Singapore Fund Invests $106 Million in Petrobas, China Construction Bank

(November 15, 2010) — Singapore’s $144 billion sovereign wealth fund — Temasek Holdings — has reportedly invested roughly $106 million in Brazil’s Petrobras during the last quarter, diversifying its portfolio of US stocks.

Temasek bought 3.2 million American Depository Receipts (ADRs) of Petrobras, a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed. According to a report obtained by Reuters, Temasek held about $1.2 billion worth of US-listed securities at the end of September, including small stakes in Apple, Freeport-McMoRan and Yahoo!. As of the end of the third quarter, its investments in 121 US stocks compare to $1.1 billion invested in just 14 stocks at the end of the second quarter, TheStreet.com reported. Temasek’s new positions are almost all under $1 million, which includes a small stake in Bank of America.

Separately, Temasek Holdings has confirmed it will invest an additional $2 billion in China Construction Bank (CCB) by taking up Bank of America’s (BofA) entire entitlement in the rights issue of China’s second-largest lender. By taking over BofA’s rights, Temasek, which already owns about 5.7 per cent of CCB, will invest about 10.3 billion yuan, or $2 billion, in the Chinese lender.