Over the years the level of confidence behind the management of Temasek has been waning. In recent times chinese whispers are making the rounds, and these are becoming increasingly intense.
It started with Micropolis and nearly every investment that make the headlines at the time of acquisition are failing over time. Just this week there was another. Presumably those that don't make the headlines at the time of acquisition are doing well, a scenario that does not make sense. Micropolis was a due diligence debacle as it is did not even last 1 year. Another due diligence debacle was the Australian Kindergarden chain which was run by one individual from his house and we lost millions. One is an event, 2 is becoming a trend.
There are 2 planks on which Government and the management of Temasek have stood behind (1) on the issue of transparency - the need to keep sizeable investments quiet to avoid affecting the markets and (2) on the issue of performance - it is long term outlook and returns are not expected in the near future.
In Nov 2013 it scored 10 out of 10 for transparency from a California based sovereign fund tracking agency which went across the grain of public perception locally and internationally. So what do the Californians know that we Singaporeans don't know?
In 2009, Chip Goodyear was appointed as CEO designate but it fell thru and no one has any idea what happened.
With the number of red flags over a period of 20 years, legislative changes in Parliament on mandatory regular returns from our Sovereign Funds and the recent expose where a stat board had a seriously adverse external audit rating for a number of years which no one noticed, one wonders if Temasek is indeed a house of cards.
The most disturbing dimension is that it is not led by an independent party or a recognised or proven individual in this area of competence but one that is tied by family and the political links. And that over 2 decades no eligible independent can be found anywhere in the World to run an important entity that handles public funds
It started with Micropolis and nearly every investment that make the headlines at the time of acquisition are failing over time. Just this week there was another. Presumably those that don't make the headlines at the time of acquisition are doing well, a scenario that does not make sense. Micropolis was a due diligence debacle as it is did not even last 1 year. Another due diligence debacle was the Australian Kindergarden chain which was run by one individual from his house and we lost millions. One is an event, 2 is becoming a trend.
There are 2 planks on which Government and the management of Temasek have stood behind (1) on the issue of transparency - the need to keep sizeable investments quiet to avoid affecting the markets and (2) on the issue of performance - it is long term outlook and returns are not expected in the near future.
In Nov 2013 it scored 10 out of 10 for transparency from a California based sovereign fund tracking agency which went across the grain of public perception locally and internationally. So what do the Californians know that we Singaporeans don't know?
In 2009, Chip Goodyear was appointed as CEO designate but it fell thru and no one has any idea what happened.
With the number of red flags over a period of 20 years, legislative changes in Parliament on mandatory regular returns from our Sovereign Funds and the recent expose where a stat board had a seriously adverse external audit rating for a number of years which no one noticed, one wonders if Temasek is indeed a house of cards.
The most disturbing dimension is that it is not led by an independent party or a recognised or proven individual in this area of competence but one that is tied by family and the political links. And that over 2 decades no eligible independent can be found anywhere in the World to run an important entity that handles public funds
