SPEECH

02 Nov 2004

TEMASEK HOLDINGS’ 30TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER

TUE 2 NOVEMBER 2004, THE ISTANA LAWN

WELCOME REMARKS BY
MR S DHANABALAN
CHAIRMAN, TEMASEK HOLDINGS

(Duration: 10 minutes)

Your Excellency President S R Nathan and Mrs Nathan,
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Mrs Lee,
Distinguished Ministers, Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen

May I first thank you, Mr President, for your gracious presence as our Guest of Honour at this Temasek 30th Anniversary dinner. As an active participant in the history of Singapore, you have witnessed the backdrop against which Temasek sprouted and grew. As a fifth schedule company, we have a special relationship with you. We are doubly honoured tonight by your permission to also hold this dinner at the Istana.

I also want to thank all our other guests for joining us this evening. Many of you have been intimately involved in the establishment and growth of Temasek and the Temasek linked companies (TLCs). Others are friends and partners, who have given us support in countless and invaluable ways. I am greatly appreciative that a number of our overseas friends have made a special trip to Singapore to celebrate with us tonight. My sincere thanks and a warm welcome to all of you.

Much has changed since Temasek was incorporated 30 years ago on 25 June 1974 with an initial portfolio of 35 companies worth about $350m mostly comprising companies which the Ministry of Finance had taken over from EDB. These included investments such as Cerebos to help start the production of Brand’s Essence of Chicken in Singapore. Since then, we have grown. Part of subsequent growth came from injection of corporatised government statutory boards such as the Telecoms Authority of Singapore from which we have SingTel and the Public Utilities Board’s electricity and gas departments from which we have SingPower and related companies. The rest came from organic growth of the operating companies and new investments. Today, Temasek has grown into a group with Asian-focused portfolio of S$90 billion, through the hard work, imaginative innovation and disciplined risk-taking of all our operating companies.

As part of our 30th anniversary program, we published our consolidated financials for the first time in 30 years, even though we are not required to do so as an exempt private company.

We do so for three reasons:

First, it is a timely stock take after 30 years, as we gird ourselves and lay the foundation for the next phase of our development.

The bulk of our portfolio is in large holdings in our Temasek-linked companies (TLCs). This is part of our inheritance. With these large blocs, it is harder for us to freely trade in and out of our portfolio, like a fund manager. Nonetheless, it is useful to share with our TLCs and portfolio companies on how we have done historically as a group. The 30-year Total Shareholder Returns are also robust records and laudable goals for the respective boards, management and staff of our TLCs to benchmark future delivery of shareholder value.

They also remind Temasek’s own team where our performance hurdles will be. In short, our financial review has put some public markers on the ground. Good or bad, these markers will now serve as reference points as we chart our course ahead as a team.

Second, as we continue to invest actively in Asia, it is useful for our partners to know who we are, and what we do. In this way, we can align interests more easily to create long term shareholder value for ourselves and for our partners and investee companies.

Our partners are leading institutions and promising companies in the various economies, be they Singapore-based or part of a wider Asia economy. The publication of our financial review will help them better understand where we are coming from as a unique but commercially driven long-term investment house.

Starting from a wholly Singapore-based portfolio, nearly half of our group assets are outside Singapore today. Many of our Singapore-based TLCs already have significant assets and operations outside Singapore. Temasek itself has also increasingly been investing directly overseas. This trend will continue as more opportunities open up in a fast growing Asia that is plugged into the global economy.

In pursuing an internationally balanced portfolio, we hope not just to benefit from the growing opportunities in Asia. We hope we can also contribute in our own small way to the growth and development of Singapore and Asian enterprises.

Third, we can succeed in our objective if we are able to attract and retain outstanding talents and trustworthy staff to be part of our team.

Talented individuals, be they Singaporeans or foreigners, have many options. The Temasek Review provides our present and future Temasek team members a flavour of how we operate, our objectives, and our values. It also sketches in broad terms our interest and direction.

Temasek and the Temasek-linked companies have much to be proud of for what they have achieved over the last 30 years. Temasek through its TLCs have been key pillars in the economic development of Singapore, particularly in providing efficient first world infrastructure support. TLCs contribute to approximately 10% of the Singapore GDP today. This complements the predominant roles of MNCs and SMEs. Through a globally diversified portfolio, we will add to Singapore’s GNP.

But we cannot rest on our laurels. The path ahead will be filled with challenges and obstacles, as the strong waves of globalization and liberalization sweep the world. What gives us the courage and confidence to continue to forge ahead are the people behind the Temasek group.

On this 30th anniversary, I would like to pay a special tribute to those who led and managed the TLCs. I would be remiss if I do not mention two persons in this context. They are the founding Prime Minister of Singapore, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, and the first Finance Minister and former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Dr Goh Keng Swee. They are the visionaries, the social and business entrepreneurs and risk takers par excellence. It is to them we owe the most for what Temasek and the TLCs are today. We are also grateful to other government and political leaders for their guidance and support right from the beginning.

I would also like to thank the many directors who sit on the boards of the TLCs, for offering their selfless and outstanding support. They come from both Singapore and overseas, with diverse backgrounds ranging from business leaders in the private sector, professionals, academics to public sector leaders. Some like Mr Cheng Wai Keung and Mr Stephen Lee have provided outstanding, and pro bono leadership to deftly steer and guide their companies through choppy waters. Others like Mr JY Pillay have nursed and nurtured little fledgling companies and grew them into international icons with strategic discipline. Collectively, they have added to the Singapore brand of quality, reliability, discipline and integrity. The commitment of so many good people across all levels is a key factor behind the success of many of our TLCs through the years. We owe them all a great debt of gratitude.

We in Temasek look forward to the continued support and cooperation of our many friends and colleagues in Singapore, Asia and beyond. I would like to assure them that we in Temasek commit ourselves to creating and maximizing the value we produce for our shareholder, as well as our investee companies, thus ensuring a bright future for our people.

Once again, thank you for taking time off to be here with us tonight. I wish you a very pleasant evening.