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| SDP at Jurong |
In a speech made at the SDP rally last night, SDP candidate for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Mr Tan Jee Say took the PAP regime to task on the investment losses made by the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) during the global financial crisis in 2008.
GIC was headed by PAP paramount leader Lee Kuan Yew. His son, the prime minister, is its deputy chairman.
A former principal private secretary to then DPM Goh Chok Tong, Mr Tan estimated that the PAP regime had accumulated hundreds of billions of dollars in surpluses over the last decade and $60 billion was just a small percentage of that.
Mr Tan had earlier proposed investing $60 billion dollars from the reserves in Singaporeans for which he was taken to task by his opponent Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.
‘Manage your own ministry’s budget before you criticise other people’s figures!’ he said to large applause from the crowd who filled almost the entire Jurong East Stadium, in reference to Dr Vivian bursting the YOG budget by more than three times last year.
Mr Tan’s running mate in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Dr Vincent Wijeysingha sneered at DPM Teo Chee Hean’s description of the PAP reserves as a ‘source of comfort’ for Singaporeans.
“Teddy bears are for comfort. We need affordable housing, support for our elderly and our young!’” said Dr Wijeysingha.According to a Wall Street Journal editorial, GIC reportedly lose some $41.6 billion dollars in its failed overseas investments. (read here)
Unless Singaporeans vote in sufficient number of opposition MPs to deny the PAP its traditional two-thirds majority in parliament, the amount of taxpayers’ monies lost by GIC is likely to remain a mystery forever.
SINGAPORE – Government of Singapore Investment Corp. suffered a loss of about 59 billion Singapore dollars (US$41.60 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 31, making it one of the worst years for the sovereign wealth fund since it was started in 1981…
ReplyDeletehttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB125418236117447877.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
hmm... but the value of the shares of UBS, which is one of GIC's investments, has increased by more than double since the time GIC bought into UBS... and Citigroup, the increase is anywhere between two to five times, depending on when GIC bought into Citigroup. so... doesn't tt mean tt GIC wld hv made shit loads of money from those investments?
ReplyDeletei'm confused. so are GIC's losses real? or just paper loses which hv all been recovered because the global economy has picked up? i mean, i can understand tt the GIC wld hv lost all those money if they had no choice but to sell all their shares and equity at the depth of the financial crisis. but if they held on... then, given tt things are on the upswing now, doesn't tt mean tt they wld hv actually made back the "losses" and in fact made more money?
hmm... but the value of the shares of UBS, which is one of GIC's investments, has increased by more than double since the time GIC bought into UBS... and Citigroup, the increase is anywhere between two to five times, depending on when GIC bought into Citigroup. so... doesn't tt mean tt GIC wld hv made shit loads of money from those investments?
ReplyDeletei'm confused. so are GIC's losses real? or just paper loses which hv all been recovered because the global economy has picked up? i mean, i can understand tt the GIC wld hv lost all those money if they had no choice but to sell all their shares and equity at the depth of the financial crisis. but if they held on... then, given tt things are on the upswing now, doesn't tt mean tt they wld hv actually made back the "losses" and in fact made more money?