TEMASEK Holdings has retained its position as one of the world's most transparent sovereign wealth funds (SWFs).
It attained a perfect score on the latest Linaburg-Maduell Transparency Index, published quarterly by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute in California.
For the first quarter of this year, the Singapore state investment agency tied for first place in the ranking along with four other SWFs: Ireland's National Pensions Reserve Fund, the United States' Alaska Permanent Fund, Norway's Government Pension Fund - Global, and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), however, did not fare as well. It scored six points out of 10 to rank 16th, a position it shared with four other SWFs, including the China Investment Corporation and the Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund. GIC also scored six points in the previous ranking for the fourth quarter of last year.
The SWF transparency index is a measure of the openness of these government-owned investment vehicles, which have been often criticised for their opacity.
There are 10 'principles' in the index, and each principle that an SWF possesses gives it one point in the ranking.
The principles include providing up-to-date independently audited annual reports; disclosing its total portfolio market value, returns and management compensation; and offering guidelines for its ethical standards and investment policies.
Since 2004, Temasek has published its annual report, the Temasek Review, which discloses the returns it has earned on its portfolio as well as the breakdown of its investments by geography and sector. As at March 31 last year, it managed $185 billion in assets, according to its latest annual report.
Temasek also recently divulged that its portfolio declined by $58 billion, or 31 per cent, between the end of March and November last year.
GIC, on the other hand, published its first annual report only last year, despite being established in 1981. The exact value of its portfolio is not publicly known, although it too revealed in March that its assets had dropped about 25 per cent in value from their peak last year.
Temasek's senior managing director of international and strategic relations, Mr Goh Yong Siang, said yesterday that 'as a disciplined and responsible long-term investor, Temasek publishes the Temasek Review annually to provide a comprehensive report of our summary financials and portfolio returns.
'This voluntary disclosure provides an objective perspective of our portfolio performance over the short, medium and long term.'
Temasek also 'discloses all relevant information required by law', he added.
Mr Goh also highlighted that 'from time to time, there are media reports based on unnamed sources claiming to be familiar with certain situations, or other speculative market reports'.
'A number of such reports are inaccurate and misleading,' he said. 'It is not Temasek's policy to respond to them.'
But Mr Goh did not identify which stories were 'inaccurate and misleading'. He added, however, that Temasek 'advises the public to take steps to verify the information independently, before acting on any such reports'.
Temasek has been the subject of a number of recent reports based on unnamed sources. These have said that it is looking to sell its stake in Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, that it is joining a consortium to bid for assets owned by insurer American International Group, and that it had sold its stake in British bank Barclays at a loss.
