Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdinngs said yesterday its net profit plunged 67 per cent to 6 billion Singapore dollars (Bt143.5 billion) in the year to March.
Net profit fell from the record S$18 billion achieved in the financial year ending March 2008 as a result of the global financial crisis.
The value of its worldwide investment portfolio also fell 30 per cent to S$130 billion as of end-March from S$185 billion the previous financial year.
Temasek chief executive Ho Ching said at a news conference the firm was building up liquidity to prepare for a possible downturn.
"However, we did not anticipate the speed and ferocity of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression," said Ho, wife of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
"Looking ahead, we believe the worst of the global meltdown to plummet in the second half of last year.
Some of its losses came from investments in Western financial companies that were in need of a capital injection as the economic crisis unfolded following the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers.
It took a stake in Wall Street icon Merrill Lynch but when the US firm was bought by Bank of America, Temasek divested its interest. Ity also bought into British lender Barclays but later also offloaded that stake.
It is estimated Temasek lost more than US$5.4 billion (Bt181.9 billion) from the sale of its holdings in the two banks, according to sources quoted by Dow Jones Newswires.
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