Temasek weighs major overhaul to improve returns
Move will fundamentally restructure the 51-year-old investment giant amid rising pressure to deliver higher returns and streamline its operations
[SINGAPORE] Temasek is mulling one of its biggest overhauls in years, potentially reorganising the Singapore investment company into three investment vehicles in a bid to boost returns and efficiencies, according to people familiar with the matter.
Under the proposal still being discussed at senior levels, it could divide its business into three arms.
One would focus on Temasek’s biggest domestic holdings, such as Singapore Airlines, and another would oversee largely foreign investments. A third unit would include all of Temasek’s fund investments, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter.
The move, which remains fluid and subject to change, would fundamentally restructure the 51-year-old investment giant amid rising pressure to deliver higher returns and streamline its operations.
While Temasek’s net portfolio value hit a record high of S$434 billion as at Mar 31, its 10-year total shareholder return of 5 per cent – a compounded and annualised measure that includes dividends – just matched that of its larger but more conservative Singapore peer GIC.
It underperformed the MSCI World Index, which returned an annualised 10 per cent in the decade through March 2025.
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Temasek is currently run in a conventional manner, with different executives responsible for investing across various assets and geographies, such as real estate or China. If the reorganisation proceeds, it would enable key executives to better focus their attention on improving the firm’s performance and efficiency, the people said.
Temasek did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A shift could be announced in the coming months, though the plan could be deployed sooner, the people said.
Temasek’s new chairman, former senior minister Teo Chee Hean, is set to start on Oct 9, after joining as deputy chairman in July.
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This year’s Formula 1 Grand Prix in Singapore, which will take place in early October, is where Temasek typically sponsors a corporate suite, and is seen as a good opportunity to explain the changes to partners and stakeholders, one of the people said.
Under some of the iterations being discussed, Temasek’s investments with external managers such as Avanda Investment Management would be reorganised and potentially placed under Seviora Group – a wholly owned asset manager that Temasek established in 2020.
Seviora currently acts as the holding company for investment units including Fullerton Fund Management, Azalea Investment Management and SeaTown Holdings International.
Starting in September, Seviora will be led by Gabriel Lim, a long-time public servant and a former permanent secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry. Lim joined Temasek in October as its joint head of corporate strategy.
Temasek, led by chief executive officer Dilhan Pillay, already divides its net portfolio value in a similar manner.
Singapore-based Temasek portfolio companies, which include most of the local firms, made up 41 per cent of the portfolio as of March. Global direct investments accounted for 36 per cent and “partnerships, funds and asset management companies” stood at 23 per cent, according to comments made during the firm’s 2025 review.
The move would also elevate several key executives to senior roles overseeing each new unit, the people said.
Aside from Seviora’s Lim, other executives mooted to run the new divisions include chief financial officer Png Chin Yee and Nagi Hamiyeh, its head of Europe, Middle East and Africa, who has moved to the Paris office. BLOOMBERG
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