Temasek's retail private equity bond can help retirement income: CEO
Investors can invest in Temasek Holdings' first retail private equity bond to help supplement their retirement income, said Temasek chief executive Ho Ching.
Speaking at a Stewardship Asia forum yesterday, Ms Ho said one of the things Temasek recognised years ago is that people in Asia are living longer with better economic growth and one of the key challenges is planning for and funding retirement.
While Singapore has institutions such as the Central Provident Fund that cater to retirement needs, there may be a need to supplement that income and companies can participate in this, she said.
"One of the things we decided to do is to try and make use of our skills and strengths to create new products for individuals to invest for their retirement," said Ms Ho, in response to a question from the audience following her speech.
Housing is a chunky investment, she said. Beyond that home, it is not easy to invest in other assets which are inflation-linked, she added.
"So we worked very hard to kick-start the real estate investment trust (Reit)."
Temasek is now in the process of introducing a product that allows retail investors to invest in private equity funds, she said.
"As you know, these funds are open and accessible to many of you but not necessarily to the broad masses... But by creating a product which is diversified and therefore provides a better risk-adjusted return for the individual, we can bring a new category of product to the market for the retail investor.
"So quite apart from things like housing, this is another way that we as an institution... try to bring our skills and knowledge to create products in the future for those who want to invest for their retirement."
Azalea Group, a Temasek subsidiary, is launching a private equity bond with a tranche targeted at retail investors. It plans to raise $670 million in three tranches, each targeting a particular risk appetite.
- THE STRAITS TIMES
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
