Announcement:
The Online Citizen is looking for HDB tenants (commercial and public) who are struggling with rising rentals. Also, we are looking for ‘horror stories’ (rude reception, poor service, insensitivity) from your interactions with the civil service and government agencies.
Do email us at [email protected] and leave your contact details.
Latest:
H1N1 cases in Singapore rise to 11. From CNA.
From Reuters:
LONDON/SINGAPORE, June 3 (Reuters) – Singapore state investor Temasek sold its stake in British bank Barclays Plc (BARC.L) several months ago at a big loss, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
After spending over 1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) on shares in Britain’s second-biggest bank in the last two years, unlisted Temasek may have lost over 800 million pounds on the investment, according to calculations by Reuters.
Temasek’s loss is in sharp contrast to Abu Dhabi which sold more than 11 percent of the bank’s shares on Tuesday, making a $2.5 billion profit in just seven months.
Temasek sold its near 2 percent stake in December and January, two of the sources said. The sources asked not to be named due to the confidential nature of the investment.
“It’s true that they sold in December/January,” a person familiar with the deal told Reuters.
It is further evidence that Temasek is shifting away from banks, after it lost about $3 billion on an ill-timed investment in Merrill Lynch.
Read the rest of the Reuters’ report here.
From the Straits Times, June 4:
Temasek and Barclays both declined to comment when contacted by The Straits Times Wednesday. A Temasek spokesman said: ‘We don’t comment on unsourced reports.’