Temasek eyes 10% of portfolio from India

PRIVATE EQUITY WATCH

Temasek Holdings, the investment arm of the Singapore government, expects its Indian operations to contribute over 10 per cent to the global portfolio value in another three years. The share of the Indian operations was 3 per cent last year.

Though Manish Kejriwal, senior managing director & country head of Temasek Holdings India, didn't provide details of his Indian investments, the private equity player's invested in excess of $3 billion in the last three years and that, probably, makes it one of the biggest investors in the country at this time.

Kejriwal told reporters here today that the India investments in the current year helped the firm's portfolio to cross $100 billion for the first time. Releasing its annual financial review today - an entirely voluntary exercise - the firm said the total shareholder return by market value for the year was a healthy 27 per cent and the reshaping of Temasek's portfolio continued, with an increase in its exposure to Asia (ex-Singapore and Japan) to 40 per cent, up from 34 per cent in the previous year.

Total shareholder return since inception remains strong at more than 18 per cent by market value and over 17 per cent by shareholder funds. The annual dividend yield to Temasek's shareholder has averaged more than 7 per cent.

Pointing out that India will continue to play as critical role as an investment destination, Kejriwal said he is bullish on long term prospects of Indian companies and the profit slowdown in the first quarter is just a blip.

The company's king-sized deals in India include 8 per cent stake in ICICI Bank, option for 4.99 per cent in Bharti Enterprises, and 9.7 per cent in Tata Teleservices.

Kejriwal said Temasek is interested in companies that are aggressive in the consumer space. While the company has not been able to invest in any Indian retail company due to valuation issues, it is bullish on related space such as consumer credit and logistics suppliers.

Kejriwal said Temasek was not a classic private equity fund and so has the flexibility to invest in any asset class and stay invested for a long time.

The market collapse over the last few days is a good opportunity for funds such as Temasek to pick up values, Kejriwal said, adding the firm does not agree with valuations across the board.