Singapore state investment company Temasek lost about $39 billion, or 31 percent of its holdings, in eight months last year as big bets in the financial sector went sour.
The revelation comes just days after Temasek said Chief Executive Ho Ching — the wife of Singapore's premier Lee Hsien Loong — would step down and be replaced by former BHP Billiton CEO Charles Goodyear. Temasek Holdings' portfolio of investments fell to 127 billion Singapore dollars ($85 billion) as of November 30 from SG$185 billion on March 31, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hwa said Tuesday in Parliament. A Temasek spokesman confirmed the figures.
The fund made a number of missteps under Ho, including a $5 billion investment in brokerage Merrill Lynch in late 2007. Merrill's shares fell 78 percent in 2008 amid the global financial turmoil and the storied Wall Street firm was ultimately bought by Bank of America Corp. on Jan. 1 in a lifesaving deal.
Temasek also has large stakes in other financial companies such as Standard Chartered Plc, DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and Barclays Plc. Singapore's Ministry of Finance is Temasek's only shareholder. The company, which is smaller than the city-state's other sovereign wealth fund, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., owns large stakes in many of the country's biggest companies, including Singapore Telecommunications, bank DBS Group Holdings and Singapore Airlines.
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