoi, London, New York, San Francisco, Mexico City, Washington, D.C., and Sao Paulo. Temasek differs from many [sovereign wealth funds because it invests mostly in equities, is the outright owner of many assets, and pays taxes like other commercial investment firms. Temasek has credit ratings of “AAA/Aaa” by Standard & Poor's Global Ratings and Moody's Investors Service respectively since their inaugural ratings in 2004. Temasek has also attained perfect quarterly scores on the Linaburg-Maduell Transparency Index, a measure of the openness of government-owned investment funds.
History
Incorporation
At the point of Singapore's independence in August 1965, the Government of Singapore had ownership or joint ownership of various local companies, such as Malaysia-Singapore Airlines and the Singapore Telephone Board. As part of its push for local and foreign private investment in sectors such as manufacturing and shipbuilding, the government's Economic Development Board also bought minority stakes in a variety of local companies. During the first ten years after independence, the government acquired or established several companies, such as the Keppel Corporation, ST Engineering, and the shipping companyNeptune Orient Lines. On 25 June 1974, Temasek was incorporated under the Singapore Companies Act to hold and manage the assets previously held directly by the Singapore government. The goal was for Temasek to own and manage these investments on a commercial basis, allowing the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to focus on policymaking.
Status
Temasek is a company incorporated in Singapore, and operates under the provisions of the Singapore Companies Act. It is neither a government agency nor a statutory board. Like any other commercial company, Temasek pays taxes that contributes to government revenue in the countries it operates in, distributes dividends to its shareholder and has its own board of directors and a professional management team. Its sole shareholder is Singapore's Ministry of Finance. Temasek is designated a Fifth Schedule entity under the Singapore Constitution, which imposes certain safeguards to protect the government's past reserves. For instance, the approval of the President of Singapore is required for any transaction which is likely to result in a draw-down of Temasek's cash reserves. The president also has the right to appoint, terminate, or renew the members of Temasek's board of directors. In most other respects, however, Temasek operates as an independent commercial investment holding company. In a 2009 speech, Ho Ching, Temasek's Executive Director and CEO, said that the company had made an effort to instill discipline and professionalism, and to be tested and measured by providing public markers of performance. She noted that Temasek's bonds spreads and credit ratings have been regularly and independently monitored as public markers of Temasek's financial position and credit risks. Temasek had also openly and accurately disclosed its financial information through its annual report.
Initial holdings
Temasek's initial portfolio of S$354 million comprised shares previously held by the Singapore Government, including a bird park, a hotel, a shoe maker, a detergent producer, naval yards converted into a ship repair business, a start-up airline, and an iron and steel mill.
Stake Buy
In June 2018, Temasek invested S$340 million in a minority stake in UST Global, a digital technology services company. The size of the stake was not disclosed.
Temasek's 2006 acquisition of Shin Corporation, owned by the family of then Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was particularly controversial, with protestors burning effigies of Lee and Ho on the streets of Bangkok. The deal was a factor in exacerbating the Thai political crisis, which eventually led to the downfall of Thaksin and a review of the transaction's legality. The military junta that overthrew Thaksin, later tried unsuccessfully to force Temasek to divest a large part of its investment in Shin Corp. As of 2015, Temasek's stake in Intouch Corporation had reduced to 42%. Fortune magazine described the investment in Shin Corp as a "spectacular misjudgment". In 2016, Temasek sold a 21% stake in Intouch Holdings, the Thai telecoms conglomerate formerly known as Shin Corp.
