Temasek raises healthcare bets, adds more ADRs of JD.com

[SINGAPORE] Temasek Holdings built holdings of US drugmakers and health-care companies in the first quarter as the Singapore investment firm expands bets on industries that will benefit from rising life expectancies and a growing middle class in emerging markets.

The state-owned investor bought American depositary receipts of drugmaker Beigene Ltd and added to holdings of health-care companies including Gilead Sciences Inc, Illumina Inc and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, according to a Monday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It also bought shares in Fidelity National Information Services Inc, a payment-service provider and added to its position in the ADRs of JD.Com Inc.

Temasek has been building its stakes in pharmaceutical companies after it added Gilead and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc shares in the fourth quarter, according to an earlier filing. The health-care industry is expected to expand as populations age and the growing middle class in developing nations can afford better treatment.

"The filing shows that Temasek is still exploring opportunities in health care and technology that provide innovative products or exploit secular trends of aging populations in developed markets and worldwide," Enrico Soddu, an analyst at the Sovereign Wealth Center in London, said in an e-mail.

JD.com Temasek added to its position in the ADRs of JD.Com, buying about 1.2 million more shares, the filing showed. It had bought 6.1 million ADRs in the Chinese online retailer in the previous quarter.

It sold 143,955 shares in Monsanto Co, leaving it with 360,400 shares, according to the filing.

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.

Temasek in July said its assets jumped 19 per cent to an all-time high of S$266 billion in the 12 months to March 31, 2015, as it increased investments in developed markets and broadened those in China. It made S$30 billion of new investments during the period, the highest in seven years, and a record S$19 billion of divestments, taking advantage of liquidity-driven market rallies.

Temasek Holdings is expected to report the results for its latest fiscal year ended March 31 by the end of July.

BLOOMBERG