Journey for Temasek
has just begun: Ho Ching
By Bhagyashree Garekar
WASHINGTON - THE prestigious Asia Society has honoured Temasek
Holdings chief executive Ho Ching for her professional
achievements.
But in accepting the award on Wednesday night, she made clear
she was not content to just look back, declaring that the 'journey
had just begun' for Singapore's 34-year-old sovereign wealth fund
(SWF).
Ms Ho received the International Business Award for her 'long
career of outstanding achievements in the world of business,
investment and technology' at an annual dinner organised by the
Society's Washington centre.
The Asia Society said her achievements at Temasek and at
Singapore Technologies had helped make them leading global
players.
On the same night, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson received
the Foreign Policy Award for his role in promoting economic
dialogue between the US and Asia.
In her speech, Ms Ho recounted the story of Temasek's birth and
the evolution of its investment philosophy grounded in commercial
independence and financial discipline.
'Temasek has never been a sovereign wealth fund in the
conventional sense. It was more like a 'sovereign poverty fund','
she said before an appreciative audience of Congressmen, diplomats,
administrators, think-tankers and corporate bigwigs.
'Singapore had no oil money, no natural resources. Temasek was
not managing the country's foreign reserves, the little there was.
Instead, we were formed simply to take a load off an embattled
government and provide an
independently
focused, professionally managed and
commercially
disciplined approach to investments,' she
said.
SWFs, thought to have assets worth up to US$3 trillion (S$4
trillion), have become increasingly important players in global
financial markets. But some Western nations are tentative about
them, seeing threats from the sheer size and non-transparent ways
of some of these funds.
Ms Ho underlined Temasek's policy of full disclosure and
detachment from management decisions made by the companies it
invests in.
She also noted the growth in Temasek's portfolio from just over
US$100 million to more than US$100 billion and its contribution to
Singapore's wealth and reserves.
'For Temasek (and indeed for Singapore), the journey has only
just begun as we enter the 21st century. Temasek is after all only
34 years old, investing like a 34-year-old, balancing his
full-blooded risk appetite with his need to care and plan for his
young family,' she said.
Singapore's US Ambassador Chan Heng Chee said the award was 'a
positive signal' at a time when there has been a heated discussion
in the US about the SWFs.
'Her imaginative leadership of Temasek has been watched with
admiration in the US. Everyone who has met her has high praise for
her. They believe she is at the top of her game and a very smart
person,' she told The Straits Times.
She also noted that the award came after Temasek executive
director Simon Israel's well-received testimony before a
Congressional panel in March.
Mr Jack Garrity, the executive director of Asia Society
Washington, said the awards were in keeping with the society's
profile of strengthening relationships between the US and Asia.
Coca-Cola chief executive officer Neville Isdell and Mr Mukesh
Ambani, the chairman of India's Reliance Industries, have also
received awards from the Asia Society.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on 27
June 2008.
http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/SME%2BCentral/Story/A1Story20080627-73331.html
Considering the statement made that Temasek Holdings was
formed to "provide an
independently focused, professionally managed, and
commercially disciplined approach to investments" - one
will need to ask how focused has Temasek Holding been in her
investment portfolio that ranged from Banking, Logistics,
Shipping, Airlines,Telecommunications, Trading Company,
Broadcast Media in India, and even into Bakeries in
Vietnam ?
With all the professionalism and commercial discipline made, it
is surprising that we have seen the huge resounding mega-flops in
Micropolis Disk Drives, Shin Corp Group, Barclays,
Meryll-Lynch,
Temasek hold shares in Vietnam Kinh Do Bakery’ &
Updates’
Temasek buys part of India media firm - 2007.
