SINGAPORE: Investment company Temasek Holdings has made substantial contributions to benefit Singapore and Singaporeans, said chairman Lim Boon Heng.
Speaking at a sovereign wealth fund conference on Thursday, Mr Lim said the contributions have helped to boost the government’s budget revenue to fund social programmes and kept tax burden light.
The government has rolled out various programmes to support the elderly and the needy.
In the past 10 to 15 years, contributions from investment companies like Temasek, the GIC and others have helped to fund the programmes.
Temasek’s chairman said these contributions, which are captured as net investment returns contribution in the Budget, have enabled the government to maintain a light tax burden on the economy and the working population.
Mr Lim added: “The net investment returns contribution from the likes of GIC, Temasek and others comprise about 2.2 to 2.6 per cent of GDP.
“In budget terms, this adds about another 15 per cent to the government budget revenues and enables the government to support its social programmes without having to raise taxes.
“The taxes which Temasek pays, and the dividends we distribute to our shareholder, are used by the Singapore government to help Singaporeans today.”
In addition, Temasek also funds social investments directly through initiatives like Temasek Cares.
Temasek has contributed over S$1.5 billion to various community causes since its inception in 1974.
Mr Lim also highlighted some differences between Temasek and a typical sovereign wealth fund.
Among them, Temasek is a commercial investment company that pays tax and has no requirement to maintain a globally diversified portfolio.
Mr Lim said: “There is also another view that sovereign investors invest for strategic reasons, as an instrument of the home government’s foreign policy, or to secure supply of goods and services to the home country.”
He added that while the Singapore government is Temasek’s sole shareholder, it does not interfere with the company’s investment, divestment or day-to-day business decisions.
And that freedom from shareholder or political interference is not something Temasek takes for granted.
Mr Lim said: “This signals a clear separation of roles and responsibilities. It has taken enormous wisdom and discipline on the part of the Singapore government, since independence, to clearly separate its role as shareholder from its role as policy maker for the larger good of Singapore.
“For instance, from the government’s perspective, the larger good of making Singapore a vibrant air hub, well connected to the world for business and survival, takes precedence over the interests of Singapore Airlines as a company. For example, Qantas has been given a licence to set up an entity called Jetstar, based here in Singapore.”
Temasek’s portfolio, which includes blue chip companies like Singapore Airlines and SingTel, was valued at S$215 billion as at March 2013.
Today, Temasek’s investments are mostly concentrated in Asia, including Singapore, with about 25 per cent exposure to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.
Temasek Holdings has made substantial contributions to benefit Singapore
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