NSP's secretary-general Hazel Poa calls for more transparency from S'pore's sovereign wealth funds. …
The National Solidarity Party (NSP) is calling for Singapore's next elected President to champion for more transparency from Singapore's two sovereign wealth funds, Temasek Holdings and Government Investment Corporation (GIC), as this relates to "the management of our reserves".
NSP's secretary-general Hazel Poa noted in a press statement on Monday, "It is a disturbing state of affairs when Temasek with about 400 employees can report an $8 billion administrative expense without incurring significant public scrutiny."
"$8 billion is more than one-sixth of our national budget," she said.
According to Temasek Holdings' group income statement, its administrative expense was $8 billion in 2009, $8.7 billion in 2010 and $7.3 billion in 2011.
Its revenue was $79.6 billion (2009), $76.7 billion (2010) and $83.5 billion (2011), while its total profit was $9.0 billion (2009), $6.8 billion (2010) and $15.8 billion (2011)
Poa also compared Temasek's and GIC's rates of return per annum with rates from the Central Provident Fund (CPF). She argued while Temasek Holdings claims yearly returns of 15 per cent over 20 years, CPF only pays out 2.5 per cent.
"We can see from the paltry interest rates offered by CPF, Singapore taxpayers neither enjoy full disclosure nor noticeably remarkable returns," said Poa.
Poa called for greater public awareness of relevant benchmarks such as Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund, which guarantees a minimum return of 2.5 per cent and delivered a 4 to 8 per cent return annually since 1960.
Poa also pointed to Norway's sovereign wealth fund as being successful and yet transparent with its citizens.
"There is a world of difference between GIC being transparent to stakeholders on one hand, and foolishly telegraphing its investment strategy to competitors," she said.
While the party acknowledged the ministerial salary review is a step in the right direction, it also asked Members of Parliament and their immediate relatives to disclose compensation they might be receiving from Temasek, GIC or similar organization.
"With so many PAP MPs also juggling multiple, sometimes dozens, of directorships and consultancies, it is clearly in the public interest to know who else is paying their MPs and for what purposes," said Poa.
She believes better finanicial transparency is the best way to serve Singaporeans.
When asked on Monday, Presidential candidate Tan Cheng Bock said he supports having more transparency financially. He could promote this through his proposed annual statement from the President, he said.
