Ho Ching on collective responsibility to help workforce invest and retire with dignity
This requires joint effort by businesses, investors, governments and labour movementTHU, SEP 30, 2021 - 11:17 PM
UPDATED FRI, OCT 01, 2021 - 3:12 PM
ANITA GABRIEL
IN what marks her final speech as the head honcho of Temasek Holdings, Ho Ching reminded businesses and investors of their "collective responsibility" with governments and the labour movement to prepare the workforce for life beyond work and help them invest for "retirement with dignity".
"I urge them to open new opportunities for retail investors to invest for their own retirement or for the children...especially as governments and investors put money into green infrastructure as part of the transition to a net zero world," said Ms Ho on her last day as Temasek's chief executive officer and executive director.
"The nexus between investors, businesses and society is people," she said in her closing address on Thursday that wrapped up the three-day Ecosperity Week 2021 organised by Temasek. The final day involved the inaugural Singapore Sustainable Investing and Financing Conference (SSIFC), which was organised by BlackRock, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Temasek.
One aspect of preparing for retirement is saving and investing, which should begin as soon as one enters the workforce, she remarked. "This means that we must create suitable products for young investors, first time investors, as well as for retirees and small investors," she continued, citing efforts such as the development of real estate investment trusts in Singapore or S-Reits and Temasek's private equity bonds for retail investors.
"These diversify and reduce risks for the retail investors and socialise them to the world of PE funds," said Ms Ho, adding that the state investment firm was also looking to "open" the equity component of PEs to retail investors.
