Temasek's new US stock holdings reach highest in three quarters

[SINGAPORE] Temasek Holdings Pte's new positions in US listed stocks reached the highest in nine months in the second quarter even as the Standard & Poor's 500 Index had the first quarterly decline in more than two years.

Singapore's state-owned investment firm owned shares in new holdings valued at a combined US$1.9 billion as of June 30, according to a Friday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. That's the highest since last year's third quarter when the firm emerged as a major shareholder in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

The value of Temasek's publicly disclosed US equity holdings jumped 20 per cent to about US$16 billion in the second quarter as it added new stocks. The US benchmark index fell 0.2 per cent during the period, the first quarterly decline since the three months ended December 2012.

The investment firm, directly or through its units, bought 11.6 million shares in data storage firm EMC Corp, valued at US$305 million as of June 30, the filing shows. It also acquired 4.7 million shares in ConocoPhillips and 1.2 million shares in drug maker Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

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 emerged as a major shareholder in high-speed trading firm Virtu Financial Inc, owning 12.3 million class-A- shares valued at US$289 million as of end of June. The investment firm had acquired a stake in Virtu before the initial public offering in April.

Singapore's state investor also owned 22.6 million shares in chemicals supplier Univar Inc as of June 30, valued at US$589 million, according to the filing. Temasek had invested up to US$500 million ahead of Univar's IPO in June. The number of Temasek's listed American depositary receipts in Alibaba increased by 3.8 million to 56.9 million shares valued at more than US$4.6 billion.

Temasek is the ninth-biggest state investor with an estimated US$194 billion of assets, according to the website of Institutional Investor's Sovereign Wealth Centre.

BLOOMBERG