The value of Temasek’s holdings increased 19% from the previous fiscal year’s Sg223bn and is more than double its portfolio of Sg$103bn 10 years ago, the company said in its annual report yesterday.
AFP/Singapore
Singapore state investment giant Temasek Holdings said yesterday its global portfolio reached a record Sg$266bn ($194bn) in the year to March, driven by rise in global equities.
The value of its holdings increased 19% from the previous fiscal year’s Sg$223bn and is more than double its portfolio of Sg$103bn 10 years ago, the company said in its annual report.
Net profit was Sg$14.5bn from Sg$10.9bn last year, said Temasek, one of the world’s biggest state-linked investment vehicles whose holdings include top global brands such as banking firm Standard Chartered, Singapore Airlines and Spanish energy giant Repsol.
“This was the most active year for us since the global financial crisis,” Temasek chairman Lim Boon Heng said in a statement.
“We made Sg$30bn of new investments and a record Sg$19bn of divestments,” he added.
Total shareholder return, which includes dividends it pays to the Singapore government and excludes capital injections it receives, was 19.2%, a sharp improvement from the previous fiscal year’s 1.5%.
Temasek said about half of its new investments were in Asia, followed by North America and Europe, reflecting “our balanced outlook between a growing Asia and the recovering mature markets”.
Singapore remains the firm’s biggest market, accounting for 28% of the total portfolio.
Temasek, however, said it had been steadily expanding its holdings in China, which accounts for 27% of its portfolio, up from 25% the previous year and 23% in 2013.
“From our earlier investments in banks as broad proxies of a transforming economy, we have broadened our exposure to include sectors like insurance, consumer and technology which are likely to benefit from the transformation of China,” it said.
The top three sectors it invested in last year were consumer, financial services as well as life sciences and agriculture.
“We are cautiously optimistic for the next few years,” said Ravi Lambah, Temasek senior managing director for investment.
“The US economic recovery, while uneven at times, remains on track. In China, growth is taking place at a more sustainable rate.”
Neil McGregor, senior managing director, enterprise development group at Temasek, said the firm had “benefited from the favourable global environment for equities” but it also remains “vigilant given the continued policy and regulatory risks around the world”.
