According to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Temasek, a government-owned investment company in Singapore, has endured far more than simply monetary losses as a result of its investment in FTX.
Temasek’s $275 million investment in FTX, according to Wong, who is also the finance minister, has seriously harmed the company’s reputation. At a legislative meeting on November 27, the official addressed the mounting criticism regarding Temasek’s exposure to FTX, according to a South China Morning Post story.
The prime minister highlighted that a “very badly managed corporation” as well as potential fraud and user funds misappropriation were to blame for FTX’s demise.
Therefore, the official stated, “What happened with FTX has cost Temasek not just money loss but also reputational damage,” adding that Temasek has begun an internal investment review to strengthen procedures and learn from the past.
Wong emphasised that reputational harm is not mitigated by investments made by other significant institutional investors like BlackRock and Sequoia Capital.
Temasek announced on November 17 that it wrote down its whole $275 million FTX investment. Temasek is wholly owned by the minister of finance but runs autonomously. As of March 2022, the sum represented just 0.09% of Temasek’s $403 billion portfolio. Wong asserts that investor contributions to net investment returns—the amount of government revenue derived from interest earned on reserves—would not be impacted by FTX-related losses.
Along with addressing worries about FTX and Temasek, Wong asserted that Singapore has no desire to develop into a major crypto hub but rather wants to be a “responsible and innovative player in the digital asset space.”
Some of the previous euphoria around blockchain technologies has turned out to be misplaced, according to research. I believe there is a more accurate understanding of what these technologies are capable of, said Wong. Additionally, he highlighted that cryptocurrency investors must be ready to lose every penny they have invested, saying that “no amount of regulation can remove this danger.”
Temasek evidently still has assets in numerous other industry platforms while writing down its investment in FTX. Temasek is renowned for taking part in numerous investment rounds for significant crypto firms, such as Binance and Amber Group, despite not making direct investments in cryptocurrency.
According to reports, Temasek also oversaw a $110 million strategic fundraising round for Animoca Brands, a leading provider of blockchain and metaverse gaming services.