CEO Sipahimalani said the entity might change its stance if regulators implemented the “right regulatory framework”.
Rohit Sipahimalani, CEO of Singaporean state-owned enterprise conglomerate Temasek, said the entity is currently not interested in cryptocurrency investments due to unclear regulations.
The company has had a bad experience in the digital asset space, having lost $275 million when FTX collapsed.
Re-entry is possible under appropriate rules
CEO Sipahimalani claimed in a recent interview that there is “a lot of regulatory uncertainty” in the cryptocurrency space, which makes it “very difficult” for Temasek to join the ecosystem with another investment.
On the other hand, he assured that the company would reconsider its stance if the regulator were to implement a comprehensive regulatory framework for the industry:
“If you have the right regulatory framework and we’re comfortable with it and you have the right investment opportunity, then there’s no reason why we shouldn’t consider it.”
It is worth mentioning that the Monetary Authority of Singapore has taken some measures to ensure maximum protection for local cryptocurrency players. The regulator plans to ban digital asset organizations from providing lending and staking services to retail investors. It may also insist that these companies store customers’ assets in designated trust institutions by the end of 2023.
Temasek is one of many entities that have lost a significant amount of money due to their interaction with the once-famous cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The firm, which manages nearly $500 billion in assets, invested $275 million in FTX but lost all of it due to FTX’s collapse last November.
Sipahimalani explained that the FTX investment is part of Temasek’s early-stage strategy to allocate capital to “new disruptive technologies to understand what’s coming.”
The CEO also revealed that the company conducted proper due diligence when considering the move and went ahead with it because the market “has good technology, is gaining market share and has demonstrated a willingness to work with regulators and obtain licenses.”
Take responsibility
FTX’s unsuccessful interaction has damaged the reputation of the Singaporean state-owned enterprise group. As a result, the team and senior executives who approved the investment have taken full responsibility and reduced their annual salaries:
“The investment team and senior management, who are ultimately responsible for investment decisions, have taken collective responsibility and have had their compensation reduced.”
Temasek did not disclose the specific amounts of the deductions, nor did it say whether other employees’ bonuses or salaries were reduced.
The list of companies that suffered losses from investing in FTX also includes the world's largest asset management company BlackRock, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, crypto technology investment company Paradigm, Japan's SoftBank, and so on.
