Singapore’s Temasek Sees China Growth Reviving in Second Half

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore's state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte. expects Chinese growth to rebound in the second half as the government stimulates the economy, according to Chief Investment Officer Rohit Sipahimalani.

“We are close to the trough, so a very different stage in the cycle,” he told Bloomberg Television. “I would see growth on the rise in the second half of this year as against a decline in the U.S. and Europe.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the Milken Institute's Global Conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sipahimalani admitted the firm's investment in ride hailing firm Didi Global Inc. had not been good from a stock price perspective. But he continues to be bullish on the broader market and some of its tech companies pending clarity from the government.

Temasek had S$381 billion ($275.2 billion) in assets under management as of March 2021 including investments in China, which has struggled with Covid-19 crackdowns among other macro factors.

The firm has steadily cut its positions in Chinese technology giants such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Didi over the past year, while also suffering losses in the country's online education space.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Didi's chaotic 2021 debut in New York, when the ride-hailing giant raised $4.4 billion days before revelations of a Chinese probe into data security tanked the stock.

Around 27% of Temasek's holdings are based in China - the single largest geography for its holdings ahead of its home country of Singapore. The firm is due to speak about its annual results for the year ending March 31, 2022 by July.

“A lot of companies in the Chinese internet space have been beaten down a lot and I think over the next few months just based on the announcements we will have more clarity in policy around them,” he said. “In some of those cases there'll be very attractive opportunities to invest in them.”