By Yantoultra Ngui
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Singapore’s state-owned investor Temasek unveiled its biggest overhaul plan in more than a decade on Thursday by creating three new entities to better manage its global investments amid growing geopolitical and market uncertainties.
The 51-year-old firm, which managed a record S$434 billion ($338.35 billion) portfolio as of March 2025, will launch the new investment structure from April 1, 2026, CEO Dilhan Pillay told Reuters.
The new structure, which marks the biggest reorganisation of the state-owned behemoth since 2011, is aimed at making it easier for the company to respond to investment challenges and opportunities more nimbly, he said.
The reorganisation comes against the backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions, a shifting regulatory landscape and developments in digital technologies – factors that are creating challenges as well as opportunities for global money managers.
The three new Temasek units that are being created as part of the reorganisation are Temasek Global Investments, Temasek Singapore, and Temasek Partnership Solutions, said the state investor.
While Temasek Global will focus on global investments aligned with structural trends including digitisation, Temasek Singapore will manage strategic domestic holdings such as Singapore Airlines and PSA International.
Temasek Partnership will be tasked with overseeing funds and asset management companies. Temasek International, the existing entity, will continue to house its group and corporate functions, the company said.
“The playbook is changing,” Pillay said, referring to macroeconomic and geopolitical shifts globally. “You have to be very long-term oriented. But you can’t be long-term unless you build muscles in the short term.”
In July, Temasek reported an 11.6% year-on-year jump in its net portfolio value to a record S$434 billion. Temasek’s 10-year total shareholder return of 5% lags the MSCI ACWI’s 9% and Singapore’s Straits Times Index at 6%, though its 20-year return of 7% is broadly in line with both benchmarks indices. “If we can still get good returns to our shareholder above our cost of capital, which is about 7% now, I think that would be a good outcome,” said Pillay, who became CEO in 2021. LEADERSHIP CHANGES Temasek is also preparing for a leadership change at board level. Former Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean will succeed Lim Boon Heng as chair on October 9, after joining as deputy chair in July. Temasek also announced the appointment of Chia Song Hwee, current deputy CEO, as co-CEO of Temasek International from Oct. 1, 2025. Effective April 1, Chia will be CEO of Temasek Global Investments and deputy chair of the three new units. Other appointments include Nagi Hamiyeh, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa, to be concurrently appointed as Temasek Global Investments’ president, and Png Chin Yee, CFO, concurrently appointed as Temasek Singapore’s president. “The most important thing is to work as a team and empower people to make agile decisions,” said Pillay, who will be appointed chair of the three new units and Temasek International.
Pillay will also be chair of Seviora Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek, effective from Sept. 1, 2025.
(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Helen Popper)
