In Singapore, Temasek’s biggest shareholdings drop nearly US$24 billion in three months
- Singapore’s state investor owns or controls multibillion-dollar stakes in companies including Alibaba and Singapore Airlines
- Temasek’s top 12 equity holdings by market value were worth a combined US$73.8 billion on January 2 but had fallen to US$50.3 billion as of March 20
Temasek Holdings’ biggest equity shareholdings and those of its subsidiaries have plunged almost US$24 billion since January as the spreading coronavirus sends markets into spasms.
Singapore’s state investor owns or controls multibillion-dollar stakes in companies that straddle the world, from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba to Singapore Airlines. A Bloomberg analysis of the top 12 holdings of Temasek and companies it controls as of March 20 shows a decline in market value of around one-third.
The plunge comes at a critical time for Singapore, whose financial strength is partly linked to Temasek, sovereign wealth fund GIC and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The government uses a formula that includes the expected long-term returns of all three entities to calculate the net investment return contribution, which helps fund the budget each year. In fiscal 2020, that contribution is expected to be S$18.6 billion (US$12.8 billion).
Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob said earlier this month that the city state must consider tapping past reserves to help its people and businesses that are “bleeding” from the impact of the virus.
Asked about the likely decline in value of Temasek’s portfolio due to the Covid-19 outbreak, Temasek Holdings Chairman Lim Boon Heng, speaking on the sidelines of a community event last Tuesday, said that the most important priority was to weather the crisis.
“It’s pretty obvious with the way stock markets are behaving recently that we should expect the returns to be down,” he said. “But now is not the time to think about whether you’ve made a loss or not. Now is the time to see how we can all get rid of this virus.”
A spokesman for Temasek declined to comment further.
Temasek’s top 12 equity holdings by market value were worth a combined US$73.8 billion on January 2 but had fallen to US$50.3 billion as of March 20. This includes shares in which the firm is deemed to have beneficial interest, such as Thai mobile phone operator Advanced Info Service, which is part-owned by Temasek subsidiary Singapore Telecommunications.