By Pratap John
SINGAPORE: The Singapore-based Temasek Holdings which has a diversified global portfolio of S$129bn across various industries is looking at opportunities in Qatar and elsewhere in the Gulf, top company executives said here.
Temasek, the only Asian company other than Toyota to have an AAA rating by Standard & Poor’s, said it is “closely examining the GCC market, particularly Qatar, and will take investment decisions in shareholders’ interest”.
“We invest for returns. The Government of Singapore is not involved in our operational and investment decisions, though it fully owns us. Our mandate is to deliver long-term shareholder value”, said Temasek Holdings managing director (corporate affairs) Myrna Thomas and director (investments) Nagi A Hamiyeh.
Established in 1974, Temasek manages a diversified global portfolio principally in Singapore, Asia and the OECD economies. Its investments are in various industries such as telecommunications and media, financial services, property, transportation and logistics, energy and resources, infrastructure, engineering and technology, as well as pharmaceuticals and biosciences.
Some of the Singapore-based firms in Temasek’s portfolio are Singapore Airlines, Singapore Telecommunications, DBS Bank,, Singapore Technologies Engineering, PSA International, Singapore Power, Keppel Corporation and SembCorp Industries.
Its international investments include blue chips in India such as ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and the Apollo Hospital Group; China Construction Bank and China COSCO Holdings (China); Bank Danamon and Bank Internasional Indonesia (Indonesia) Quintiles Transnational Corp (USA) and Hana Bank (South Korea).
Speaking to a group of Doha-based journalists at the company’s corporate office here Thomas and Hamiyeh said the booming Gulf economies held much promise for Temasek and were worth exploring.
“We are definitely interested in sectors in the Gulf region, where our expertise can be used. But we will not rush through. Any investment decision will be taken only after a thorough research and planning,” they said.
Hamiyeh said the Gulf region might also provide an opportunity for Temasek to get into the North African region, where there was a lot of investment potential.
“We can probably consider a base in the Gulf region that helps us make a foray into North Africa”, said the Lebanon-born Hamiyeh.
Thomas and Hamiyeh said Qatar’s rapid economic growth was being closely followed by the Singapore industry. The potential of Gulf investors, especially Qataris’, is also well known in Singapore. Temasek has expertise in fund management and can recycle their surplus income.
“We know Qatar’s potential. We have heard about Qatar’s abundant gas reserves and its recent push to industrial expansion. Qatar Airways’ network expansion with direct Doha – Singapore daily flights facilitate greater economic co-operation between Qatar and Singapore,” they said.
Temasek associate director (Corporate Affairs) Christopher Ong and associate (Corporate Affairs) Paul Ewing-Chow were also present.
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