Head, School of Business and Communications, PSB Academy, Jalan Bukit Ho Swee, Singapore
Countries such as Malaysia, China and Singapore have established state-owned holding companies (SOH) to mediate the relationship between the government and state-invested companies. Managing the SOH is a challenging task. First, the government has to influence the behaviour of the citizens in accepting the SOH as a useful vehicle to drive the economy forward. Second, to obtain the desired returns, the government and the SOH have to convince the international investment community that the SOH is commercially orientated. By means of a case study that of Temasek Holdings Limited of Singapore, this paper describes the strategies adopted by the Singapore government to promote greater acceptance of the SOH. The paper argues that the success of Temasek is situated in the government's ability to curb corruption, and to depolitize Temasek and leave the commercial interest of state invested companies in the hands of Temasek.
Corruption, Privatization, Singapore, Temasek
