PM Lawrence Wong at Temasek's 50th Anniversary Dinner

Temasek Chairman and Chief Executive,
My Cabinet Colleagues,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to join you this evening to celebrate Temasek’s golden jubilee and 50th anniversary. Let me also warmly welcome the many overseas guests who have joined us for this special occasion. I hope some of you were able to come earlier and catch the Formula One race over the weekend too.

Temasek’s Beginnings

When Temasek was formed in 1974, Singapore was in a completely different place.

We were still grappling with the effects of the British withdrawal of their armed forces, which accounted for a significant part of our economy. To save jobs, the Government converted the military bases into civilian uses. Military dockyards became commercial shipyards; workshops became engineering companies.

Singapore then was at its early stages of industrialisation. The Government provided loans to some companies, and co-invested with others, to attract investors and create jobs.

As a result, before too long, the Government found itself owning a motley collection of companies – from newly converted shipyards to an airline, and even a chicken essence company.

In many developing countries, then and now, it is not unusual for governments to play a direct role in stimulating economic activities. Because the private sector may not be so well developed; so the line between business and government is not always clearly defined.

But the founding leaders in Singapore felt we should do things differently. Dr Goh Keng Swee, our first Minister for Finance, once warned of the common pitfall in many countries where politicians and civil servants all think they can excel at entrepreneurial functions. He called this a ‘tragic illusion’ – tragic because all state-owned enterprises start off with the best of intentions. But then along the way, they end up losing sight of commercial and market discipline, and become bloated, inefficient and wasteful.

To be clear, we had an excellent economics team in Government then – ministers like Dr Goh, Mr Hon Sui Sen and Mr Lim Kim San. But they were humble enough to see the limits of what government should do; and wise enough to embrace market principles and market dynamism. They felt the government needed to do something to ourselves to resist the temptation of running the companies on our own and avoid the same mistakes we have seen others make.

And so Temasek was set up under those circumstances to take over and own the companies, and to manage them on strict commercial principles.

The companies would then operate on an arms-length basis from the government.

This means the government should not be leaning on the companies for favours; but importantly, neither should the companies be asking the government for special treatment.

And indeed, that is how we have been operating our system in Singapore these last 50 years.

Besides a clearer delineation of roles, Singapore’s economic transformation was underpinned by several key factors.

We are a tiny island, with no hinterland, and no natural resources.

From the very start, we had to rely on our own wits and ingenuity to survive and make a living for ourselves.

This founding ethos is deeply embedded in the fabric of who we are as Singaporeans. It is in our DNA.

We know we have to be self-reliant, we have to remain open and welcome people from around the world to join us, so we can continually seek new and better ways to stay relevant and add value to the world.

Importantly, we are driven by a forward-looking mindset, thinking not just about today, but also about tomorrow, and striving always to create a better future for the next generation.
These guiding principles helped lay the foundation for Singapore’s economic development. They are the same principles that have guided Temasek since its formation.

Today, Temasek has become an institution synonymous with Singapore’s success. Your evolution mirrors our own nation’s journey. Your achievements are a reflection of the same resilience, adaptability and strength which is to continually strive for excellence, ceaselessly innovate, and build for the future.

Temasek’s Achievements and Contributions

Of course, it is easy to look back now, with the benefit of hindsight, have a big celebration, and say all this went well. But as you heard just now, when the emcees talked about Mr Pillay – when we started out 50 years ago, few could have imagined what we have achieved today.

In its early years, Temasek’s roles were mainly custodial and administrative – maintaining accounts, executing share transactions, and processing Board appointments.

This started with an initial portfolio of just 35 companies which Temasek had taken over from the government.

Along the way there was the injection of corporatised government statutory boards, which eventually became familiar names like PSA, SingTel and SingPower.

Over time, Temasek’s role evolved, and it became a more active manager of its portfolio.

It rationalised the companies that were no longer viable. It helped the more promising companies to unlock value, to scale up, and expand overseas.

It recycled its own capital by stepping up its direct investments beyond Singapore, initially into new areas in Asia and then beyond Asia, into the world. This comes with higher risks. The journey was not always smooth sailing. Some of the initial overseas investments did not work out as planned. But the team at Temasek learnt from these setbacks and progressively grew its portfolio.

When it started, Temasek’s portfolio was wholly Singapore based. Over time, its investments in Asia grew. Now Temasek has a global portfolio, with investments across Asia, the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

It was this boldness to create new value and push the frontiers that laid the foundations for the transformation for Temasek and its portfolio companies. Amongst the original 35 companies, a few have become regional and global champions in their respective industries, like DBS and SIA. Temasek itself is regarded as one of the foremost equities investment companies in Asia and the world.

What all of you have achieved together is not just good for your own companies and shareholders, but also for Singapore as a whole. Your success has made our economy more vibrant and provided well-paying jobs for many Singaporeans.

Even as you grew your presence abroad, you have continued to keep Singapore your home base. You have helped to anchor important capabilities here that make us more resilient and better able to respond to crises and emergencies.

We saw this during Covid as Chairman Boon Heng mentioned just now. Temasek and its portfolio companies kept Singapore connected to vital supply chains. You got the Community Care Facilities at Changi Expo and Changi Exhibition Centre up and running in record time. Your staff did your part too – volunteering for operations on the ground, conducting swab tests, and distributing masks and sanitisers to Singaporeans. We won the fight against Covid because our country rallied together; and in no small part, because Temasek and its portfolio companies stepped up in our darkest hours of need. Thank you very much!

Indeed, Temasek believes not only in doing well, but also doing right and doing good. I welcome Temasek’s commitment to support those who need help, both in Singapore and further afield, through the Temasek Trust and Temasek Foundation. I am also glad that Temasek’s portfolio companies are leading the way as responsible corporate citizens, contributing to causes ranging from uplifting vulnerable families, to protecting the environment.

Balancing and realising these multiple objectives is never easy. It is easy to talk about ESG and triple-bottom-line, as though they can all be achieved at the same time, but all of you know that there are hard trade-offs to manage. In the end, the ability of Temasek and its portfolio companies to realise its goals depends critically on its leadership and people.

The many positive outcomes that we see today is really the fruits of the labour and foresight of the many who came before us – those who founded and later transformed Temasek, and who ran its portfolio companies. They gave their hearts and minds, and their sweat and tears to build what we have today. I am glad to see Mr J. Y. Pillay and Mr Dhanabalan here tonight with us and many other pioneers who were contributing to Temasek in those early years. We owe them a great debt of gratitude.

Speaking as Finance Minister, I am especially grateful to all the Directors who have served and continue to serve on the Board of Temasek. They come from both Singapore and overseas, with diverse backgrounds ranging from business leaders, professionals, to public sector leaders. The Government has always been careful not to have any role or influence in Temasek’s investment’s decisions. Our approach has been to hold the Board accountable for Temasek’s performance. But this approach has been possible only because we have people on the Board who are committed and capable, and who can be trusted to work with the management to look after our long-term interests; to protect what we have inherited in Temasek, build on it, and pass it on to future generations in better shape than when we started.

Tonight, I want to put on record my appreciation to everyone in Temasek and the Temasek Portfolio Companies. We appreciate your many contributions over these past five decades. To everyone – past and present – who have contributed to Temasek and the wider Temasek family, I would like to say a big “thank you” to all of you.

Succeeding in a New Environment

Temasek and Singapore have done well these 50 years. But we cannot rest on our laurels. What lies ahead in the next five decades?

Unfortunately, there are dark clouds over the horizon. We are in a new era, marked by the growing contest for dominance and leadership between American and China. The two sides are continuing to engage one another, but there is deep mutual suspicion and mistrust in the relationship. Neither side wants a conflict, but both sides are preparing for a conflict to happen. That is why more and more economic activities around the world are being viewed through a security lens.

Restrictions have already been imposed on key technologies like Artificial Intelligence and semiconductors. What is worrying is that security concerns are spilling over to more and more areas.

Once national resilience and security become the over-riding priorities, there will surely be many potential gaps and areas of vulnerability to address. For example, during the Covid pandemic, some countries were suddenly surprised to realise that they were not able to make enough masks, test kits and ventilators, no one wants that to happen again. No country wants to be a situation where their manufacturing capabilities grind to a halt, because of shortages in certain critical components. And the thing is, it is very hard to tell beforehand which supply chain pieces will end being the chokepoint.

As a result, we are seeing around the world more state interventions in business activities, and more attempts to reconfigure supply chains for security considerations.

Essentially, the pendulum of economic thinking has swung to the other extreme. The consensus of the late 20th century was all about free trade and laissez-faire economic management. Now we hear more calls for targeted protectionism and aggressive subsidies for key industries. Unfortunately, this trajectory will be with us for some time, and will only lead to more zero sum thinking and a more dangerous world.

Singapore will have to find our own path forward in this new environment. I think we do well to heed the advice from our founding leaders – to maintain a clear distinction between business and government, to keep government lean and efficient, minimise the regulatory burden on business and ensure a conducive environment for enterprises and entrepreneurs to flourish and thrive.
As a small economy, we have to stay open, we have to be nimble, quick enough to seize new opportunities and we must continue pushing for free flows of trade and investments, through regional and multilateral forums. Importantly, as countries and companies everywhere look to diversify their exposures, and widen their range of partners, we want Singapore to be their choice partner. We want to be a reliable and trusted node from which they operate.

In finance, investment professionals are always looking for ‘alpha’, the extra edge that drives higher returns and enables you to outperform market benchmarks. For Singapore, the greatest source of alpha lies in something more enduring – it is our reputation for trust, integrity and reliability. These attributes are a unique source of competitive advantage for us, it is very hard for others to replicate.

I believe what is true for Singapore applies to Temasek too.

The Temasek of today, is very different from the Temasek of 1974. Today, you have deep expertise across many industries and markets.

You have a stable of leading companies that enable you to seize new opportunities. You have a wide network of friends and partners from all over the world that can be called upon.

You are moving forward from a position of strength, as you seek out new opportunities to take Temasek to the next level. But even as Temasek embarks on its next phase of transformation, some things cannot, and must not, change – your adherence to exemplary standards and values; your ability to think long-term, to grow with commercial and strategic discipline, and to add to the Singapore brand of quality, reliability and integrity. These are the attributes for which Temasek is well-known for, and which will ensure Temasek remains a valued and trusted long-term partner.

To conclude, 50 years is a remarkable milestone. It reflects half a century of unwavering commitment, resilience and dedication amongst all who have been part of this incredible journey. Once again, my heartfelt congratulations to Temasek on this very happy occasion. I wish you continued success and impact for many more years to come. So that collectively, we can build a lasting legacy; for a stronger Temasek, a better Singapore and a brighter future for many generations to come.

Thank you very much and enjoy the evening.