Temasek Review
With the next general election looming ahead, the PAP regime has
gone on a massive propaganda overdrive to “address” the concerns of
Singaporeans and soothe frayed nerves to the extent of pulling a
wool over their eyes in cahoots with the sycophantic media.
Sovereign Wealth Fund GIC which came under fire for its massive
losses incurred during the global financial crisis now proclaims
that it has “recouped” most of its losses, according to a Straits
Times article today with the most misleading title: “GIC recoups
most financial crisis losses.” (read more
here)
GIC had released a report yesterday showing that its 20-year
nominal annual rate of return in US dollar terms jumped from 5.7
percent to 7.1 percent for the last 12 months which is hardly
impressive considering the fact that the Dow Jones Industrial
Average is now up 8.44 percent and the S&P 500 index has
increased by 9.5 percent in the month of September alone. (read
more here)
Furthermore, NO figures were released on the percentage it
has recouped nor the actual amount of money made or lost.
It doesn’t take an economist to realize that the so-called “rate
of returns” make little sense as it is simply a rebound from
earlier losses incurred during the global financial crisis as
admitted by GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song himself:
“The recovery in our 20-year nominal average rate of
return is not surprising, given the rebound in global equity
markets in the last financial year.”
GIC was reported to have lost a shocking SGD 59 billion dollars
in the last financial year, the bulk of its losses coming from the
untimely purchase of shares in banking giants UBS and
Citigroup.
A Bloomberg report in March quoted an experienced fund manager
at Siwsscanto Asset Management in Zurich as saying that GIC may
like more than a decade to recoup its initial investment in
UBS.
“The game turned out not as easy as it may have seemed.
It will take probably more like a decade than three years for UBS
shares to return to 2007 levels.”
GIC should reveal the exact figure of the amount it has
“recouped” from its disastrous SGD 59 billion dollar loss instead
of using fudgy figures to mislead Singaporeans.
For example, even if it recouped 98 percent of its initial
losses, it will still suffer a SGD 1 billion or $1,000,000,000 loss
which can be used to help the poor and needy in Singapore.
Despite being a fund owned by the Singapore government and
charged with managing our national reserves, much of GIC”s accounts
remain enshrouded under a veil of mystery which runs contrary
to the PAP regime’s claims that it is a “transparent”
government.
The Chairman of GIC is PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew, who is a
lawyer by training. Singapore’s other sovereign wealth fund Temasek
Holdings is headed by his daughter-in-law Ho Ching whose husband is
the Prime Minister of Singapore.
With no opposition in parliament to hold the ruling party
accountable, Singaporeans will have little choice but to accept
Finance Minister Tharman’s warped logic that the entire system is
“based on trust”.
Related articles:
>>
Bloomberg: GIC to take more than a
decade to recoup UBS losses
>>
GIC may lose $20 billion dollars of
national reserves
>>
GIC suffers $41.6 billion dollar
loss
