Is Ho Jinx Treating SGs As Retards?

[makapaaa]

[h=2]Temasek: We don’t invest or manage CPF savings[/h]

June 4th, 2014 |

Author: Online Press

Last Saturday’s article (“Ways to improve CPF”) quoted an unnamed person as saying he suspected the Central Provident Fund Minimum Sum was raised “because Temasek or GIC lost money overseas”.

Temasek does not invest or manage the savings of CPF members.

=> Where do they get their money to gamble? From Old Fart's own pocket?

We believe the CPF Minimum Sum policy, instituted in 1987, aims to help CPF savers build retirement nest eggs that should ideally keep pace with increasing life expectancy, median income and inflation.
In 1957, life expectancy at birth was under 60 years for men, and over 63 years for women. Started in 1955, the compulsory CPF saving system was designed to support about five to eight years of retirement life after 55.
By last year, life expectancy crossed 80 years for men in Singapore, and close to 85 years for women. Hence, retirees at 55 would need to have saved enough for more than 25 years of retirement for men and 30 years for women, on average. There is a real need to increase retirement savings.

Fortunately, the majority of Singaporeans lead healthy and active lives well into their 60s or older. Many choose to continue working beyond 55 – this helps build their retirement savings. CPF savers grow their retirement nest eggs further at above current bank deposit rates.

As for Temasek’s performance, we have more than doubled our portfolio value since 2002, excluding any net new capital.

As of our last reporting date of March 31 last year, returns to Temasek for newer investments made since 2002, when we started investing directly in a growing Asia, have exceeded returns since 2002 for older investments made prior to 2002.

Temasek pays taxes on its profits and also distributes annual dividends to its shareholders. These dividends supplement the taxes collected by the Government to fund various programmes, including lifelong medical support for the pioneer generation.

We thank readers for their interest in Temasek, and look forward to the day when it is practical for us to issue Temasek Bonds to retail investors to give them another option to save for their retirement.

Stephen Forshaw
Managing Director Strategic & Public Affairs
Temasek
* Letter first appeared in ST Forum (4 Jun)

Editor’s note: According to Mr Forshaw’s LinkedIn information [Link], before joining Temasek Holdings in Apr 2011, he has worked in the following places:

• Senior Director, Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific Region at Microsoft (2 years)
• Vice President Public Affairs at Singapore Airlines (5 years)
• Public Relations Manager South West Pacific at Singapore Airlines (4 years)
• Chief of Staff at Office of the Deputy Chief Minister, Government of the Australian Capital Territory (5.5 years)
• Customer Sales Consultant at Qantas Airways (5 years)

 

[winnipegjets]

Managing Director, Corporate Affairs
Temasek
Singapore
As head of communications at Singapore-owned investment firm Temasek, Forshaw handles one one of Asia’s toughest PR assignments, overseeing the sensitive reputation of a company that has attracted its share of criticism in foreign markets. He joined the company from Microsoft, having previously led PR and public affairs for Singapore Airlines. A political communicator in his native Australia, Forshaw is one of Asia’s most adept comms chiefs where social media is concerned.

Where were you born
Canberra, Australia.

Years in current role
Coming up to 2.

Career highlight
Managing the launch of the Airbus A380; delivery, first flight, entry into service. Lots of very highprofile news, but also a huge set of contingency plans and issues management.

Best advice
Never, never, allow yourself to become housetrained! The day you start thinking alike with the rest of the organization is the day you lose your ability to question it.

Favourite PR campaign
My favourite campaigns are the ones that don’t look like campaigns – they are simple, bold and informative uses of media to inform and educate, and have at their core an authenticity which makes them believable and heart-felt. It’s why I often cite the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a brand with real value, because it is built on values and aspirations.

Enjoy most
It used to be about the challenge of the issues, and managing them neatly. Now, the most enjoyable part is nurturing a talented next generation of practitioners.

Biggest career break
At 24, being asked to run a Minister’s office as his Chief of Staff.

Most important mentor and why
My former CEO at Singapore Airlines; Chew Choon Seng. A gifted communicator, but one who never sought the limelight.

Inspiration
Bill Gates. I admired the fact that this guy who’d made billions decided to do something really meaningful with it.

Favourite media
I read The Economist regularly; it is opinionated, informative and I love the writing style.

Favourite gadget
I don’t have a favourite, as such, but anything that makes it easier to keep in touch, be productive and well informed, and to be smaller and lighter than the last model!

The future of public relations is...
…up to you; it’s your responsibility. Those of us on this list have, arguably, peaked –we owe it to the next generation of leaders of our discipline to ensure they are articulate, passionate, intellectual and ready to step into our shoes.

Favourite city for business travel
Tokyo; it has everything.

Favourite book
My best read of this year is Black Dog Daze, by Australian politician, Andrew Robb. Andrew is a long-time friend, and this book details his battle with depression while he served in Parliament. It was candid, remarkably open, and clearly took a lot of courage to write.

 

[winnipegjets]

In MSFT, this guy would have to work like a dog. In Temasek, he enjoys a cushy life. All that he needs to do is to massage Ho Jinx's ego.

 

[steffychun]

Ang Moh defend HC! LHL better check if your wife/man-date not being loyal to you....

 

[winnipegjets]

Ang Moh defend HC! LHL better check if your wife/man-date not being loyal to you....

Angmo can be bought too ...look, if not for sinkapore, he won't be making so much money. After he is done massing his wealth here, he will go back to Australia and do a tell all book on the workings of Temasek. That will make him richer.

 

[steffychun]

Angmo can be bought too ...look, if not for sinkapore, he won't be making so much money. After he is done massing his wealth here, he will go back to Australia and do a tell all book on the workings of Temasek. That will make him richer.

Why he never learn from his fellow citizen Chip Goodyear?

 

[halsey02]

Why he never learn from his fellow citizen Chip Goodyear?

This one, "SUCKS!"...ha!, ha!, ha!..the other one, doesn't & was a 'bad year' for HJ & gang.

 

[mojito]

Why he never learn from his fellow citizen Chip Goodyear?

Chip is blue blooded. Steve Foreskin is not, that is why he is easily bought.

 

[Pek Kim Lui]

The CEO designate Goodyear is also retarded.......... Retardo GoodEar?

 

[Equalisation]

With the dual keys secured, no wonder happy lah !:o

 

[steffychun]

This one, "SUCKS!"...ha!, ha!, ha!..the other one, doesn't & was a 'bad year' for HJ & gang.

Some Ang Mohs are better than others eh...

 

[winnipegjets]

Some Ang Mohs are better than others eh...

This I can agree with you.

 

[laksaboy]

It is the job of the public relations (corporate communications) person to lie. Always and no exceptions.

 

[xingguy]

Source: Kenneth Jeyaretnam TeamRp

This answer is very strange and inappropriate. Temasek is responding to a comment asking whether CPF min sum had been raised because Temasek had lost money.

Stephen Forshaw, a foreign employee of Temasek, then sets out to explain to us Singaporeans the PAP policy on CPF, life expectancy etc. Who made him spokesperson for CPF and for the PAP? By spelling out the PAP's justification for raising the minimum sum he only adds weight to the argument that the two (CPF and Temasek) are co-mingled. What will we have next? The Head of Standard Chartered ( in which Temasek has a 20% stake) writing to ST to explain to us Singaporeans why women will have to start doing National Service?

As for the returns. They are simply saying that bets put on since 2002 have done better in the past 10 or so years (He doesn't specify where this accounting period ends) than those before 2002 but again doesn't say whether this is from 1974 up to 2002 or 1992- 2002, for example.

The date 2002 could have been chosen as the date The PM's wife took over , or it could be because that date was at the bottom of the previous recession since 2008, so of course anything after that is going to go up.

Farnshaw can pick a statistic our of the air that even I can't examine perfectly because he doesn't provide a link to the balance sheets or any other data. He doesn't provide information on the valuation criteria that Temasek uses particularly for its unlisted positions. Again I've been calling for transparency and public listing would achieve that.

If I ran a fund in which all the longer term positions were performing worse than the newer ones, I would expect my investors to be concerned. Consistency is everything.

Why aren't the poorer, older performers culled? Or is there another explanation for recent out performance such as recession recovery or another more sinsister explanation or even a bubble waiting to burst.

Actually I have already provided an answer for part of this previously when I highlighted the Olam takeover. That kind of maneouver allowed Temasek to put the complete purchase on the books as a profit because they had owned shares before what is widely believed to have been a leak in the takeover process, that pushed the share price up . Other Assets such as Changi Airport were transferred to Temasek for probably a 10th of their true market value. Instant profit.

Forshaw tells us "As for Temasek's performance, we have more than doubled our portfolio value since 2002, excluding any net new capital. -

Let's look at that "new capital". That is money that the government injects into Temasek. CPF may be invested elsewhere and not directly into Temasek or vice -versa but it all comes from the same pot- government capital. As the CPF monies are available for the government to invest elsewhere, it frees up government capital to inject onto Temasek. Conversely it stands to reason that if one performs poorly depleting that capital, so less money is available for the other. It's nonsensical to say the two and GIC are not linked.

Let's look at that doubling of the portfolio value since 2002. The S&P 500, the Hang Seng and most global stick indices have doubled over the same period since the low of 2002. So in other words if you had been investing in an index Fund and gone on holiday since 2002 you would have done as well as temask. Had Temask done nothing in that time, the simple fact of the market rising would have created the same doubling over that period. Bravo!

Now tell me again Farnshaw, why is our minimum sum being raised?

 

[Cerebral]

Great article by Kenneth Jayaratnam. 一针见血

 

[Spock]

Is this guy a SGrean? If not, why is he meddling in SG's internal politics by justifying government policies to SGreans when he is not even an academic?

 

[rushifa666]

Money talks. They love their angmoh mouthpieces