February 14, 2010
In a letter to the Straits Times Forum yesterday, Myrna Thomas,
the Managing Director (Corporate Affairs) of Temasek Holdings
reiterates that it is a commercial entity which is wholly owned by
the Ministry of Finance (incorporated) in response to an earlier
speech by U.S. political economist Prof Huang Yasheng who
criticized the Singapore’s
government involvement in the private sector.
Speaking at the Civil Service College, Prof Huang urged
Singapore to “rethink” the “Temasek model” and warns that
Singapore’s state management model has “milked this system for all
it is worth.”
“The private sector is the best way to grow the economy. It
has the most productive, most innovative and entrepreneurial
culture. The state-owned enterprise system doesn’t give you
that….You are already hitting the wall. Retaining this strategy
could mean sacrificing future growth that is possible only through
a bigger, more dynamic private sector,” he said.
Ms Myrna replied that Temasek operates on a “commercial” basis
and that the employees of Temasek or its subsidiary companies are
not civil servants but run by reputable and experienced business
leaders from Singapore and abroad who “constantly innovate and
evolve.”
Prof Huang also opined that governments should not get
involved in venture financing as they are using taxpayers’ monies
and questions how the government can defend its decisions to invest
in “failing individuals and projects”:
“Nine out of 10 investment projects fail. Does the
government have such a high tolerance for risk? It’s taxpayers’
money, right? I don’t think, politically, it’s legitimate for the
government to keep investing in failing individuals and failing
projects. How do you defend these decisions?,” he asked.
Ms Myrna did not answer Prof Huang’s question directly which
would have embarassed her boss Ho Ching based on its recent “track
record” except the usual standard answer that Temasek invests for
“sustainable, long-term returns” never mind the fact that a few of
its investments such as Shin Corp and ABC Learning already has no
returns to speak of.
She defended Temasek for helping many local companies to
grow:
“It is this Temasek model that enabled many companies in our
stable to grow from humble beginnings to become acknowledged
leading players in their respective sectors, able to compete with
the best in class globally. They include Singapore Airlines, DBS,
CapitaLand, Keppel, SembMarine, PSA, SingTel and ST
Engineering.”
What she failed to comprehend is that the very presence of these
behemoths with state funding and support is choking the private
sector of Singapore and that’s why Singapore can never produce
world class companies like Sony, Samsung and Acer.
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/02/14/temasek-holdings-is-owned-by-ministry-of-finance-and-not-singaporeans/
first off, I think sg govt should off from the
private sectors. Take for instance NTUC. It has caused many small
time business like mama shops and econ minimart to become extinct.
How can these small time business fight with govt provided that
govt has practically unlimited amt of resources? (tax payer's
money)
Take cheers for instance. It is govt owned. Aimed to compete
with 7-11. the price at cheers also same as 7-11. No cheaper. No
beneficiary to citizens.
Then kopitiam. It is owned by Temasek. Govt gave the excuse that
they provide competition to other business so that they can keep a
check on thir prices. It has been feeding us with bull* all the
while.
Everone who goes to kopitiam knows that the price there is not
cheap. Just like normal foodcourt.
To sum it all up, govt isnt interested in citizens' pleas. It
places itself before citizens. We all know that govt is only
interested in profits and themselves.
