Singapore’s Temasek Holdings has kicked off an internal review after the state investment company was forced to write down its US$275 million investment in failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX Group.
Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is also the finance minister, disclosed the move by Temasek in response to question from lawmakers about the impact of FTX’s collapse.
“Temasek has also initiated an internal review by an independent team to study and improve its processes, and to draw lessons for the future,” Wong said in parliament on November 30. “I am confident that the Temasek board and management team will learn and improve from this experience.”
According to Wong, the loss should be viewed in the broader context of Temasek’s performance in early-stage investments.
“After writing-off the FTX investment, Temasek’s early-stage portfolio as at March this year has generated an internal rate of return in the mid-teens over the last decade, better than industry averages,” he said.
Temasek’s investment in FTX was through its participation in two fundraising rounds, one for the exchange’s international business in October 2021 and one for its US business in January this year. The Singapore state investor invested $210 million for a roughly 1% stake in FTX International and $65 million for approximately 1.5% of FTX US.
The $275 million investment was equivalent to 0.09% of Temasek’s net portfolio value of S$403 billion ($293 billion) as of end-March 2022.
FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in the US on November 11 and Founder and Chief Executive Officer Sam Bankman-Fried has resigned.