India Emerged As The Third Biggest Investment Destination For Temasek In FY24

India reportedly emerged as the third leading investment destination for Singapore state investor Temasek in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24).

The investment major reportedly made the comments on the sidelines of the announcement of its results for the fiscal year. As per news agency PTI, Temasek also saw its net portfolio value jump marginally by 1.8% year-on-year (YoY) to SGD 389 Bn ($288 Bn) largely on the back of returns from the US and India.

“The increase was mainly due to our investment returns from the US and India, offset by the underperformance of China’s capital markets,” Temasek reportedly said. 

Temasek’s annual report for FY24 also noted that the exposure of the wealth fund’s portfolio to India grew to 7% in the year ended March 2024 compared to 6% in the year-ago period.

According to a report by Strait Times, the investment giant continues to see investment opportunities in India despite recent global “geopolitical shifts” in the past two years. 

Alpin Mehta, head of real estate and deputy head of private equity fund investments at Temasek, reportedly said that with Prime Minister Narendra Modi back in power, the focus of the new government will be on “fiscal consolidation to increase spending on infrastructure and the green transition in India and to continue the privatisation that has been happening”.

Mehta, as per Strait Times, also said that Temasek was also witnessing new opportunities in India in sectors such as financial services, life sciences, technology, consumer and healthcare. 

Temasek’s head of financial services Connie Chan reportedly said that India was home to a “very large and growing” middle-income population, which now accounted for nearly 50% to 60% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Chan further said that Indian banks are a proxy for the macro economy, adding that there are also opportunities emerging in other areas of financial services such as insurance. 

The comments come at a time when Indian new-age tech stocks are on an upward spiral largely on the back of broader positive market cues and the profit run of many of these listed startups. 

For Temasek, India represents a huge opportunity even as the homegrown startup landscape continues to grapple with a severe funding winter. The investment major has reportedly invested an average of $1 Bn to $1.5 Bn annually in India over the last 20 years. 

Late last year, reports surfaced that Temasek was planning to increase investments trickling to India to $10 Bn over the next three years as its India portfolio continues to outperform global peers. Back home, Temasek has invested in big names such as Ola Electric, Zomato, Atomberg, upGrad, Curefit, among others.

In the past one year, its bets have paid off as in February 2024, Temasek booked hefty profits when it offloaded its entire 5.42% stake in insurtech platform Policybazaar’s parent entity PB Fintech for INR 2,425 Cr. This is notwithstanding the secondary sales that Temasek might have executed in the past one year. 

Meanwhile, going forward, the wealth fund also has multiple exits lined up as portfolio startups Ola Electric and Pine Labs are slated to list on the bourses soon.