(July 30): Singapore’s state-owned Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd plans to invest US$30 billion (RM139.13 billion) in the US market over the next five years as the firm remains cautious on putting money into China.

“The Americas is going to be and continue to be the largest recipient of capital,” Jane Atherton, Temasek’s head of North America, said in an interview Monday.

Temasek’s investments for North and South America surpassed China for the first time in at least a decade this year. Americas investments now account for 22%, or US$63 billion, of its portfolio. Chinese investments make up 19% of the portfolio, and those in Singapore account for 27%.

The firm oversaw S$389 billion (RM1.34 trillion) of assets as of March, up from S$382 billion a year earlier.

China and the US are vying to dominate semiconductor manufacturing because of its link to artificial intelligence and other aspects of the digital economy. The US is trying to limit the rise of its Asian rival by deploying export controls and tariffs, and even considering a rule that would curb China’s access to advanced semiconductor technology.

That US-China strife has left investors navigating a geopolitical tripwire as they seek to capture a piece of one of the hottest sectors in the market. Temasek’s Atherton said there are ways to structure investments around certain constraints, such as taking passive public equity stakes in listed semiconductor companies.

In China, Temasek has avoided investing in geopolitically sensitive areas, instead focusing on large domestic companies. It’s looking to make new investments in electric-vehicle makers and biotech firms.

“We make sure we are not investing in businesses that are in the crosshairs of geopolitical tensions,” Atherton said.

For the US, she said Temasek is looking to invest in AI-related firms, as well as semiconductor and infrastructure plays such as data centers and the companies that power them. It can gain exposure to data centers through its own real estate subsidiaries — Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd and CapitaLand Group Pte Ltd — or by investing alongside private equity firms, according to Atherton.

Temasek has grown its US assets fivefold in the past decade.

Uploaded by Surin Murugiah