Singapore’s Temasek tweaks global portfolio

FE Team | Published: May 05, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

SINGAPORE, May 4 (AFP): As it approaches its 40th year, Singapore investment giant Temasek is stretching its legs, moving away from its finance-based comfort zone into sectors like retail and African resources to ensure future growth, analysts say.
With worldwide holdings worth Sg$215 billion ($171 billion) as of end March 2013, Temasek is listed as one of the top 10 global players by the US-based Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.
Its wide spectrum of interests spans banking, telecoms, transport, life sciences and property, while more than 70 per cent of its investments are in Asia.
But with the global economy still readjusting five years after a crippling financial crisis, the firm, established in June 1974, is re-evaluating its portfolio to find new growth areas and minimise its exposure in the event of another downturn.
Analysts say businesses that cater to the needs of the growing middle class in emerging markets, as well as energy and resources, are expected to comprise the main areas of interest for the fund.
"One of the key investment strategies that Temasek has been pursuing in recent years has been to diversify its portfolio to tap into the rapid growth in spending by the middle class in emerging markets," said Rajiv Biswas, chief Asia Pacific economist at IHS Global Insight.
"The rise of Asia's consumer middle classes will be one of the key global megatrends driving change in the global economy over the next two decades," he told AFP.
Kelly Teo, managing director at I.R. Resources, said Temasek's venture into resources in Africa "shows their willingness to look beyond the norm".
Temasek in March bought almost 25 per cent of A.S. Watson, the retail chain owned by Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka Shing, for HK$44 billion ($5.67 billion).
Its flagship brand Watsons is a household name as Asia's largest health and beauty retailer, with over 4,000 personal care stores and 1,000 pharmacies in countries including China, Korea and the Ukraine.