Temasek Holdings, a Singaporean state investor, announced on Monday that it had reduced compensation for both the top management group and the team that proposed Temasek's participation in the now-bankrupt FTX bitcoin exchange.
The action was taken about six months after Temasek began an internal investigation of its investment in FTX, which led to a $275 million writedown.
"Although there was no misconduct by the investment team in reaching their investment recommendation, the investment team and senior management, who are ultimately responsible for investment decisions made, took collective accountability and had their compensation reduced," Temasek Chairman Lim Boon Heng said in a statement posted on Temasek's website on Monday.
The size of the compensation cut was not specified by Temasek.
Temasek had stated that it presently had no direct exposure to cryptocurrencies and that the cost of its investment in FTX was 0.09% of its net portfolio value of S$403 billion ($304 billion) as of March 31, 2022.
Additionally, Temasek said that FTX had undergone "extensive due diligence" and that its audited financial statements had "shown it to be profitable" last year.
After FTX, established by Sam Bankman Fried, sought bankruptcy protection in the United States last year, other FTX supporters like SoftBank Group Corp.'s Vision Fund and Sequoia Capital similarly reduced or completely eliminated their interest in the company.
"With FTX, as alleged by prosecutors and as admitted by key executives at FTX and its affiliates, there was fraudulent conduct intentionally hidden from investors, including Temasek," Lim said in the statement on Monday. "Nevertheless, we are disappointed with the outcome of our investment, and the negative impact on our reputation."
Temasek invests in early-stage businesses in an effort to provide sustainable profits over the long term, according to Lim.
"While there are inherent risks whenever we invest, we believe that we have to invest in new sectors and emerging technologies to understand how these areas may impact the business and financial models of our existing portfolio, and whether they would be drivers of future value in an ever changing world," Lim added.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
The action was taken about six months after Temasek began an internal investigation of its investment in FTX, which led to a $275 million writedown.
"Although there was no misconduct by the investment team in reaching their investment recommendation, the investment team and senior management, who are ultimately responsible for investment decisions made, took collective accountability and had their compensation reduced," Temasek Chairman Lim Boon Heng said in a statement posted on Temasek's website on Monday.
The size of the compensation cut was not specified by Temasek.
Temasek had stated that it presently had no direct exposure to cryptocurrencies and that the cost of its investment in FTX was 0.09% of its net portfolio value of S$403 billion ($304 billion) as of March 31, 2022.
Additionally, Temasek said that FTX had undergone "extensive due diligence" and that its audited financial statements had "shown it to be profitable" last year.
After FTX, established by Sam Bankman Fried, sought bankruptcy protection in the United States last year, other FTX supporters like SoftBank Group Corp.'s Vision Fund and Sequoia Capital similarly reduced or completely eliminated their interest in the company.
"With FTX, as alleged by prosecutors and as admitted by key executives at FTX and its affiliates, there was fraudulent conduct intentionally hidden from investors, including Temasek," Lim said in the statement on Monday. "Nevertheless, we are disappointed with the outcome of our investment, and the negative impact on our reputation."
Temasek invests in early-stage businesses in an effort to provide sustainable profits over the long term, according to Lim.
"While there are inherent risks whenever we invest, we believe that we have to invest in new sectors and emerging technologies to understand how these areas may impact the business and financial models of our existing portfolio, and whether they would be drivers of future value in an ever changing world," Lim added.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
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