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Big News! Temasek CEO Ho Ching Steps Down!

I fear the worse is to come with her resignation. Ominous sign indeed. Provision for investment losses may be round the corner. The drumbeat for nationalization for some of the banks in US and UK is getting louder with each passing quarter. Just watch this space.

knightbridge      ( Date: 06-Feb-2009 19:53) Posted: Obama did mention that some american banks will fail. Dunno temasek invest in some of these.. If they have cut loss policy, maybe we singapore will have extra 30billion to distribute in the crisis.. Woah 30 Billion... Will have CPF job scheme full cover on employers cpf contribution and GST rebate x4. woah. Warren buffet is locking deal will return at 10%-15% I am wondering what temasek is doing now.. Buy more american banks perhaps...

 

Yes yes I hope I do have what she has...haha. I m just a poor man...

dcang84      ( Date: 06-Feb-2009 21:49) Posted: Care to list her achievements. Praises from who? Do you mean the most powerful and infleuntial female? If you have the kind of money she has at her disposal, the media would sing the same praises for you. nextdoor      ( Date: 06-Feb-2009 18:14) Posted: But we must admit that she has done a good job and won many praises from people around the world. All the best to her..cheers!

 

Care to list her achievements. Praises from who? Do you mean the most powerful and infleuntial female? If you have the kind of money she has at her disposal, the media would sing the same praises for you.

nextdoor      ( Date: 06-Feb-2009 18:14) Posted: But we must admit that she has done a good job and won many praises from people around the world. All the best to her..cheers!

 

Interesting to note that the new CEO has experience in mining. Maybe this signals a new interest in commodities?

I wish Ho Ching well. In spite of the losses in 2008, she did pretty well as CEO in the previous 5 years. The financial turmoil in 2008 was an unprecedented thing - so I hope people do cut her some slack.

Even the Oracle of Omaha - Warren Buffet, suffered major losses. Hong Kong tycoons also reportedly lost 50% of their wealth. 

 

Companies with Temasek as major shareholder such as Chartered will see very, very drastic changes for the Better.... 

 

The least and not the last....got courage to step down. Other then that...We has very experience, talented and proven people's around, yet they have a choice to move, but is not tap on...and it goes to MAS, SGX, Capland, SingTel, DBS, SIA, S'pore Technology, instead of.....been stuck in Temasick....with Thai Shincorp, Citi, UBS ML...Err with BOA, ABC and so on....

trader88.sg      ( Date: 06-Feb-2009 18:44) Posted: It is not uncommon for the heads to take responsibility of bad judgment, just like CEO of Lenovo, the macho man who recently  quit for US$96.7M loss.

 

What about those warning that went un-answer or un-willing to look at....

05-Feb09

Òbama as US President is ...good, but..but with Angmo (westerner) around to assist him... i see monkey do...monkeys does... as.....just like..Westerners are good con men, so are their followers. Take for example Madoff fraud hit up to 3 million victims: law firm Obama demands stimulus action but Republicans want changes... Making as plenty of money as possible for theirself...read those share holder / Directors  of Merill L....(ML) enriches themself b4 selling it at one go for $US50 billion to BOA...Ya, isit..we r all...err..not we, those few oldman & hosuewfie been either too willingly or too in-experience to invest...? by under estimated this Sub-prime & US housing woes, plus consumers lost of confident and more under water current have yet to arrive.

teeth53      ( Date: 13-Dec-2008 17:50) Posted:

ticklish8      ( Date: 06-Feb-2009 18:31) Posted:   Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) – Temasek Holdings Pte said Chief Executive Officer Ho Ching will step down after almost seven years at the helm of Singapore’s $130 billion state-owned investment company.     Chip Goodyear, 51, a former CEO of BHP Billiton Ltd., will succeed Ho, wife of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, effective Oct. 1, Temasek Chairman S. Dhanabalan said at a press conference today. Goodyear will be the first foreigner to run  the sovereign wealth fund.     Ho drove Temasek’s expansion outside Singapore with acquisitions in China, Europe and the U.S., increasing financial assets to 40 percent of the fund’s portfolio. Goodyear takes over as the credit crisis ravages the value of Temasek’s investments in  Barclays Plc, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Bank of China Ltd. The MSCI World/Financials Index slumped 60 percent in the past year.     “In hindsight, Temasek came in too early but it would be unfair to say Temasek made the wrong call to invest in American banks,” Francis Lun, general manager at Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong, said. “At that time it was seen as a good opportunity  to invest in U.S. banks on the cheap so it would be unfair to criticize the investment officers for the decision.”     Ho, 55, joined Temasek as a director in 2002. She became executive director that year and CEO in January 2004, according to information posted on Temasek’s Web site. She told reporters today she will decide on her next career move after she resigns  from Temasek in October.     Sovereign Funds     Losses at Temasek and Government of Singapore Investment Corp., the nation’s other key investment company that manages more than $100 billion of reserves, were smaller than the decline in global markets last year, Finance Minister Tharman  Shanmugaratnam said last month. Temasek generated annual returns of 17 percent between its inception in 1974 and the end of March.     Sovereign wealth funds in Asia and the Middle East have pumped money into global financial institutions to help replenish capital eroded by writedowns and losses. Barclays raised 5.3 billion pounds ($7.8 billion) in October by selling securities to a  group of Middle Eastern investors including Qatar Holding LLC.     Under Ho’s watch, Temasek bought stakes in China Construction Bank Corp. and Bank of China, and became the largest shareholder in Merrill Lynch before its takeover by Bank of America Corp.     Mining Focus     Goodyear spent 14 years in the commodities industry and until September 2007 was CEO of BHP, where he presided over record profits at the world’s largest mining company. A former executive vice president and chief financial officer at Freeport-  McMoRan Inc., Goodyear began his career at Kidder, Peabody & Co., according to information provided by Temasek today.     He holds a Bachelor of Science from Yale University and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.     “It is an interesting decision given his mining background and experience,” Charles Kernot, an analyst at Evolution Securities Ltd. in London, said by phone. “Perhaps he is going to be saying we should be looking at this a bit more, all these prices  have come down maybe there is some stuff out there that is quite cheap and attractive.”     The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index tracking 19 commodities ranging from energy to grains dropped 36 percent last year, the biggest annual decline since at least 1957.     Energy and resources accounted for 5 percent of Temasek’s investments in the year to March, down from 6 percent a year earlier, according to the company’s annual report. Investments in Singapore declined to 33 percent in the year, from 38 percent in  the 12 months to March 2007.     Reviewing Candidates     The board has been reviewing internal and external CEO candidates since early 2005, and Goodyear was identified as a possible successor in 2007, Dhanabalan said. Ho’s departure wasn’t linked to the performance of Temasek’s investments, he said.     “Whether this is a way of making a change of someone who is related to the prime minister, this has been a point that I’ve dealt with since the first day Ho Ching was appointed as CEO,” Dhanabalan said. “I was very instrumental in bringing in Ho  Ching and it was based purely on merit and has nothing to do with her relationship to anyone.”     After graduating in 1976, Ho joined Singapore’s Ministry of Defence, where she was assigned to the Defence Science Organization, which adapted and developed weapons systems for the island-state’s fledgling military.     Career Path     Ho joined a Temasek unit, Singapore Technologies Pte, an unlisted holding company for Temasek’s engineering, technology, military and property companies, in 1987. Her first job was deputy director of engineering. She rose to president and CEO before  “retiring” in 2001 at the age of 48, according to her official resume. The following year, Temasek’s Chairman Dhanabalan appointed Ho as executive director.     In October 2004, Ho, who holds a Master of Science in electrical engineering from Stanford University, ended 30 years of financial secrecy at the company by publishing Temasek’s first-ever annual review.     “Under Ho Ching and her leadership, our mission, our values an our strategic directions have been defined,” Dhanabalan said. “Temasek has grown into an institution sitting on a foundation of strong and diverse international talent, and firmly  anchored to sound commercial principles and value creation for shareholders.”     Bank Investments     Temasek invested about $5.9 billion in Merrill Lynch. It bought about 9 percent of the New York-based firm in December 2007 for $5 billion, or $48 a share, though its effective purchase price was reduced in July when the bank gave it a further $2.5  billion in shares. The investment bank’s shares lost 78 percent last year before the stock was delisted.     The Singapore investment company now holds about 189 million shares in Bank of America after converting its Merrill Lynch stock. In a Jan. 5 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Temasek said it held about 219.7 million Merrill  Lynch shares. Bank of America completed the Merrill Lynch purchase on Jan 1.     Temasek is one of the largest shareholders in Standard Chartered Plc, DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and owns stakes inIndia’s ICICI Bank Ltd. and lenders in Indonesia, South Korea and Pakistan.     Along with China Development Bank Corp., Temasek paid 3.6 billion euros ($4.6 billion) in 2007 for a 5.2 percent stake in Barclays and added another 4.5 billion pounds in June at about half the price. Barclays’ share price plunged nearly 66 percent  since June.     No Regrets     Temasek and GIC lowered their holdings in equities “early in the crisis,” helping them post a smaller drop in their portfolios in 2008, Shanmugaratnam said.     Temasek in August said profit doubled to a record S$18.2 billion ($12.1 billion) in the year to March, as sales of energy and Chinese banking assets offset slowing returns from stock market investments.     Ho said she is leaving without regrets.     “At this point, I’m not weighing anything that I want to do post October,” Ho said. “Is there a regret? I think if you want to run life with regrets you may end up doing very little.”     For Related News and Information: Financial industry people moves: TNI FIN WNEWS  GO  Most-read Asian sovereign wealth fund news: MNI ASIA SWF  GO  Temasek management changes: TMSK SP  Equity  MGTC  GO  Temasek growth analysis: TMSK SP  Equity  FA4  GO     –With reporting by Jean Chua, Claire Leow, Jonathan Burgos and Liza Lin in Singapore and Thomas Biesheuvel in London. Editors: Andreea Papuc, Tony Jordan     To contact the reporter on this story: Bei Hu in Hong Kong at +852-2977-6633 or bhu5@bloomberg.net; Yoolim Lee in Singapore +65 6212-1581 or yoolim@bloomberg.net     To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andreea Papuc a

 

teeth53 thot so....hmm...Just a reminder been. we r at stage four liao...Ya

teeth53      ( Date: 21-Oct-2008 16:30)

20Aug2007. Lower interest rate and so on....to ride out over this dark cloud hanging all over this world is trying to bufff & trying to ensure ppl's all over that this storm will blow over.come on, of course we will, not before riding into stage 3. We are facing at the word, confident right in our face and in our sub-conscious mind. scary 1st credit issue, then credit squeeze, next credit crunches, what next ?, credit melt....... Cash is king....Hmm

limkt009      ( Date: 06-Feb-2009 19:13) Posted: Nobody knows the depth of recession and its recovery, it may be good that she steps down now to save herself and partner any brickbats in the event of a worst turnout happens to TMSK's investments. Anyway, TMSK badly need a change of luck. jackjames      ( Date: 06-Feb-2009 17:24) Posted: let's say some fair words... if I were she, I also cannot predict the subprime can be so severe.... all I can say is, she is just unlucky to get caught... so, what about our Dr. Tony , chairman of GIC ? Citigroup, UBS not doing good either.. so, next time, don't become CEO... just be the board members can liao, heee..

 

Obama did mention that some american banks will fail. Dunno temasek invest in some of these.. If they have cut loss policy, maybe we singapore will have extra 30billion to distribute in the crisis.. Woah 30 Billion... Will have CPF job scheme full cover on employers cpf contribution and GST rebate x4. woah.

Warren buffet is locking deal will return at 10%-15% I am wondering what temasek is doing now.. Buy more american banks perhaps...

 

Nobody knows the depth of recession and its recovery, it may be good that she steps down now to save herself and partner any brickbats in the event of a worst turnout happens to TMSK's investments. Anyway, TMSK badly need a change of luck.

jackjames      ( Date: 06-Feb-2009 17:24) Posted: let's say some fair words... if I were she, I also cannot predict the subprime can be so severe.... all I can say is, she is just unlucky to get caught... so, what about our Dr. Tony , chairman of GIC ? Citigroup, UBS not doing good either.. so, next time, don't become CEO... just be the board members can liao, heee..

 

It is not uncommon for the heads to take responsibility of bad judgment, just like CEO of Lenovo, the macho man who recently  quit for US$96.7M loss.

 

  Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) – Temasek Holdings Pte said Chief Executive Officer Ho Ching will step down after almost seven years at the helm of Singapore’s $130
billion state-owned investment company.
    Chip Goodyear, 51, a former CEO of BHP Billiton Ltd., will succeed Ho, wife of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, effective Oct. 1, Temasek
Chairman S. Dhanabalan said at a press conference today. Goodyear will be the first foreigner to run
 the sovereign wealth fund.
    Ho drove Temasek’s expansion outside Singapore with acquisitions in China, Europe and the U.S., increasing financial assets to 40 percent of the fund’s
portfolio. Goodyear takes over as the credit crisis ravages the value of Temasek’s investments in
 Barclays Plc, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Bank of China Ltd. The MSCI World/Financials Index slumped 60 percent in the past year.
    “In hindsight, Temasek came in too early but it would be unfair to say Temasek made the wrong call to invest in American banks,” Francis Lun, general
manager at Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong, said. “At that time it was seen as a good opportunity
 to invest in U.S. banks on the cheap so it would be unfair to criticize the investment officers for the decision.”
    Ho, 55, joined Temasek as a director in 2002. She became executive director that year and CEO in January 2004, according to information posted on
Temasek’s Web site. She told reporters today she will decide on her next career move after she resigns
 from Temasek in October.
    Sovereign Funds
    Losses at Temasek and Government of Singapore Investment Corp., the nation’s other key investment company that manages more than $100 billion of
reserves, were smaller than the decline in global markets last year, Finance Minister Tharman
 Shanmugaratnam said last month. Temasek generated annual returns of 17 percent between its inception in 1974 and the end of March.
    Sovereign wealth funds in Asia and the Middle East have pumped money into global financial institutions to help replenish capital eroded by writedowns and
losses. Barclays raised 5.3 billion pounds ($7.8 billion) in October by selling securities to a
 group of Middle Eastern investors including Qatar Holding LLC.
    Under Ho’s watch, Temasek bought stakes in China Construction Bank Corp. and Bank of China, and became the largest shareholder in Merrill Lynch before
its takeover by Bank of America Corp.
    Mining Focus
    Goodyear spent 14 years in the commodities industry and until September 2007 was CEO of BHP, where he presided over record profits at the world’s
largest mining company. A former executive vice president and chief financial officer at Freeport-
 McMoRan Inc., Goodyear began his career at Kidder, Peabody & Co., according to information provided by Temasek today.
    He holds a Bachelor of Science from Yale University and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
    “It is an interesting decision given his mining background and experience,” Charles Kernot, an analyst at Evolution Securities Ltd. in London, said by phone.
“Perhaps he is going to be saying we should be looking at this a bit more, all these prices
 have come down maybe there is some stuff out there that is quite cheap and attractive.”
    The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index tracking 19 commodities ranging from energy to grains dropped 36 percent last year, the biggest annual decline since at
least 1957.
    Energy and resources accounted for 5 percent of Temasek’s investments in the year to March, down from 6 percent a year earlier, according to the
company’s annual report. Investments in Singapore declined to 33 percent in the year, from 38 percent in
 the 12 months to March 2007.
    Reviewing Candidates
    The board has been reviewing internal and external CEO candidates since early 2005, and Goodyear was identified as a possible successor in 2007,
Dhanabalan said. Ho’s departure wasn’t linked to the performance of Temasek’s investments, he said.
    “Whether this is a way of making a change of someone who is related to the prime minister, this has been a point that I’ve dealt with since the first day Ho
Ching was appointed as CEO,” Dhanabalan said. “I was very instrumental in bringing in Ho
 Ching and it was based purely on merit and has nothing to do with her relationship to anyone.”
    After graduating in 1976, Ho joined Singapore’s Ministry of Defence, where she was assigned to the Defence Science Organization, which adapted and
developed weapons systems for the island-state’s fledgling military.
    Career Path
    Ho joined a Temasek unit, Singapore Technologies Pte, an unlisted holding company for Temasek’s engineering, technology, military and property companies,
in 1987. Her first job was deputy director of engineering. She rose to president and CEO before
 “retiring” in 2001 at the age of 48, according to her official resume. The following year, Temasek’s Chairman Dhanabalan appointed Ho as executive director.
    In October 2004, Ho, who holds a Master of Science in electrical engineering from Stanford University, ended 30 years of financial secrecy at the company
by publishing Temasek’s first-ever annual review.
    “Under Ho Ching and her leadership, our mission, our values an our strategic directions have been defined,” Dhanabalan said. “Temasek has grown into an
institution sitting on a foundation of strong and diverse international talent, and firmly
 anchored to sound commercial principles and value creation for shareholders.”
    Bank Investments
    Temasek invested about $5.9 billion in Merrill Lynch. It bought about 9 percent of the New York-based firm in December 2007 for $5 billion, or $48 a share,
though its effective purchase price was reduced in July when the bank gave it a further $2.5
 billion in shares. The investment bank’s shares lost 78 percent last year before the stock was delisted.
    The Singapore investment company now holds about 189 million shares in Bank of America after converting its Merrill Lynch stock. In a Jan. 5 filing with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Temasek said it held about 219.7 million Merrill
 Lynch shares. Bank of America completed the Merrill Lynch purchase on Jan 1.
    Temasek is one of the largest shareholders in Standard Chartered Plc, DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and owns stakes inIndia’s ICICI Bank Ltd. and lenders in
Indonesia, South Korea and Pakistan.
    Along with China Development Bank Corp., Temasek paid 3.6 billion euros ($4.6 billion) in 2007 for a 5.2 percent stake in Barclays and added another 4.5
billion pounds in June at about half the price. Barclays’ share price plunged nearly 66 percent
 since June.
    No Regrets
    Temasek and GIC lowered their holdings in equities “early in the crisis,” helping them post a smaller drop in their portfolios in 2008, Shanmugaratnam said.
    Temasek in August said profit doubled to a record S$18.2 billion ($12.1 billion) in the year to March, as sales of energy and Chinese banking assets offset
slowing returns from stock market investments.
    Ho said she is leaving without regrets.
    “At this point, I’m not weighing anything that I want to do post October,” Ho said. “Is there a regret? I think if you want to run life with regrets you may end
up doing very little.”
    For Related News and Information: Financial industry people moves: TNI FIN WNEWS  GO  Most-read Asian sovereign wealth fund news: MNI ASIA
SWF  GO  Temasek management changes: TMSK SP  Equity  MGTC  GO  Temasek growth analysis: TMSK SP  Equity  FA4
 GO
    –With reporting by Jean Chua, Claire Leow, Jonathan Burgos and Liza Lin in Singapore and Thomas Biesheuvel in London. Editors: Andreea Papuc, Tony
Jordan
    To contact the reporter on this story: Bei Hu in Hong Kong at +852-2977-6633 or bhu5@bloomberg.net; Yoolim Lee in Singapore +65 6212-1581 or
yoolim@bloomberg.net
    To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andreea Papuc a

 

Apparently PSC scholars still think ang mo can steer company better.

 

But we must admit that she has done a good job and won many praises from people around the world. All the best to her..cheers!

 

I can only say this, if we ever lost our foreign reserve, Singapore will fall and never stand up again....sorry lor.

Let look at iceland in 10 years time....

 

 

When one cannot make good judgement during bad times...huge money is lost...than sorry lor.

During good old days, most people can make profit thru a decent and calculated investment isn't it? The difficult thing is how to preserve the saving during bad times and avoid HUGE losses by any wrong "timing" investment!!

 

 

seem like we need another player..... haiz..... we need some one with a midas touch...

 

let's say some fair words... if I were she, I also cannot predict the subprime can be so severe.... all I can say is, she is just unlucky to get caught... so, what about our Dr. Tony , chairman of GIC ? Citigroup, UBS not doing good either..

so, next time, don't become CEO... just be the board members can liao, heee..

 

 

Only today I saw Bloomberg report Temaesk has its 40% in financial service.  40% of 130B is 52,000,000,000. 

I thought only 5B here and 5B there....NOT 52B.

 

 

err...is this a gd sign or bad? hmm....