World Politics Review, 24 Feb 2009, Simon Roughneen and Diana Ionescu
"One case in point is Singapore's Temasek, which made headlines several weeks ago by bringing in Chip Goodyear as chief executive, replacing Ho Ching, wife of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Goodyear's appointment comes after a very bad year: Temasek's portfolio lost 31 percent in value -- declining from S$185 billion to S$127 billion -- by the end of November last year, after its high-profile investments in Merrill Lynch and Barclays. Temasek sunk $5.8 billion into Merrill Lynch, only to see the investment bank's share price fall 78 percent last year, before being de-listed and eventually taken over by Bank of America.
With Singapore facing the sharpest recession in its post-independence history, the government needed to be seen as proactive, hence Goodyear's appointment. Goodyear has a strong commodities background, and Temasek, like other SWFs, may refocus its investment strategy on performing commodities."
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