Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited is a Singaporean state-owned multinational investment firm. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek has a net portfolio of S$484 billion as of 31 March 2025.[4] Headquartered at Orchard Road, Singapore, it has 13 offices in nine countries around the world, including in Beijing, Brussels, Hanoi, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, New York City, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Washington D.C.[5]
It is an active shareholder and investor, with four key structural trends guiding its long term portfolio construction—Digitisation, Sustainable Living, Future of Consumption, and Longer Lifespans.[6] Temasek's portfolio covers a broad spectrum of sectors. Its key focus investment areas include Consumer, Media & Technology, Life Sciences & Agri-Food, and Non-Bank Financial Services.[7]
Temasek has held overall corporate global credit ratings of "Aaa/AAA" by rating agencies Moody's[8] and Standard & Poor's[9] respectively since its inaugural credit ratings in 2004. It has also attained perfect quarterly scores[10] on the Linaburg-Maduell Transparency Index, a measure of the openness of government-owned investment funds. Temasek is primarily anchored in Asia, but with a global portfolio, with a 64% underlying exposure to developed economies.[11]
While Temasek is largely considered as being a sovereign wealth fund (SWF), there are major differences as it invests mostly in equities, is the outright owner of many assets and companies, and pays taxes like other commercial investment firms.[12] Temasek's one-year total shareholder return (TSR) was 1.60%, with longer term 10-year and 20-year TSRs at 6% and 7% respectively, compounded annually.[13] Its TSR since inception was 14%, compounded over 50 years.[14] In addition to Temasek, the Government of Singapore also owns GIC Private Limited, a traditional SWF which manages about US$744 billion (S$1.006 trillion) of assets as of 2022[15][16] and the compulsory pension programme Central Provident Fund (CPF) with assets of US$397 billion (S$540 billion),[17] giving a total publicly known AUM of approximately US$1.64 trillion.
Status
Temasek is a company incorporated under the Singapore Companies Act, wholly owned by the Minister for Finance. It is neither a government agency nor a statutory board. Like any other commercial company, Temasek pays taxes that contributes to government revenue in the countries it operates in, distributes dividends to its shareholder and has its own board of directors and a professional management team.[18]
Temasek is designated a Fifth Schedule[18] entity under the Constitution of Singapore, which imposes certain safeguards to protect the government's past reserves. For instance, the approval of the President of Singapore is required for any transaction which is likely to result in a draw-down of Temasek's cash reserves.[19] The president also has the right to appoint, terminate, or renew the members of Temasek's board of directors. In most other respects, however, Temasek operates as an independent commercial investment holding company.[20]
History
At the point of Singapore's independence in August 1965, the Government of Singapore had ownership or joint ownership of various local companies, such as Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (later split up into Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines) and the Singapore Telephone Board (which became Singapore Telecommunications and subsequently Singtel). As part of its push for local and foreign private investment in sectors such as manufacturing and shipbuilding, the government's Economic Development Board (EDB) also bought minority stakes in a variety of local companies.[25] During the first ten years after independence, the government acquired or established several companies, such as the Keppel Corporation (originally Keppel Shipyard, taken over from the Royal Navy after the British military withdrawal from Singapore), ST Engineering (originally a weapon manufacturer set up to supply the Singapore Armed Forces), and the shipping company Neptune Orient Lines.[26]
Investments
Temasek's initial portfolio of S$354 million comprised shares previously held by the Singapore Government, including a bird park, a hotel, a shoemaker, a detergent producer, naval yards converted into a ship repair business, a start-up airline, and an iron and steel mill.[34]
2000s
Temasek's 2006 acquisition of Shin Corporation, owned by the family of then Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was particularly controversial, with protestors burning effigies of Lee and Ho on the streets of Bangkok.[35] The deal was a factor in exacerbating the Thai political crisis, which eventually led to the downfall of Thaksin and a review of the transaction's legality. The military junta that overthrew Thaksin later tried unsuccessfully to force Temasek to divest a large part of its investment in Shin Corp.[36]
Sustainability
In 2024, the company launched its inaugural sustainability report, stating that portfolio emissions were cut by 22 per cent for the financial year. Their sustainability-aligned investments accounted for 12 per cent of their net portfolio value and stood at $44 billion.[149]
See also
- Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC)
- Reserves of the Government of Singapore
External links
References
- Temasek Holdings is incorporated NLB, retrieved 6 June 2025^
- TEMASEK HOLDINGS (PRIVATE) LIMITED (197401143C) – Singapore Business Directory SGPBusiness.com, retrieved 30 September 2022^
- Temasek Review 2025 Highlights