Govt's role relating to Temasek Holdings, GIC clarified

SINGAPORE: Minister of State for Finance Josephine Teo on Friday clarified the government's role in relation to the state's sovereign wealth funds.

Mrs Teo said the government does not decide how Temasek Holdings and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) manage their portfolios.

Mrs Teo said their respective boards and professional management teams are responsible for the decisions.

She added the government ensures risks to the whole portfolio are not excessive, by assessing the impact of various adverse global scenarios.

Mrs Teo was responding to concerns of overlapping investments among Singapore's sovereign wealth funds.

Member of Parliament for Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Inderjit Singh said: "In recent times, they are starting to look very similar and also investing in almost similar assets.

"This is not a good trend as we may be over-investing and lack diversification in our investments could come back and haunt us doubly-hard if these sectors are hit by problems."

In response, Mrs Teo said: "First and foremost, we ensure that these investment entities have competent boards to oversee how their respective management teams execute their investment mandates.

"We also ensure that these entities have proper mandates and objectives. Second, based on the overall risk profile of the government's whole portfolio, we decide how government capital should be allocated."