SINGAPORE: Singapore's sovereign investor Temasek reported its portfolio rose an annual 43 percent to S$186 billion ($134 billion) at end-March, lagging some benchmarks and peers, and said chief executive Ho Ching was not leaving.
Temasek officials, releasing the 2010 annual report on Thursday, said the value of the portfolio had fallen since March in line with weak global markets, but declined to give a figure.
Executive Director Simon Israel emphatically told reporters the chief executive of Temasek Holdings, the world's eighth-largest sovereign wealth fund, was staying.
"Ho Ching is our CEO, she is continuing as our CEO," he said. "There is no, underline no, active, immediate search for a CEO."
Speculation on Ho's future resurfaced in May when Temasek announced former Singapore Exchange CEO Hsieh Fu Hua would join as executive director and president in August to assist her in areas such as talent development and succession planning.
Ho, the wife of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the fifth most powerful woman in the world last year, according to Forbes, had earlier planned to leave by October 2009.
But Ho's designated successor, former BHP Billiton CEO Charles Goodyear, left Temasek in July last year citing differences in strategy.
Ho, 57, has been CEO since January 2004.
Temasek also said it stepped up its focus on Asia, particularly Singapore, in the 2009/10 financial year, adding that strategy would be maintained for the forseeable future, given volatility in other world markets.
"Choppy waters lie ahead, but Asia will maintain its secular long-term growth," Chairman S. Dhanabalan said in a statement. "Our focus on Asia continues."
The company said 78 percent of its portfolio was in Asia as of end-March, up from 74 percent a year previously. Investments in developed economies dropped to 20 percent from 22 percent.
By sector, Temasek increased its investments in the financial sector to 37 percent of its portfolio from 33 percent. Exposure to telecommunications, media and tech sectors dropped to 24 percent from 27 percent, while investments in transport and industrials fell to 18 percent from 19 percent.
Temasek dismissed as "speculation" talk that it will take a strategic stake in troubled oil major BP Plc as it struggles with a devastating oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
But its investments in the energy and resources sector increased to 6 percent at end-March from 5 percent, representing over $1.3 billion.
Temasek has hit the headlines in recent months for aggressive buying in the sector, including convertible preferred stock in U.S. natural gas firm Chesapeake Energy and India's GMR Energy, and shares in Canadian platinum producer Platmin.
But some of those investments were not reflected in the annual report since they fall in the current financial year.
'NOT A FUND'
Temasek's net profit for the financial year fell to S$4.6 billion from S$6.2 billion, which it said was due to lower contributions from portfolio firms.
The value of the portfolio in March was a record for Temasek, which launched operations in 1974 with initial assets of S$354 million.
But its growth lagged the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index, which rose 63 percent in the 12 months to March in Singapore dollar terms, according to Temasek. According to Reuters' calculations, Templeton Emerging Markets Fund returned 68 percent in the same period.
"We are not a fund," Executive Director Israel said. "We are a long-term investor. We do not enter and exit markets the way a fund does."
Chief Financial Officer Leong Wai Leng added that at least 22 percent of Temasek's holdings were in unlisted assets, which were calculated at book value and therefore did not reflect the rise in valuations of listed assets as markets surged in 2009/10.
"Over two years, our valuation is broadly in line with other indices," she said.
"As a long term investor, it (Temasek) has the option to take concentrated positions. It is important to note that we do not manage our portfolio relative to the capital markets," Leong said.
Temasek is wholly owned by Singapore's Ministry of Finance, but plans to eventually allow the public to invest in it.
As a test case, officials said subsidiary investment vehicle SeaTown Holdings would look at co-investment from financial institutions in three to five years. - Reuters
Temasek officials, releasing the 2010 annual report on Thursday, said the value of the portfolio had fallen since March in line with weak global markets, but declined to give a figure.
Executive Director Simon Israel emphatically told reporters the chief executive of Temasek Holdings, the world's eighth-largest sovereign wealth fund, was staying.
"Ho Ching is our CEO, she is continuing as our CEO," he said. "There is no, underline no, active, immediate search for a CEO."
Speculation on Ho's future resurfaced in May when Temasek announced former Singapore Exchange CEO Hsieh Fu Hua would join as executive director and president in August to assist her in areas such as talent development and succession planning.
Ho, the wife of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the fifth most powerful woman in the world last year, according to Forbes, had earlier planned to leave by October 2009.
But Ho's designated successor, former BHP Billiton CEO Charles Goodyear, left Temasek in July last year citing differences in strategy.
Ho, 57, has been CEO since January 2004.
Temasek also said it stepped up its focus on Asia, particularly Singapore, in the 2009/10 financial year, adding that strategy would be maintained for the forseeable future, given volatility in other world markets.
"Choppy waters lie ahead, but Asia will maintain its secular long-term growth," Chairman S. Dhanabalan said in a statement. "Our focus on Asia continues."
The company said 78 percent of its portfolio was in Asia as of end-March, up from 74 percent a year previously. Investments in developed economies dropped to 20 percent from 22 percent.
By sector, Temasek increased its investments in the financial sector to 37 percent of its portfolio from 33 percent. Exposure to telecommunications, media and tech sectors dropped to 24 percent from 27 percent, while investments in transport and industrials fell to 18 percent from 19 percent.
Temasek dismissed as "speculation" talk that it will take a strategic stake in troubled oil major BP Plc as it struggles with a devastating oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
But its investments in the energy and resources sector increased to 6 percent at end-March from 5 percent, representing over $1.3 billion.
Temasek has hit the headlines in recent months for aggressive buying in the sector, including convertible preferred stock in U.S. natural gas firm Chesapeake Energy and India's GMR Energy, and shares in Canadian platinum producer Platmin.
But some of those investments were not reflected in the annual report since they fall in the current financial year.
'NOT A FUND'
Temasek's net profit for the financial year fell to S$4.6 billion from S$6.2 billion, which it said was due to lower contributions from portfolio firms.
The value of the portfolio in March was a record for Temasek, which launched operations in 1974 with initial assets of S$354 million.
But its growth lagged the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index, which rose 63 percent in the 12 months to March in Singapore dollar terms, according to Temasek. According to Reuters' calculations, Templeton Emerging Markets Fund returned 68 percent in the same period.
"We are not a fund," Executive Director Israel said. "We are a long-term investor. We do not enter and exit markets the way a fund does."
Chief Financial Officer Leong Wai Leng added that at least 22 percent of Temasek's holdings were in unlisted assets, which were calculated at book value and therefore did not reflect the rise in valuations of listed assets as markets surged in 2009/10.
"Over two years, our valuation is broadly in line with other indices," she said.
"As a long term investor, it (Temasek) has the option to take concentrated positions. It is important to note that we do not manage our portfolio relative to the capital markets," Leong said.
Temasek is wholly owned by Singapore's Ministry of Finance, but plans to eventually allow the public to invest in it.
As a test case, officials said subsidiary investment vehicle SeaTown Holdings would look at co-investment from financial institutions in three to five years. - Reuters
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