Temasek portfolio drops 31%

Temasek Holdings, the Singapore state investment company, suffered a 31 per cent fall in the value of its portfolio from S$185bn (US$123bn) to S$127bn in the eight months to the end of November last year, the government said yesterday.

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In the past 18 months, Temasek made high-profile investments in several western financial groups, including Merrill Lynch and Barclays, whose share prices have since fallen sharply.

Temasek invested $5.8bn in Merrill Lynch between December 2007 and July 2008. Merrill's share price fell 78 per cent last year before the stock was delisted and the investment bank was taken over by Bank of America. Temasek acquired a stake in BoA as a share swap in the Merrill deal.