Temasek emerges as an Asian powerhouse after regional expansion
Temasek emerges as an Asian powerhouse after regional expansion
Bernice Han, Agence France-Presse/Singapore
Singapore's Temasek Holdings is stamping its mark as an Asian
powerhouse investor after a trailblazing multi-billion dollar
shopping spree in the region over the past two years, analysts
say.
The Singapore government's investment arm, which has interests
in everything from banks to telecoms, airlines to energy firms,
is now a major presence in the region, stretching from closest
neighbor Malaysia to China and India.
Almost half of Temasek's portfolio, worth S$90 billion (US$55
billion), is invested overseas with many of its foreign interests
acquired over the past two years, company spokeswoman Rachel Lin
told AFP.
Lin said Temasek had invested more than S$3 billion globally
since 2003 and it planned to continue increasing its foreign
assets, not only in Asia but throughout the 30 Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations.
"Previously our portfolio was predominantly Singapore based,"
Lin said.
"Currently, our portfolio is about 52 percent based in
Singapore. In the next 8-10 years, we expect to see our portfolio
transform to approximately one-third Singapore, one-third Asia
and one-third OECD economies."
Some of the notable foreign investments undertaken by Temasek
over the past three years include stakes in South Korea's Hana
Bank, Bank Danamon of Indonesia, Telekom Malaysia and India's
largest bank, ICICI Bank.
Just last week Temasek bought a 25 percent stake in Pakistan's
NIB bank, as well as a slice of Malaysia's Alliance Bank through
acquiring a 15.4 percent stake in the institution's owner,
Malaysian Plantations.
Nine percent of its portfolio is now made up of investments in
Southeast Asian countries other than Singapore, according to the
company's website.
Another six percent is in China, Taiwan and South Korea, 17
percent is in Australia, one percent is in Japan and another one
percent in India and Pakistan.
Outside of the Asia Pacific, seven percent of its portfolio is
in the United States and another seven percent in Europe.
Chua Hak Bin, a senior regional economist at DBS Group in
Singapore, said Temasek had grown to become an very significant
economic force in Asia.
"By virtue of its size and capacity to stake substantial
strategic stakes across a range of industries, it's an Asian
powerhouse," Chua told AFP.
Analysts credit Temasek's successful expansion strategy to Ho
Ching, the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who was
appointed executive director in 2002.
Ho, 51, had been the president and chief executive at
Singapore Technologies, a Temasek-linked company with its own
global presence in the aerospace, defense and electronics
industries, before moving to Temasek.
Since Ho assumed the post, Temasek has accelerated its foreign
investment drive especially in the region's banking sector, and
she has also shed the veil of secrecy surrounding the firm.
"I think the shift in philosophy has only occurred since Ho
Ching came in," Chua said.
"Before that, I think it was a bit more passive ... a lot of
their investments were still largely concentrated in Singapore.
"I think she deserves a lot of credit for better defining the
direction of Temasek and for being a lot more transparent about
Temasek's performance."
On the transparency front, Temasek made public its accounts
for the first time in October last year.
Temasek revealed its net profit for the year to March 2004
rose sharply to S$7.4 billion on revenues of S$56.5 billion
from S$241 million with revenues totaling S$49.65 billion in the
previous financial year.
Analysts said the move to shift its radar outside of Singapore
made sense because the city-state's small domestic economy
increasingly offered fewer opportunities for growth.