Temasek rebuts NSP official's remarks in article

• Clivebenss

  24 Aug 11, 10:14

  Aug 24, 2011 - ST Forum

  WE REFER to yesterday's article ('NSP wants GIC, Temasek to be more transparent') about Ms Hazel Poa's misleading statements on Temasek.

  • First, Temasek does not manage or invest any Central Provident Fund money, or Singapore's foreign reserves.
  • Second, Temasek is a responsible long-term investor with reporting standards that well exceed globally recognised yardsticks, such as the Santiago Principles, which were jointly developed by sovereign investors and the International Monetary Fund.

  Our annual Temasek Review reports a summary of key financials, as well as investment returns to our shareholder over different time periods from one year to over three decades, and other relevant information such as our governance principles, portfolio composition and risks. The latest Temasek Review 2011 is available at www.temasekreview.com.sg for public scrutiny. Past reports are also available on our online media centre at www.temasek.com.sg.

  Last year, we further published highlights of Temasek Review in local newspapers to help report our business and performance to a wider audience. This year, we expanded this initiative to 11 local and international newspapers, such as The Straits Times and Financial Times, as well as online news portals such as Yahoo News.

  • Third, Ms Poa is mistaken about the '$8 billion administrative expense' on two counts. Our group administrative expense was $7 billion last year, not $8 billion, which was reported for the year before. This also included expenses of subsidiary companies such as Singapore Airlines, PSA, and others, and not for Temasek Holdings only.

  We reassure the public as well as Ms Poa that we are keen to expand our stakeholder base in a responsible, prudent and measured manner.

  We are credit-rated AAA/Aaa by internationally recognised rating agencies, and have offered top-rated Temasek Bonds to both international and Singapore investors since 2005.

  These initiatives, from our annual Temasek Review to our bond issuances, are part of our efforts to build a professional and responsible investment firm to deliver sustainable long-term returns to our broader stakeholder base.

  Serena Khoo (Ms)
  Director, Corporate Affairs
  Temasek Holdings