Temasek Holdings has released an updated charter in conjunction with its 35th anniversary.
Speaking at the launch, Temasek chairman S Dhanabalan said: "Temasek’s mission remains to create and deliver sustainable long-term returns for our stakeholders. We have refined our Charter to more clearly articulate our focus as a value-oriented investor, and also as a shareholder focused on achieving sustainable returns by engaging with the boards and management of our portfolio companies. We will continue to review our Temasek Charter regularly, and update it as needed in consultation with our shareholder, to ensure that it remains relevant to our current activities and aspirations as an institution."
First published in 2002 and updated in 2009, the Temasek charter re-affirms the role of Temasek as an active investor and value-adding shareholder to deliver sustainable long-term value.
The charter outlines how Temasek would work with its portfolio companies to ensure financial discipline and sound governance in building significant international or regional businesses. As an active shareholder, Temasek re-emphasises its governance principles as the cornerstone for Temasek and its portfolio companies to deliver sustainable value.
Over the years, Temasek’s underlying exposure outside Singapore has also increased. This resulted partly from the successful transformation of Temasek-linked Singapore companies into regional or international businesses, and partly because Temasek itself has been an active investor, adding several Asia blue chips to its portfolio. Today, two-thirds of Temasek’s underlying portfolio is outside Singapore, compared to a predominantly Singapore portfolio in 2002.
Dhanabalan adds: "The Temasek charter defines our role as an active investor and value-adding shareholder. Our charter serves as a guide to anchor Temasek on strong commercial principles to create and deliver sustainable long-term value for our stakeholders, as we continue to evolve and transform with Singapore and the world."
