Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute

According to the Amyris Press Release, “Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc. announced today that Temasek Holdings has invested $47.8 million into the company. Amyris intends to use these funds to support commercial plant design and construction activities as well as ongoing operations in the U.S. and Brazil.

“We are privileged to welcome Temasek as a significant investor, and appreciate having them join us as we look to commercialize and scale our renewable fuels and chemicals,” said John Melo, chief executive officer of Amyris.

Amyris has secured $244 million in private funding since inception in 2003, including funding directly into Amyris Biotechnologies and into its subsidiary, Amyris Brasil S.A. Other Amyris investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Khosla Ventures, TPG Biotechnology, Votorantim Novos Negocios, Advanced Equities Inc., DAG Ventures, Grupo Cornélio Brennand, Naxos U.K., The Westly Group, and Stratus Group.”

read more: Amyris

According to Bloomberg, “Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore’s government-owned investment company, hired Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley to help it sell 10-year bonds in U.S. dollars.

The sale will be benchmark, Temasek said in a stock market filing today, without being more specific about the size. Benchmark typically means at least $500 million.

‘We’re not expecting any major acquisitions but obviously that’s what this company is all about,’ Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Manuel Guerena said in a phone interview from Singapore. ‘These bonds will help extend Temasek’s debt maturity profile, and I guess it’s a bit of a signal to the market that the volatility in equity markets over the past year or so hasn’t affected Temasek’s financial rating.’”

read more: Bloomberg

According to the Press Release, “Olam International Limited (“Olam” or the “Company”), a leading global, integrated supply chain manager of agricultural products and food ingredients, today announced that after the successful launch of Convertible Bonds to raise US$400 million on 2 September 2009, it has increased the issue size of its recently launched 6.00 per cent. convertible bonds due 2016 by an additional US$100 million, bringing the total issue size to US$500 million.

Olam had previously granted the Joint Lead Managers an upsize option for the issue of up to an additional US$100 million in principal amount of convertible bonds (“Upsize Option”).

The Joint Lead Managers have today exercised the option for the full US$100 million. The exercise of the Upsize Option will provide Olam with additional funds to realize the Company’s recently announced six year strategy, and further term out its debt profile. The entire US$100 million in convertible bonds, pursuant to the Upsize Option, will be placed by the Joint Lead Managers (“Placement”) to Breedens Investments Pte Ltd (“Breedens”), a substantial shareholder of Olam and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd, which marks its second investment in Olam in the last three months.”

read more: Olam Press Release

In conjunction with its 35th anniversary, Temasek Holdings (Temasek) today released an updated Temasek Charter.

Speaking at the launch, Temasek Chairman, Mr S Dhanabalan, said, “Temasek’s mission remains to create and deliver sustainable long-term returns for our stakeholders. We have refined our Charter to more clearly articulate our focus as a value-oriented investor, and also as a shareholder focused on achieving sustainable returns by engaging with the boards and management of our portfolio companies. We will continue to review our Temasek Charter regularly, and update it as needed in consultation with our shareholder, to ensure that it remains relevant to our current activities and aspirations as an institution.”

First published in 2002 and updated in 2009, the Temasek Charter re-affirms the role of Temasek as an active investor and value-adding shareholder to deliver sustainable long-term value.

read more: Temasek Press Release

Asia One reports, “the investments Temasek Holdings has made in rights issues over the past eight months have surged by around 184 per cent on the back of rocketing global equity markets. Data compiled by The Straits Times from public information shows that Temasek has spent about US$2.9 billion (S$4.2 billion) subscribing to new shares of companies in which it already holds stakes. It began its round of investments by taking up new shares in Standard Chartered Bank in November. It has also joined cash calls made by DBS Group Holdings, Indonesia’s Bank Danamon, CapitaLand, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing and Neptune Orient Lines.

In a rights issue, a company sells new shares to raise capital. Shares are offered – usually at a discount to the current price – to existing investors in proportion to their holding.”

read more: Asia One

Ho Ching

Chief executive Ho Ching said the fund had already been approached by institutional investors regarding such deals. Temasek is considering including outside investors in single projects as well as the possibility of creating a fund to invest in multiple projects.

This comes a week after the company parted ways with Chip Goodyear, who was to take over the chief executive position in October. Goodyear will now leave the company in August. Temasek has not given a reason behind this decision, saying only that “the Temasek board and Mr Goodyear have concluded and accepted that there are differences regarding certain strategic issues that could not be resolved.” Despite the value of Temasek’s assets plunging by more than SGD$40bn ($27.7bn) in the 12 months ended 31 March, the fund has had an annual return of about 18 per cent a year since its launch in 1974.

read more: AltAssets

Reuters reports that, “Singapore’s state investor Temasek is in talks with a unit of Bank of China to launch a $1 billion to $2 billion investment fund to focus on fast-growing infrastructure projects across China, sources said on Thursday. Talks between Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund and BOC International, the investment banking arm of Bank of China, were in the early stages but both had agreed on the general idea of the fund plan, said the sources, who had direct knowledge of the plan.

‘This is an initiative led by BOC International. The two sides are talking,’ said one of the sources.

Temasek and Bank of China aimed to set up a joint venture to manage the fund, which would seek investment opportunities emerging from China’s 4 trillion yuan ($585.5 billion) economic stimulus package launched late last year, the sources said.”

read more: Reuters

Wall Street Journal reports, “Alan Thompson, managing director for Latin America at Temasek Holdings, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, agreed that Brazil’s strong financial system is an important factor in the country’s strong economic growth potential. Not a single bank failure has occurred in Brazil since September 2005 when Banco Santos was closed in what Brazilian bank regulators called an isolated event.

‘Over the last two years, we recognized that the economic world order is changing,’ said Thompson, who said Temasek has made several investments since establishing a presence in Brazil last year.

Thompson also said Brazil’s moderate inflation of 4% was the result of well-developed institutions that drive monetary policy. He cited stable fiscal policy as the reason Brazil has become a net creditor to the rest of the world and accumulated $200 billion in foreign exchange reserves. The global financial community has recognized Brazil’s new place in the world. Standard & Poor’s upgraded Brazil’s sovereign debt to investment grade last year. Foreign investors poured in a record $45 million of direct investment in 2008. “

read more: Wall Street Journal

Reuters reports that, “The Singapore government will help nurture local companies compete in international markets, but will not force its sovereign wealth fund Temasek to finance them as suggested by some legislators, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told parliament on Wednesday.

‘Government wants to help companies grow, is trying many ways and is willing to do more,’ Lee said. ‘But we don’t believe that this can be done by the government by simply pouring money, or creating a ‘Temasek II,’ he said.

His remarks were in response to ideas floated by two members of parliament on Tuesday that Temasek could make a greater difference to the island-state by helping home-grown enterprises expand regionally and globally. The government has come under fire from citizens and lawmakers over losses at Temasek, in particular its ill-timed exit from Bank of America which resulted in a loss of over $3 billion.”

read more: Reuters

Bloomberg reports that, “Temasek Holdings Pte, a Singapore state-owned investment company that bought stakes in Merrill Lynch & Co. and Barclays Plc amid the global financial crisis, has sold its stake in Bank of America Corp. Temasek had received shares in Bank of America after the U.S. bank bought Merrill Lynch & Co. The investment company had paid about $5.9 billion for a 14 percent stake in Merrill Lynch.

‘We have divested our shares in Bank of America,’ Temasek said in an e-mailed response to Bloomberg News queries.”

read more: Bloomberg

According to the Business Standard, “the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to examine whether a proposal by Temasek Holdings and Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) to increase their stakes in ICICI Bank would trigger the takeover code under which they would have to make an open offer to buy an additional 20%. The Singapore government has sought clarification on a proposal for the two companies to increase their stakes in ICICI Bank to 20 per cent, each holding 10 per cent. This would collectively make them the largest shareholders in the country’s largest private bank. Currently, Life Insurance Corporate is the single largest shareholder with 9.38%. The two Singapore investment vehicles currently hold 10.3 per cent in the bank — Temasek 8 per cent and GIC 2.3 per cent.

Sebi is yet to take a final view on the issue, sources said. The issue hinges on whether the two entities should be treated as one entity or not.”

read more: Business Standard

Telegraph states, “Shirin Ismail, head of absolute returns investment strategies at Temasek’s standalone unit Fullerton Fund Management, told the Reuters Private Equity and Hedge Funds Summit in Singapore: ‘This is an area we will add on because this is where we think it will give us that level of capital preservation that we need.’

Hedge fund withdrawals reached a record $159bn (£110bn) last year, according to Lipper, a unit of Thomson Reuters. Some commentators have predicted that as many as half of existing hedge fund managers could shut this year. However, the industry’s supporters argue that in a period of falling stock markets investors need the more sophisticated strategies hedge funds offer. “

read more: Telegraph

According to Temasek, “Temasek Holdings Advisors India Pvt. Ltd (Temasek) has announced the expansion of its India operations with the launch of its Chennai branch office. While Temasek enjoys a strong presence in the North and the West, the Chennai office represents a strategic geographical diversification to focus on the large South India market, providing an ideal base from which to penetrate the untapped areas in the South. Temasek commenced its India operations in 2004 with the establishment of its Mumbai office.”

read more: Temasek Holdings Press Release

According to Reuters, “Indonesia’s fifth-largest lender, PT Bank Danamon Tbk, said on Thursday it plans to exercise its option to buy back $300 million of subordinated bonds as it has sufficient funds. Danamon, controlled by a consortium that includes Singapore’s state investor Temasek and Deutsche Bank, said its net profit for 2008 fell 28 percent to 1.53 trillion rupiah ($129.5 million), from 2.117 trillion rupiah in 2007. The bank said the drop in profit was due to 804 billion rupiah worth of non-recurring expenses, which it said were related to unwinding foreign exchange forward contracts and provisioning.”

read more: Reuters

Chip Goodyear

According to the press release, “the Board of Directors of Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited Temasek today announced a leadership transition – Mr Charles Chip W. Goodyear will succeed Ms Ho Ching as Chief Executive to lead the Singapore investment company.

Mr Goodyear, 51, an American, joined the Temasek Board on 1 February. He assumes the position of CEO-Designate on 1 March and will succeed Ms Ho on 1 October 2009. Mr Goodyear retired from BHP Billiton on 1 January 2008 after leading the world’s largest diversified resources company through its rapid growth and expansion.

The appointment and leadership transition will further strengthen Temasek’s Board and management. The Board, including Ms Ho, has been addressing succession planning annually since early 2005.

Temasek Chairman, Mr Dhanabalan said, ‘Ho Ching has been instrumental in bringing Chip on board. We have been working on this appointment for more than a year.’

Mr Dhanabalan added that Mr Goodyear shares the vision and values that underpin Temasek as a key Singapore institution and an international investment company. ‘Chip presents a rare and unusual combination of investment and operational experience that can support the continued transformation of Temasek,’ he said.

‘Chip’s leadership and business experience, and his demonstrated capability in developing strong management teams give us the confidence that he will make a difference to Temasek just as Ho Ching and her predecessors have done over the last three decades.’

Ms Ho and Temasek’s management helped shape the Singapore company into a respected international investor.”

read more: Temasek Press Release

According to the Economic Times, “The finance ministry has proposed that a key agreement between India and Singapore be amended to prevent two Singapore government-owned investment entities — Temasek and GIC — from together holding more than 10% equity stake in any publicly-traded Indian company.

Under the current SEBI regulations, a foreign institutional investor (FII) cannot hold more than 10% in a single Indian company. Different FIIs owned by a common entity are classified as an FII group and are subject to the 10% cap. GIC and nine wholly-owned subsidiaries of Temasek are registered separately with the market regulator as FIIs, and as they have a common owner, they should have been categorized as an FII group, according to a note prepared by the ministry.

However, the Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA) signed between the two countries in 2005 treats GIC and Temasek as unrelated and independent entities. It gave Temasek and GIC the right to hold 10% individually in a single company thereby allowing them the option to together increase their shareholding to up to 20% in a company.”

read more: Reuters

Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Reuters reports that, “Singapore’s sovereign wealth funds, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp and Temasek Holdings, outperformed global equity markets in 2008, the city-state’s finance minister said on Monday.

‘Their overall value has fallen by less than the decline in global equity markets, as they maintain diversified portfolios and had taken precautionary actions early in the crisis to reduce their exposures to the equity markets,’ Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in a reply to a parliamentary question, referring to a 42 percent fall in 2008 in the MSCI World equities index.”

read more: Reuters

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The press release states, “Temasek Financial (I) Limited has launched the issue of US$1.75 billion 4.5% of guaranteed notes due 2015. This issuance is part of a US$5.0 billion Guaranteed Global Medium Term Note Program (the “Program”). Under the Program, notes issued by Temasek Financial (I) Limited, are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited (“Temasek”). Temasek is rated AAA by Standard & Poor‘s and Aaa by Moody’s Investor Services.

The notes were marketed globally. The Joint Arrangers for the Program and the Joint Bookrunners for the issue are Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. In addition, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley acted as Joint Lead Managers for the issue, which was also co-managed by Bank of America Securities, Calyon, Citigroup, HSBC, Société Générale Asia and Standard Chartered Bank.”

Read more: Press Release

According to the press release, “Bank of China Limited (“Bank of China”) and Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited (“Temasek”) jointly announced today that, following negotiations and discussions by the two entities, Temasek will, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Asia Financial Holdings (‘AFH’), acquire a 10% interest in Bank of China for US$3.1 billion. Temasek has also undertaken to subscribe for an additional US$500 million worth of shares during Bank of China’s initial public offering. This transaction is pending government and other relevant regulatory approvals.

With this agreement, Bank of China has introduced another strategic investor following the signing of the strategic investment agreement with Royal Bank of Scotland on August 18, 2005.

Subject to mutual agreement, Temasek will assist Bank of China in improving corporate governance, including the right to nominate suitable candidates for election to Bank of China’s board of directors. Other areas of collaboration and support are under discussions.

In addition to a strong focus on corporate governance, Temasek will facilitate linkages to other players in the Asian financial sector to support the development of Bank of China’s talent pool and technology base. As major financial institutions in Asia, both entities also agreed to strengthen their cooperation and contribute to the financial sector modernization in Asia.

Bank of China said,”Temasek is a major investor in Asia, with a strong reputation and matured operating mechanism in the area of corporate governance. Bank of China is a banking group with nearly a hundred years of history, and has established a prudent business style and a broad customer network. The cooperation of these two strong financial institutions with complementary strengths will result in enhanced competitiveness. The strategic investment by Temasek will support the deepening of the overall reform for Bank of China. The transaction will help Bank of China further strengthen its capital base, improve its shareholder structure and enhance its corporate governance.”

Temasek said, “We are delighted that an agreement has been reached with Bank of China. This is our largest direct investment in China, and is also a long term investment for us. It underlines our confidence in the long-term growth of China’s economy. More importantly, this investment represents our belief that Bank of China has transformed itself into a strong financial institution with extensive networks in China and overseas. We share the bank’s belief in its tremendous potential and are privileged to be an investor.”"

Read more: Press Release

The press release states, “Temasek Holdings (Temasek) is expanding its focus on India and will be opening an office in Mumbai, India. This move reflects Temasek’s optimism in the potential of the Indian market, as well as Temasek’s commitment to participating in and contributing to the growth and success of India, at a time when the Indian economy is at a point of inflexion.

Leading the team in India would be Mr Manish Kejriwal, who is joining Temasek as its Managing Director, India. Mr Kejriwal will be responsible for overseeing Temasek’s interests in India. Mr Kejriwal will be supported in India by Mr Ravi Krishnasamy, currently a Director of Investments at Temasek.

In India, Temasek is open to evaluating opportunities in multiple sectors and at different stages, but the focus will mainly be on making direct investments into companies with good growth potential. In addition, Temasek will work with the Temasek-Linked Companies (TLCs) to identify investment opportunities in India.

As an indication of Temasek’s interest in India, it has made a few investments in India recently. Temasek has invested a 5.2% stake in ICICI Bank, and has set up the US$100 million Merlion India Fund which aims to invest in promising mid-to-late stage Indian companies.

Mr. Kejriwal joins Temasek from McKinsey & Company, Inc. where he is a Partner. He is the hub leader for McKinsey’s corporate finance & strategy practice in India, and was responsible for all merger & acquisition engagements for both Indian and international companies looking at entering the Indian market. He is also the co-leader of McKinsey’s business process outsourcing & offshoring practice in India and is in the global leadership team of the private equity practice. Mr Kejriwal has previously been based in New York and Cleveland.”

Read more: Press Release

According to the press release, “We refer to Mak Yuen Teen’s letter “Cut the knot of government ownership of GLCs” (ST, 2 May 00), and thank him for his comments.

GLCs are products of history

2 As Mr Mak has rightly pointed out, the original purpose behind the government’s involvement in business was to accelerate Singapore’s economic development by initiating industrialisation in the early 1960s. At that time, the government moved into areas such as steel making, shiprepair and petrochemicals etc, industries where the private sector did not want to enter and assume all the risks. Temasek Holdings was formed in 1974 to hold and manage all such government investments.

3 In the 1980s, Temasek began a process to divest its investments in companies that could stand on their own and were no longer of national or strategic importance. Our stakes in many companies have been reduced significantly. Some were divested completely. Please see Table 1 for some examples.

4 While we agree that the times have changed and there are no compelling reasons for the Government to hold controlling stakes in the GLCs, we cannot divest our stakes in the GLCs overnight. We have to wait for the right time to get the right price. In the meantime, we will vote our shares where necessary to enhance the value of our investments. We will be abdicating from our role if we step aside and not support proposals which make commercial sense.

Appointment of Board of Directors

5 Contrary to popular belief, Temasek only appoints the number of directors to the listed GLC Boards proportional to its shareholding level. We believe that each Board should have a good mix of directors so that there is a right complement of expertise. Temasek therefore also nominates private sector directors to the GLC Boards.

6 The proportion of directors from the public sector on the Boards of our listed GLCs is actually very small. For an average board size of 9 directors, the average number of public sector directors is two.

GLCs do not receive special privileges

7 While GLCs may be perceived to have better credit risks than non-GLCs when it comes to raising loans, Temasek GLCs are expected to raise the funds they need on commercial terms. Financial institutions that deal with the Temasek GLCs will have to make their independent assessment with no reference to Temasek or Government.

8 Like any shareholder, Temasek expects its companies to be profitable and to give a good rate of return on investment. However, we will divest or liquidate a GLC if it continuously performs poorly, for example, Construction Technology (the company was sold at a loss in 1996) and Micropolis (the company was liquidated in 1997).

GLCs are commercial entities

9 We wish to reiterate that Temasek GLCs operate like any private sector company on a commercial basis. The performance of our GLCs should be judged by the strength of their boards and management, and not on who their shareholders are. We also do not want to see our GLCs compete unfairly with the smaller local firms, and hence have constantly encouraged our GLCs to seek new business opportunities overseas.

10 Finally, Mr Mak quoted that a recent conference in Beijing concluded that “the state is a lousy owner”. However, we would like to point out that every country is unique. What works in one country may not work in another, and vice versa. Our major GLCs have generally performed well and gained regional recognition for their business performance and management. Temasek will ensure that its GLCs will not become complacent, but maintain their competitive edge and become more innovative and entrepreneurial in their outlook.

11 We would like to assure Mr Mak that Temasek constantly reviews its shareholdings in its GLCs to see whether there should be further reduction.

Yours sincerely

WONG HENG TEW
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT”

Source: Temasek Holdings Press Release