GIC’s $14 billion UBS investment in jeopardy after collapse
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February 4, 2010 - Temasek Review
Written by Our Correspondent
GIC’s $14 billion investment in UBS in jeopardy after it faces collapse over tax dispute with U.S.
Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC)’s S$14 billion dollar investment in giant Swiss bank UBS appeared to be in serious jeopardy following fresh concerns that UBS may face collapse if it loses its license in the United States after a protracted tax dispute.
GIC made its initial investment of S$14 billion to buy a 9 per cent stake in UBS on the same day that it was hit by a S$14 billion in losses from the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States in December 2007.
Dr Tony Tan, a former PAP minister and Deputy Chairman of GIC said he believes in the “long-term prospects” of UBS:
“We take a long view. This is not an investment (for) which we have any fixed time frame. Of course, we’ll review it from time to time. Our intention is to remain responsible, supportive investors… hopefully for the long-term.”
[Straits Times, 11 December 2007]
GIC’s UBS investments now look set to be wiped out unless the Swiss government manage to reach a settlement with the U.S. over a protracted tax dispute which erupted in 2008.
UBS has initially agreed to transfer data on 4,450 clients suspected of tax evasion to U.S. tax authorities.
However, a Swiss court ruled last month that most of the data cannot be transferred as this would break Swiss law.
The United States has threatened to revoke UBS’s license if the deal fails to go through and UBS will face collapse as a result.
As expected, there were no immediate comments from GIC or Dr Tony Tan. Neither did the mainstream media report on the matter.
Set up in 1981 to manage Singapore’s growing national reserves, GIC has been led ever since by Singapore’s strongman Lee Kuan Yew, who is a lawyer by training.
His daughter-in-law Ho Ching heads Singapore’s other sovereign wealth fund, Temasek Holdings.
Both GIC and Temasek Holdings were hit by billions of dollars of investment losses recently.
Despite calls from Singaporeans to establish an independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate into the losses, the ruling party has blatantly refused to do so.
Till today, nobody knows the exact amount of losses suffered by the two sovereign wealth funds.
There is no opposition in the Singapore parliament to hold the ruling party accountable.
All the printed newspapers in Singapore are owned by a single media agency – SPH whose Chairman is none other than Dr Tony Tan himself.
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if UBS collapse, then another of my predictions will come true...............i'm hoping it to collapse............the look on those PAP fatcats should be quite priceless...........LOL
UBS is owned by Warburg if i'm not wrong, if UBS is allowed to go bust then any bank can go bust............
eventually all of Temasek's investments will turn very very sour.....................if not worthless............these clowns can only make money in good times...................either they were forced to buy those bank shares by their Zionist puppet-masters or they're pure dumb...................you don't buy when things start to fall.............you buy after a great fall................
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Won't go bust lah.
Maybe there will be another round of bailouts.
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bailouts = increase the costs of living of sgporeans again ? ? ???????
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If UBS collapse; it's just another failed investment of MM that failed to forecast.
Where's the crystal ball?
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paid millions for salary, lost billions. hahahah
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no way to contact GIC or Temasek, otherwise i would have told them the banks were crashing when they 1st made their buys...........those clowns would have used a tiny fraction of those tens of billions and bought Wilmar and GoldenAgri...............that'll make them the dominant palm oil players in the world..............
later than they buy into Olam just becoz of Jim Rogers.................
now, i'm hoping they go flat broke................that day is coming.............