Temasek trims pay for top executives tied to FTX investments

Temasek Holdings face a reduction in the compensation packages of staff involved in the $275 million FTX investments, although an internal review found no breaches of fiduciary duties.

On November 17, 2022, the group wrote off its investments in the cryptocurrency exchange and its US subsidiary. The group assessed total losses of $275 million .

An internal review was initiated soon after the collapse of FTX in November 2022. As a result, both the investment team and senior management took ‘collective responsibility’ and agreed to a reduction in compensation.

The document notes ‘inherent risks of any investment’, as well as the need to continue investing in new sectors and technologies to better understand how they may transform the portfolios of Temasek’s portfolio companies.

In November 2022, during parliamentary hearings in Singapore were described as ‘very limited’ consequences of the FTX collapse for the financial system and the country’s economy.

According to Lawrence Wong, the Minister of Finance and Deputy Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore MAS, the collapse of the exchange inflicted Temasek not only financial but reputational damage.

Earlier, losses from investments in FTX were acknowledged by Sequoia Capital, BlackRock and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Canada).