[SINGAPORE] Temasek Holdings has bought shares in ICICI Bank Ltd, India's largest private sector lender by assets, in the second quarter as it expanded its foothold in Asia's third-biggest economy, Bloomberg said in a report on Tuesday.

It noted that the investment firm bought 2.55 million American depositary receipts (ADRs) of ICICI, worth US$18 million at the end of June, according to a Monday filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Temasek also acquired stakes in US aircraft parts manufacturer B/E Aerospace Inc and emerged as a shareholder in biotech firm Intellia Therapeutics Inc, which had its initial public offering in May.

The ICICI stake purchase underscores the investment themes and long-term trends the Singapore firm has repeatedly highlighted, such as growing middle-income populations and transforming economies.

Temasek's India assets include stakes in Godrej Consumer Products Ltd and car manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Temasek's latest annual review published last month also showed it had bought stakes in Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd as well as CarTrade, an online auto classifieds company.

Money managers who oversee more than US$100 million in equities must file a Form 13F with the SEC within 45 days of each quarter's end to show their US-listed stocks, options and convertible bonds. The filings don't show non-US securities or how much cash the firms hold.

The filing showed Temasek's 2 per cent stake in B/E Aerospace Inc was valued at US$98 million as of June and that its 790,527 shares in Intellia Therapeutics Inc were valued at US$17 million. Since its public listing, Intellia's shares have gained 1.9 per cent.

The filing also detailed Temasek's increased stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, valued at US$4.3 billion at the end of June.

SoftBank Group Corp sold a stake in Alibaba to Temasek for US$500 million, boosting the Singapore investor's ownership in China's biggest online retailer by 6.5 million ADRs to 54.1 million.

Temasek last month reported the first decline of its portfolio in seven years as its holdings were battered by last year's market rout. The value of its assets decreased 9 per cent to S$242 billion for its fiscal year ended March 31, according to the firm's annual review. That was the first decline since the 12 months ended March 2009.

BLOOMBERG