Monday, March 16, 2009 18:30
GIC losses – foreign media more important than Parliament?
In Main Stories, Top Story, Uncle Leong, Uniquely Spore • 2,493 views • 27 Comments
Leong Sze Hian
The reply in parliament last month, to the question on GIC’s losses, was that it was “substantially lower” because of its more conservative lower risk portfolio. The actual loss amount was not revealed.
It was only three weeks later, on 5 March, that the figure of 25 per cent was disclosed – and not in Parliament but by the Minister Mentor in an interview with foreign news agency, Reuters.
The difference between Temasek’s 31 per cent loss, which was made known earlier, and GIC’s 25 per cent is far from “substantially lower”. After adjusting for any injections into GIC’s assets after its assets had reached its peak, is the loss greater than 25 per cent?
Why is it that GIC’s losses cannot be revealed when questions were asked in Parliament – but could be disclosed to a foreign news agency less than a month after the question was asked in Parliament?
Does the government consider a foreign news media more worthy of an answer than our own MPs, and by extension, Singaporeans?
Where is the sanctity of Parliament and its accountability to the people of Singapore?
When the late President Ong Teng Cheong asked how much assets the Government had, he never got an answer because he was told that it would take 56 man-years to obtain the information for him. (See here.)
In an interview with the local media on 17 February 2009, the current president was asked, “When you made the decision [to approve the government dipping into the reserves], did you have the information on like how big our reserves, how much of a draw this would be on the reserves…?” The president replied, “Of course I have. Of course I have.” The media did not report any further elaboration by the president on the information which the president said he has.
Even now, we do not know how much reserves we have left, or exactly how much we have lost?
Why is transparency being released in drips and draps?
If estimates that GIC’s reserves were about $550 billion, as projected by the Thai newspaper, The Nation, is correct, does it mean that we lost about $137.5 billion, on top of Temasek’s $58 billion?
After taking into account GIC’s 25 per cent loss, how much lower is its 20-year annualised return of 5.8 per cent till March 2008?
As to there being a cabinet paper explaining why Mdm Ho Ching wanted to step down, why was this not disclosed in Parliament last month when we were told that her departure was already in the pipeline for about a year?
Will the details of this cabinet paper be now disclosed to Singaporeans?
——-
References:
“MM clarifies remarks on Temasek” (ST, Mar 11)
“GIC assets down 25%” (ST, Mar 5)
“Why Ho Ching quit” (ST, Mar 5)
——-
TOC welcomes you to join us on TOC Facebook and get backgrounds and exclusives to the stories we do.
——–
Related posts:
27 Comments
rico
I totally agree with Edward. What’s next? To preserve his legacy, LKY will say that GE is ‘not meaningful’ for the PAP. Singapore will then become a communist country overnight. Woohoo!
All About Face
Simply observed:
Looking good in the foreign media when buying in – ego & face up…….. wanting to look better in the foreign media when counting paper losses in honest disclosures………
It is a human thing.
janissary
I find it perplexing that a cabinet paper was put up for Ho Ching’s resignation. Is this normal? Is this perhaps a prelude suggesting her entry into politics? She did say she would not comment on her future role in Singapore till after October.
ironman
they can do as they please, to them, bloggers and internet forumers are just annoying flies that they can choose to ignore or if needed, killed by knuckle-dusters.
Kurtina Bermuzi
I wonder if the parl has more members to press the questions, would there be a difference? and thus, is it a good idea to have more members to ask not just questions but the right questions? I like Mr Leong’s kind of questions that seek clarification to allow more understanding of the real situation.
for example, if someone says, i think the econ will up turn the down turn tomorrow, how can he qualify what he says? or in trust we trust?
Loyola
SG belongs to more than MM.
Sin
What a question, and it simply show how arrogant the PAP has become. It has taken all of us singaporean for granted, because it knows that singaporean are so obedient that noone would dare to question what they do.
David
Since we know that one party system bred non transparency and accountability. We urgently need more opposition parties in parliament to act like a foreign media and force the stubborn worms out of pap.
nuf sed
I feel strongly that the people should have more say.
say in what?
i cannot say.
nuf sed. Its Time!
mat
Because they have already taken the electorate (people) for granted. The electorate will support them strongly, whether it is good times or recession.
Furthermore, even if the people suffer badly, they will not protest in the streets.
With no protests and strong support at elections time and again, why care about what the netizens say? Or what those in kopitiams say? Or what you think in your heart? These don’t really matter, right?
One more thing, GRC, lack of oppositon candidates and lawsuits!
nobigdeal
Imagine you are worth $10 billion. Even if you lose 50%, still got $5 billion left what.
So you must understand the mentality of these people. Even if it is the nation’s reserves, they will also think this way.
Of course they cannot say in this way lah.
A Tan
Missing the point., Sze Hian.
Only MM can disclose such things. And he talks more to foreign media, than in parly, heh?
And can you blame him?
He can make or break anyone in Parly.
He cannot do that to foreign media. He can only sue them but they continue doing what they do, with scant respect to him. Look at DJ.
Power respects power. “Running dogs” can be ignored.
Thelight
of course he can’t said that he don’t know or not sure. The 25% lost, for me, I am not sure is the figure right? It could be more than 25%…
Sad to know the the reserve can’t let Singaporean know. By the way, the reserve is belong to every Singaporean.
Special money
This arrogant govt only answerable to the foreigners, we the citizenry, in their eyes are their servants so they don’t bother to disclose whatever information to our citizenry. The emperor will not entertain his subjects other than foreign dignitaries.
SingEsc
To be precise, we are just “digit” to them. A singaporean is probably 0.75, where a foreign talent is 1.0, reasons being that foreigner are more likely to produce offspring and generate revenues by paying CPF, income tax, COE, maid levy etc etc, while singaporean will only complain complain and complain.
ronin
It has always been Men in White’s modus operandi to confuse S’poreans with half past 6 “disclososure”.
winstoncheng
They are strong and arrogant only because the people are weak and cowardy. It may seem that the sentiment here speaks otherwise but we (the netizens) are still a minoirty.
In the nutshell, Singaporeans deserve what they are getting. I know it sounds harsh but I feel that’s the reality.
T
/// The difference between Temasek’s 31 per cent loss, which was made known earlier, and GIC’s 25 per cent is far from “substantially lower”. ///
Sze Hian, I posted the link before in other threads, so you must have missed it.
Hwee Hua said GIC’s loss was significantly lower than the WEI’s 41% (should be 42% which she mistook for 41%), and not compared to Temasek’s 31%.
/// Sir, I have given that reply to a previous parliamentary question, that GIC has actually registered a significantly lower reduction in value than the World Equity Index which I believe was 41% – let me just clarify that it is actually in the Hansard*. ///
Kim San
#1
Edward, you are absolutely correct!
Elections are but an inconvenience to the PAP. An inconvenient but necessary exercise. They have come to believe that it is their right to rule this country.
manKhan
Arrogance is not good… Anything is possible… Remember Man U 1 – Liverpool 4?
Ah Lao
Mr Leong asked:
“Where is the sanctity of Parliament and its accountability to the people of Singapore?”
More like wayang Parliament lah.
In any case I thought that in principle, it should be that Parliament is SUPREME.
There should be more questions asked or inquiry held as to how such losses came about.
It is reported that the South Korea Pension fund made a small gain of 16.6 billion won profit on its 236,000 billion of asset because, having envisaged that the stock market was falling, it increased its bond holdings after selling off its equties.
Ah Lao
#19, T
If I’m not mistaken, GIC’s portfolio consists of about 40% bonds which probably have appreciated as interest rates were lowered by the major economic countries which would have cushioned the most likely sharper fall in GIC’s equities portfolio, real estate and special investments, eg hedge funds/private equities
T
Ah Lao – you are probably correct. That is precisely why a portfolio should be diversified in its asset classes, geography and instruments. GIC’s remit is to manage Singapore’s reserve and its risk appetite is lower than Temasek – which is why it should have quite a big portion in fixed income. Temasek’s biggest mistake is to plonk 40% into a single segment – financial institutions.
My post was to correct Sze Hian’s statement: “The difference between Temasek’s 31 per cent loss, which was made known earlier, and GIC’s 25 per cent is far from “substantially lower”.
25% decline IS significantly lower than the decline of 42% in the World Equities Index. That statement by Lim Hwee Hua is factually correct. But whether GIC’s performance should be benchmarked with the WEI is another issue. As you pointed out, it has more asset classes than just equities, and should rightly be benchmarked to a blended index.
cheers
Singapore politics: a system that is open, honest and transparent « Gimme Some Truth!
[...] only after an interview by Reuters on March 4th did our MM provide an official figure of 25%. As Leong Sze Hian pointed out on TOC, its a tragedy when our own parliament and press had to rely on a foreign news [...]
w56u
what is our president gonna do about this? couch potato?
Ummm....
the phrase is dribs and drabs.
I repeat the comments I have posted elsewhere in TOC: LKY & PAP have no interest in parliament and elections. Where on earth and in which democratic country that parliament opening is delayed 6 months after general elections? To LKY and PAP, parliament and GE are a waste of time. Bye-elections are even practically abolished after the humiliation at Anson in 1981. Parliamentary sessions are almost empty because PAP MPs consider them not as important as their main occupations. They have to hold GE because it is required under the law. It was quoted in the ST that LKY mentioned that it was not good for citizens to know too much about GIC’s losses.