Friday 18 September 2009

The Wall Street Journal Taunts Temasek - Again

Anyone who reads the Wall Street Journal's Heard on the Street column entitled, "As Temasek Plays it Safe, CIC Dives In" will realize that there really is a long standing feud between the Wall Street Journal and the Singapore government, in which Temasek always becomes a pawn.
I guess being sued does that to someone – the Asian WSJ editor in this case?
Peter Stein writes in the article that, "it's difficult to be inspired by Temasek's current strategy -- seemingly a holding pattern that has the fund focusing on its Asian holdings and warning of "medium-term risks" that justify caution. The surprisingly vocal criticism Temasek faced in Singapore over its losses in Western banks may have reinforced this conservatism."  
The article contains no new information, only a brief analysis of previous missteps by Temasek and China Investment Corporation's recent decision to dole out large sums to global hedge funds and its activities in purchasing global real estate.
The author ends with the following lines:

Which of these two state-owned players ultimately does better in a post-Lehman world won't be known for some time. What's certain, though, is that one of them has already shown itself a gutsier player on the global stage.

Any guesses about which investor Mr. Stein is referring to as the timid one? And what are the odds that Singapore will take the bait and send a new rejoinder to the newspaper?

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