Singapore’s Temasek says value of its investments fell $28 billion in year through March

Singapore Temasek’s investments lost $28 billion

SINGAPORE — Singapore government wealth fund Temasek said its investment portfolio lost 40 billion Singapore dollars ($28 billion) during the 12 months ended March as big bets on financial companies went sour.

In a speech Wednesday, Temasek Chief Executive Ho Ching said the fund’s own analysis last year of various investment scenarios had shown there was a 16 percent probability its portfolio could drop that much. “Indeed, it had turned out to be so, and more.”

Temasek previously said it lost $39 billion, or 31 percent of its assets, between March and November last year as large stakes in Bank of America Corp., Standard Chartered Plc. and Barclays Plc. were decimated amid the global financial crisis.

Ho said Temasek currently has 30 percent of its assets in Singapore, 40 percent in the rest of Asia, 20 percent in developed economies and 10 percent in Latin America, Africa and others.

“We remained very comfortable with Asia,” Ho said. “We can expect bumps along the way, but the longer term potential remains strong.”

Last week, Temasek said Charles “Chip” Goodyear won’t take over as chief executive on October 1 because of differences in strategy. Goodyear had been working alongside Ho since March.

Ho, who is the wife of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, declined to elaborate on the differences that led to Goodyear’s departure.

“All those rumors you hear about his management style you can disregard,” Ho said. “There’s been a lot of speculation, which we look at sometimes with irritation and sometimes with amusement.”

Temasek’s investments were worth $84 billion as of Nov. 30.

Temasek, 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 and Singapore Airlines.