SINGAPORE - Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC's main gauge of investment return posted its weakest growth in four years, and said high interest rates, China economic difficulties and geopolitical tension would keep the investment environment challenging.
GIC ascribed the lower returns in the latest 20-year period to the exclusion of the 2004 fiscal year, when the equity markets staged an exceptional rebound following the dot-com crash. GIC still sees opportunities in the U.S., its single largest country exposure, regardless of the outcome of upcoming elections, its Chief Executive Officer Lim Chow Kiat told Reuters.
The U.K and Eurozone rose to 5% and 10% from 4% and 9% respectively, while exposure to Japan alone and to Asia, excluding Japan, dropped to 4% and 22% from 6% and 23% respectively, its report showed. It does not disclose China's share. Temasek said earlier this month that its net portfolio value had returned to growth with a 1.8% gain, adding that profits from investments in the U.S. and India helped compensate for underperformance in China.