Triple-A rated Temasek Holdings has been experimenting with bitcoin.
Today Online, Singapore’s second most-read newspaper, reported that an investment company Temasek owned by the government of Singapore has been “experimenting” with bitcoin.
Temasek Holding, an investment company based in Singapore, has a $172 billion portfolio and its net income accounted to $12.1 billion in 2013. According to the article from Today Online, the company launched its first office in New York City yesterday, promising that it will “seize opportunities in the entire American continent”.
During Chairman Lim Boon Heng’s speech, an interesting fact came out as he mentioned that the company had recently conducted a company-wide “bitcoin experiment”, in which all members at the company participated, including over 400 people from drivers to board members.
Mr. Lim specified what was the experiment saying that every involved participant got his/her own bitcoin wallet and practiced by using it to donate to charity.
Though Temasek Holdings itself has not made any announcements regarding the plans to invest in bitcoin businesses as, the fact that the firm conducted the experiment among its staff, and the fact that it was so highly mentioned by the chairman, is significant in that it quietly endorses the technology.
Moreover, a few elements within other large financial institutions are appeared to be attracted to digital currency and are willing to invest in bit coin businesses. However, none of them have admitted it openly and most don’t want to hear their name in the same sentence with ‘bitcoin’.
As a government-owned investment firm, Temasek Holdings invests heavily in such areas like telecommunications and technology, industrials and life sciences. Its total portfolio includes almost the entire economic spectrum.
Furthermore, Temasek is often named as a ‘sovereign wealth fund’, but it is never referred to as such by its government owner, it is also being listed in Singapore’s constitution. Described on its website simply as “an investment company based in Singapore”, The company has been operated for 40 years, and it actually looks more like private company as it pays taxes and distributed dividends.
Moreover, the company is among those few ones in the world who have a corporate credit rating of AAA from Standard & Poor’s and Aaa from Moody’s.
Konstantin has always been at the forefront of the global virtual currency scene since first discovering cryptocurrencies the same year that Satoshi Nakomoto created bitcoin in 2009. Konstantin is the owner of a number of small businesses in trucking and mobile development, and co-founded CoinSpeaker in 2014. He graduated from Belarusian State University in 2009 with a degree in Mathematics and Mechanics. You can contact Konstantin via [email protected]