The wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, also Temasek Holding’s CEO Ho Ching, has just lost S$100 million after a budget airline it owned in Thailand, NokScoot, declared bankruptcy.
Temasek Holdings-owned Singapore Airlines (SIA), booked a S$123.6 million loss, after it failed to sell its 49% of NokScoot shares for 1 Thai baht:
“We tried to sell our stake in NokScoot to Nok Air for a nominal sum of 1 Thai baht, but it was not taken up. We regrettably had to then make the joint decision to move ahead with the liquidation.”
According to Bloomberg, Temasek Holdings, under Ho Ching, lost US$23.5 billion in the three months before the coronavirus outbreak hit full blown in March. The sovereign wealth fund company which claimed it does not manage CPF funds did not give any update on its portfolio losses after March 2020.
Lee Hsien Loong sits as the Chairman of GIC, a position he inherited from his father. As such, even if Lee Hsien Loong loses the General Election, he still command control over the CPF funds of Singaporeans.