Temasek says it remains 'significantly invested' in Alibaba

[SINGAPORE] Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, which pared its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in the third quarter as the stock rallied, said China's biggest online retailer remains an essential part of its portfolio.

The Singapore state-owned firm sold 14.5 million American depositary receipts, leaving it with 39.6 million at the end of September, valued at US$4.2 billion, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. Temasek had added 6.5 million ADRs in the company in the June quarter, according to an earlier filing.

"These changes reflect the reporting of normal portfolio rebalancing we undertake from time to time, and are mainly related to more liquid stocks, holdings of which may vary with market movements," Temasek spokesman Stephen Forshaw said in an e-mailed statement.

"We remain significantly invested in Alibaba as an important holding in our portfolio."

Temasek was one of the early investors in Alibaba, the online shopping giant run by Jack Ma, and it remains the eighth-largest holding in the fund's portfolio, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Alibaba shares gained 33 per cent in the three months through September.

Temasek also emerged as a shareholder in Dell Technologies Inc, owning 1.6 million shares valued at US$75 million as of Sept 30, the filing shows. The securities are so-called tracking stocks for software maker VMware Inc, the prize holding of EMC Corp, which Dell Inc agreed to buy last year. Temasek helped finance the acquisition.

Portfolio Declines The Singapore investment firm also bought 1.3 million shares in biopharmaceutical company AC Immune SA and 350,159 shares in Internet travel agency Ctrip.com International Ltd, according to the filing. It bought 408,543 ADRs in Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Temasek, which in July reported the first decline in its portfolio in seven years after holdings were battered by last year's market rout, is reshaping its holdings and bracing for lower market returns. The value of assets fell nine per cent to S$242 billion in the fiscal year ended Mar 31, according to the firm's annual review.

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

BLOOMBERG

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