Valuation of unlisted assets in GIC, Temasek updated regularly: Lawrence Wong

WHEN reviewing the overall risks of its whole portfolio of assets, the government does take into account the valuation of unlisted assets such as private equity, infrastructure and real estate in the portfolios of GIC and Temasek, Second Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong said in Parliament on Tuesday, replying to Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leon Perera.

Mr Perera had also asked what approaches the government takes to ensure unlisted assets are valued realistically. Mr Wong replied that the valuations are regularly updated and are in line with accounting standards, including testing for any potential impairment. There is also an annual independent audit of the valuation methodology, and the auditors have not raised any issues to date, he added.

Mr Perera then asked if, given that valuations are associated with volatility, the government would consider requiring the sovereign wealth funds to also publish a more conservative figure that values unlisted assets based on the cost of acquisition.

To that, Mr Wong replied that "the existing accounting standards are already conservative", requiring the valuers to ensure reasonableness and test for impairment.