Temasek portfolio grows 13% over last year

Temasek portfolio grows 13% over last year The investment holding company of the Singapore government saw its portfolio grow by 13 percent in the last year, according to a Reuters report Thursday.
   Temasek, the sovereign fund that holds majority shares of the Port of Singapore, Singapore Airlines and shipping group NOL, now owns a portfolio of $131 billion as of the end of March, its chairman S. Dhanabalan said in a speech this week. Interestingly, the portion of the fund invested in Singapore and Asia has shrunk from 78 percent to 75 percent, over the last year as Temasek has sought opportunities outside its core markets.
   “It has invested heavily in Western banks such as Merrill Lynch and Barclays, and it is recruiting staff for new offices in Mexico and Brazil that will be set up this year,” the report said. “Temasek is also looking at Africa and the Middle East, and has asked a small number of staff to spend part of their time looking at potential investments in the region.”
   Its most prominent role in shipping these days is NOL’s bid to acquire Hapag-Lloyd, the container shipping division of Hamburg’s TUI, a move that would further diversify its holdings geographically. Long-term, the fund is seeking an even balance between Singaporean investments, Asian investments, and ones in developing markets. Temasek is actually the smaller of two sovereign funds owned by the government, the Reuters story said.