GIC Private Limited
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| Sovereign wealth fund | |
| Industry | Fund Management |
| Founded | 22 May 1981 |
| Headquarters | Singapore |
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Key people
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Lee Hsien Loong, Chairman Lim Chow Kiat, chief executive officer |
| Products | N/A |
| Revenue | N/A |
| Website | gic |
GIC Private Limited, formerly known as Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, is a sovereign wealth fund established by the Government of Singapore in 1981 to manage Singapore's foreign reserves. Its mission is to preserve and enhance the international purchasing power of the reserves, with the aim to achieve good long-term returns above global inflation over the investment time horizon of 20 years. With a network of nine offices in key financial capitals around the world, GIC invests internationally in equities, fixed income, money-market instruments, real estate and special investments.
GIC is one of a few global firms with the highest corporate credit ratings by both Standard & Poor's and Moody's, of AAA and Aaa respectively. Its investment portfolio is managed by its three subsidiaries: GIC Asset Management Pte Ltd (public markets), GIC Real Estate Pte Ltd and GIC Special Investments Pte Ltd (private-equity investments). In 2008, The Economist reported that Morgan Stanley had estimated the fund's assets at US$330 billion.
In addition to GIC, the Government of Singapore owns another sovereign wealth fund, Temasek Holdings, which manages about US$173 billion of assets.
On 22 May 1981, Goh Keng Swee, then first Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, saw the trend of Singapore's rapidly growing foreign reserves and decided to invest Singapore's reserves for the future of the nation and the welfare of its people. He was advised by a foreign merchant bank, N M Rothschild & Sons, and established the GIC.
The government then embarked on a change in investment policy by investing the bulk of its foreign reserves in longer-term, high-yielding assets rather than in liquid but low-yielding assets.
An undisclosed number of those who left the MAS in 1981 went to work for the new GIC. In the late 1990s, four of its most senior positions were held by former Monetary Authority of Singapore officers.
Traditionally, GIC has kept a low profile in its investments. During the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007–2010, however, a number of its investments attracted controversy. In 2013, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, the GIC was one of the most active SWF investors for the year.
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Wikipedia