Singapore is richer by over S$200B thanks to COVID-19, as Temasek announces record returns

While COVID-19 shook the world, Singapore’s foreign reserves under management of MAS have grown by another S$160 billion.

As you surely know by now, my admiration for Singapore mostly stems from how smartly and sustainably the entire country is financed.

In particular, how the government — by laws it has imposed on itself — is not permitted deficit spending and has to accumulate surpluses, which are profitably invested through Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), GIC, and Temasek Holdings.

The last one of the three has just reported record returns of 24.5 per cent for the year ending 31 March 2021, buoyed by stock market rallies fuelled in no small part by global stimulus packages released into economies stricken by the COVID-19 crisis.

This has lifted the total portfolio value up from S$306 billion to S$381 billion — and the increase is likely to continue for as long as governments around the world are releasing fiscal and monetary measures to stave off deeper economic woes, with much of the funds pushing stock markets higher and higher.

But there’s more, as Singapore’s foreign reserves have grown by even more than that - and it’s before GIC reported its results…

This article is available in full in my column on the Vulcan Post. You can go ahead and click to read it there, the link is safe and accessible :-)