Temasek sees portfolio hit record high of $199b
Temasek Holdings saw its portfolio hit a record high of S$275 billion ($199 billion) for the 12 months ended March, but the Singapore government-controlled investment fund warned that the global economy is still plagued by uncertainties.
In 2016, Temasek saw the biggest single-year drop in the value of its investment portfolio since the aftermath of the global financial crisis, resulting in a total shareholder return of -9.02%. The one-year return for 2017 rebounded to 13.37%. However, investment and divestment activity were more muted than in recent years. Temasek committed S$16 billion, down from S$30 billion in 2016, while realizations fell to S$18 billion from S$28 billion.
“While the global recovery is gaining momentum, there are still uncertainties, both in the medium as well as longer term. We have maintained an investment stance that is disciplined but nimble, and built a balance sheet that enables us to capitalize on opportunities and withstand shocks,” said Boon-Heng Lim, chairman of Temasek, in a statement. He added that the portfolio was being rebalanced to focus on longer term macro opportunities, including the digitization of businesses.
Exposure to unlisted assets has increased steadily in recent years, reaching 39% in 2016 compared to 30% two years earlier. It climbed a further percentage point to 40% in the 12 months ended March. The geographical split was largely unchanged. Singapore remains the largest market on 29%, followed by China on 25% and the rest of Asia on 14%. North America crept up slightly to 12%.
Traditional financial services represents Temasek’s biggest sector exposure for legacy reasons, but Theng-Kiat Lee, CEO of Temasek International, noted that in the last six years, technology, life sciences, non-bank financial services, consumer, and energy and resources have grown from 8% to 24% of the overall portfolio. They have also delivered better returns than the portfolio average.
Notable investments in these areas across Asia include Chinese online travel booking platform Ctrip, Alibaba Group’s online-to-offline services platform Koubei, and Wish, a US-Asia cross-border mobile e-commerce marketplace. Temasek also backed the Crompton Greaves consumer electronics business and HDFC Bank in India, and Chinese logistics provider ZTO Express.
More on Southeast Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.