Temasek is Olam’s second-largest shareholder, with a 16 percent stake that has lost more than $100 million in value since Nov. 19, when Block’s Muddy Waters LLC first questioned the validity of the company’s finances and said it was betting against the stock. Temasek is also the biggest shareholder in many of the country’s best-known companies, including DBS Group Holdings Ltd. (DBS), Southeast Asia’s largest bank, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (ST) and Singapore Airlines Ltd. (SIA)
“Carson Block is putting his whole reputation on this one,” said Low Chee Keong, associate professor of corporate law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “He’s taking on the Singapore government, Singapore Inc. here.”
Temasek is standing behind Olam, putting its own reputation as one of the world’s savviest investors on the line. When Olam said two weeks ago it would sell as much as $1.25 billion in bonds and warrants to existing shareholders, Temasek, run by Ho Ching, the wife of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, agreed to buy any rights not taken by other investors. Full story
